In the world of business training and leadership awareness we are often reminded of the importance of focusing on the challenge or problem, not the person. Which goes back to looking at an individual or situation without the emotional baggage that might go something like….”I can’t believe ___ screwed up again. She’s never going to learn.” or…”He behaved exactly like so and so, this is bad news. He’s on his way out.”
But what if we thought about baggage from a different perspective. If you have to change flights in order to make a connection or survive weather challenges, you can’t do it with baggage. Only if you’re baggage free will you be lucky enough to make the flight.
When we focus on our abilities, our gratitude, our tasks, we take the focus off any excessive baggage we might be carrying around still. Just like the airlines are charging for excessive baggage these days, every time we pull up something from the past and either use it as an excuse for current behavior or use it to justify why we can’t work or deal well with someone, we are being charged for excessive baggage. Only we’re being charged through stress, aggravation, insomnia, and on and on (you can fill in the blank here).
Can you imagine if the Hero encountered a Villain and started thinking back over old times and how he had lost three out of four battles or didn’t live up to his own expectations. By that time, in a real encounter, he’d be toast.
Let me give you a personal example. After having issues with someone in my life I was reminded by an honest friend who told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear. What she said was that it all started with me. NEVER are we suffering or miserable from what someone else is doing to us or saddling us with. Again, I’m aware we often get stuck working for people who don’t have great management skills and stuff happens, often frustrating and annoying. But I repeat, if we’re really suffering or getting indigestion or migraines because of “someone” out there, we need to realize it starts with us. When we have a clear understanding of our worth and value, when we focus on demonstrating the highest of heroic qualities.—love, trust, self respect, joy, integrity—we are putting the focus back on ourselves. We are responsible for our happiness today, not a spouse, girl friend, significant other, child or boss. We are responsible for looking out after ourselves, manifesting the highest of good and being the role model (Hero) others look up to when they get stuck lugging their baggage around.
It’s much easier to blame our woes on others (if the boss would only take an extended vacation, if he would only call me today life would be grand and I could smile again, if she would only acknowledge my worth I could feel respected). Wrong.
Business management 101, or personal management 101 should always remind us we are the Heroes we want to be. We’ve got it all, and that’s where we put our energy and awareness.
I wish all of you a baggage free day, and the ability to pick up and help carry someone else’s baggage, until they figure out they don’t have to drag it around any more!
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