Lessons from the Trail: What's in your Bag?
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know by now that I have been spending the past month or-so in Oregon.
While I am incredibly sad that my trip will be coming to a close soon, I have been soaking up every last ounce of energy and lessons that the mountains can provide. In this week's blog post, I highlight just one of the many lessons I've learned on the trail…. The importance of the weight that we carry with us.
When you go hiking, what you carry, and how much it weighs is critical to your success.
If your bag is too heavy, it will slow you down, make the journey less enjoyable and you may not even make it to your intended destination. If you don't have the right gear, then when you do get to your destination, you won't be set up for success either.
What you carry and the size of your bag is also dependent on your goal. A day bag requires less and may only weigh a few pounds, an overnight bag could weigh 30lbs with multiple meals, a tent, a sleeping bag, camp stove, and more.
While different for everyone, there are essentials, like a map, water, snacks, and shelter, optional gear like a journal and something to sit on, and things that just don't make the final cut, like the bottle of wine, your professional camera or your hiking buddies extra gear.
This is similar to life. We are weighed down by the things we carry, but, without the physical constraints of a bag - we forget to be strategic about carrying only the things that serve us (our purpose, goals, skills, talents, motivation), and leaving the unnecessary things (worry, fear, doubt, other people's crap) behind.
In time our energy is drained from carrying too much of the unnecessary things, taking on too much, doing things that don't align with our values, or settling for less than what we're worth. The result is that we lose sight of our goals or think we're not strong enough to make it.
If you are feeling weighed down and stuck, and like you're stuck below the tree line with no end in sight, I'm here to tell you that you ARE strong enough, and you deserve to reach your personal summit.
Your first step is to evaluate what you are carrying with you right now. Here’s how:
Make a list of everything you’re “carrying” right now. Everything that is weighing you down or taking your energy, and everything that is supporting you and building you up.
Put a star “*” next to the essential items, or anything that is helping you reach your goals.
Put a line “-” next to the optional items. The things that aren’t essential, but will make your journey to your goals a whole lot more enjoyable.
Put an “x” next to anything that isn’t serving you. These are the things that are holding you back from reaching your goals. The things that you should say “no” to, delegate, or leave behind if you want to reach your goals.
If it’s helpful, you can enhance this exercise by drawing a backpack. Then start to fill it up, starting by writing in the essentials, followed by the optional items, and still leaving anything that won’t serve you behind.
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