24 March 2009

Don’t Let Your Emotional Baggage Get In Your Way!

Many of us have our feet firmly planted on the treadmills of life – pursuing careers, building businesses, running homes, etc. Hence, our lives become so cluttered, we loose sight of the woman we have become. Rarely do we have adequate time (and space) to deal with what’s going on within us. And when you add to the equation the life challenges we face, it’s no surprise we become laden with emotional baggage (e.g. unresolved issues, negative emotions, unhealthy or inaccurate mindsets, etc). Rather than dealing with it, many of us opt to brush it aside and keep sprinting through life. After all, we have so much to do.
But what you may fail to realise is that when you don’t deal with your baggage, it can hinder you from operating at your best. It also has a tendency of becoming a stumbling block further down the line. Over time, we see the rise of what I refer to as a female hybrid i.e. a pale version of the woman you were created to be. The problem with being a female hybrid is that you are constantly trying to compensate for the baggage you are carrying with you. And so, you may use the likes of food, spending, alcohol, drugs, sex or work as a distraction or to make yourself feel better. But as you can imagine, this only causes problems later on. So, to avoid emotional baggage or living as a female hybrid, read my five tips to help you along the way.
  1. Slow Down: Living a fast-paced life gives you little or no time to focus inwardly.
  2. Rebalance Your Life: Get a healthy balance between your work and personal life. Failing to do so will surely grant you a lifetime membership in the female hybrid club.
  3. Reflect Regularly: Schedule some time to catch up with yourself or else you may become oblivious to the emotional baggage you maybe stockpiling.
  4. Take Regular Retreats: Lack of rest aids the accumulation of emotional baggage. So schedule regular retreats to pause from your hectic lifestyle and allow room for restoration.
  5. Deal With Your Baggage: Is there a situation you are yet to get over? Is there someone you need to confront, forgive, release, or separate yourself from? Whatever your baggage is, I suggest you take steps to dealing with it. If needed, talk to someone. Trust me, it helps!

2 comments:

BrOkEn BrEad said...

What are your thoughts on being emotionally healthy/balance or is there such a thing with emotions, as they, by nature, take up every energy/effort.
When something good happens, our emotions lead us to a peak that we probably couldn't get to without emotions. and the same happens when its bad.it's seems natural or is it more about what we take and leave behind as opposed to being less emotional?

Gladys Famoriyo said...

From my experience, it seems we find ourselves on a continuum - with recovery at one end and resilience at the other - based on our life experiences (past/present). Therefore, at any given time, we are somewhere on that continuum. My philosophy is to 1) understand what emotional wellbeing/wellness means to you 2) be aware of where you are on the continuum and 3) take steps (simple strategies) to promote your emotional wellbeing/wellness i.e. moving you toward resilience. And so, it’s about taking proactive steps to managing what’s going on within us (e.g. attitudes and beliefs) and our reactions to what’s going on around us (i.e. our behaviours).