Saying good bye to deadweight
Take a moment to reflect on 2015, the good, the bad and ugly. Now, reflect on how many of those negative things you brought with you into 2016. Let’s call them dead weight. Many of us have things we brought into the new year that we should have left behind, only now are we being forced to take a hard look at the dead weight. Carrying around deadweight reminds me of the song “Bag Lady” by Erykah Badu. In the chorus she tells us “Bag lady you gone hurt your back dragging all them bags like that. I guess nobody ever told you all you must hold onto, is you, is you, is you.”The literal definition of dead weight is a heavy or oppressive burden. In 2016 we can not afford to keep dragging around people or things that are oppressing us. I will venture to say that not many of us actually question what those burdens in our lives are but rather question what to do about them.
Another favorite line from the song is “One day all them bags gon’ get in your way, so pack light. Bag lady you gon’ miss your bus because you can’t hurry up, ’cause you got too much stuff. When they see you coming, people take off running from you it’s true, oh yes they do.” Your dead weight will cause you to miss out on your blessing. Carrying around things that do not even belong to you will cause people and opportunities to move away from you. Ask yourself would you want to be around someone that comes with unnecessary drama, especially drama that they don’t have to be apart of? Would you continue to invest your positive energy into someone whose life is essentially putting up a brick way to block all positivity. Deadweight is like jumping into a pool with 50lbs weights on. While you may be a great swimmer you can not efficiently make it across and will sink. The harsh reality with deadweight is that no one can save you but you, many can try but the only sure bet is you cutting the ties of deadweight.
We have to make a conscious choice whether we are ready to live our lives to fullest. The moment you decide to live your life to the fullest it means you are living without deadweight and it means you realize that the only person you must hold on to is you. The majority of people and things that are associated with deadweight are toxic. The only choice when it comes to toxic people and things is to cut them out of our lives. Own and embrace the fact that you have the right to be happy. You not only have the right to be happy but you are in charge of that happiness and what it looks like. Sometimes the story doesn’t turn out the way we would like but we are equipped with the skills and abilities to start our story over anytime we’d like or simply embrace the detour along the way. If you need help cutting deadweight and designing the life you want then make the choice to invest in yourself by emailing me at hello@janeevhenderson.com.
