Have You Checked Your Baggage?

Imagine that you’re taking a trip where you’ll be flying to a particular destination. You arrive at the airport and head to the check-in desk. The airline agent asks you, “Do you have any baggage to check?” You’re puzzled, and you say, “I don’t know. Do I?”, and she says, “Trust me. You do.”

In this case, what we’re talking about is emotional baggage – the limiting thoughts or behaviors that result from our past that we continue to carry with us in our current life. And not just our personal lives. Baggage can be present in our professional lives as well.

As an example, I once worked with someone I’ll call Mary, who was bright, knowledgeable, committed and diligent. She was enjoying success in her career and taking on positions of increasing responsibility. But somewhere along the way, she’d felt wronged, and it led her to operate with a chip on her shoulder.

Mary had trust issues and was prone to seeing people as against her. Small affronts would provoke an overreaction. She would frequently react to feedback with a defensive response. She worried about getting credit and was therefore hesitant to share it with others who had also contributed. And she micro-managed, because she was sure that others wouldn’t appreciate the quality of her work unless it was perfect. While none of these behaviors were significant enough to completely derail her career, they definitely got in the way, and Mary eventually hit the point where they became a barrier to further advancement, much to her frustration.

Does this sound like anyone you know? Can you see some of yourself in any of these behaviors? Well, the turn of the calendar to a new year is as good a time as any to work on shedding your emotional baggage. So here are some tips for helping you do that:

1. Build self-awareness:?As they say, the first step is acknowledging your issues. Identify patterns in your behavior that stem from your emotional baggage. You can try?this quiz?to help you. Then write down a list, noting situations that trigger you, your resulting behavior, and the impact it’s having on you and others. You can also use journaling on a more regular basis to help yourself put words to your feelings. Often, the process of reflecting on events can help you better put them in perspective.
2. Invest in development:?With an improved knowledge of the baggage you’re carrying, work next on improving your understanding of how to surface your feelings and address them. For example, you could attend workshops or training on topics like on emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, or stress management.
3. Set boundaries between your work and personal life. If something in your personal life is the root cause of your emotional baggage, compartmentalize by creating a clear mental boundary between work and personal challenges. For example, make time outside of work to deal with personal issues, so that they don’t manifest in your professional behavior. You can also use physical cues, like a “work playlist” or a specific workspace, to help you shift focus.
4. Channel emotions constructively.?Redirect emotional energy into productive activities. For example, focus on problem-solving, team collaboration, or creative tasks to turn your focus outward. Use these experiences to build empathy and connections at work.
5. Build a support network:?Curate a group of people who are invested in your success. These people could include family members, friends, trusted colleagues, mentors, or sponsors who can provide perspective and encouragement. And give them the right to provide you with honest feedback, even when it’s hard to hear.
6. Boost your resilience through self-care.?Prioritize healthy habits like sleep, exercise, and nutrition to maintain physical and emotional well-being. Use mindfulness techniques like deep breathing to stay grounded during moments of stress or emotional triggers. Or try meditation, to help you to let go of your limiting thoughts and past issues, and to be more present. You can also engage in activities outside of work that bring you joy and help you recharge, such as hobbies, exercise, or time with loved ones.
7. Seek help when needed:?Sometimes you need the help of a professional, for example if the issues that are limiting you are truly significant. In these instances, don’t hesitate to consult a therapist, counselor, or coach to help you work through your unresolved issues.

Remember, we all carry emotional baggage, and in the workplace, it prevents us from being our best selves, damages our relationships, limits advancement, and ultimately hurts our sense of happiness and fulfillment. Make a point of checking your baggage and see it travel off on the metaphorical baggage belt, so you can enjoy your journey baggage-free.

JR and the PathWise team

Recent and Upcoming Podcasts

January 20, Building a Business in Adventure Travel, with Matt Butler.?Matt is the Founder & CEO at BASECAMP 2XL and Adventurebug Worldwide Travel, which he co-founded with his wife, Julie. Matt and the Adventurebug team plan and lead trips all over the world. We’ll cover Matt’s unique upbringing in northern Canada, how he got into adventure travel, his experiences as a small business owner, and his charitable work.

January 27, Success as a Digital Entrepreneur, with Tim Fung.?Tim is the founder and CEO of AirTasker, a Sydney, Australia-based online marketplace connecting people with skilled local helpers in multiple countries. Tim is also the founder of Tank Street Labs, a co-working space for tech start-ups located in Sydney. We’ll cover Tim’s current work at AirTasker, the company’s origins and growth story, Tim’s thoughts on what it takes to be a successful digital entrepreneur, and his broader career journey.

As always, our “Career Sessions, Career Lessons” podcasts are available on all the major podcast platforms, with video versions on PathWise’s YouTube channel

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Recent and Upcoming Members-Only Content

Career Themes of the Week

January 20 – Focus and Deep Work.?In a world increasingly full of distractions, it’s harder than ever to zero in on a task, even when you need to. But often, our best work comes from periods of intense focus. With that in mind, we’ll share tips and tricks for improving your ability to do deep work.

January 27 – Synthesizing.?You have a wealth of facts and analysis, but what does it all tell you? Being able to synthesize the “a ha’s” from all that information is critical to being seen as a strategic thinker. We’ll provide tools and frameworks to help you better tell the story that’s lurking in your data.

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January Book Summary

Both / And Thinking, by Marianne Lewis and Wendy Smith, presented by PathWise’s Daniela De Luca.?Lewis and Smith accept that there are paradoxes in the world and that these lead to tensions and dilemmas. But they encourage looking at these situations with a lens of “both / and” rather than “either / or.” Doing so can often given you a fundamentally different perspective on the challenges you face in life.

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