Less | Sighs and Hallelujahs

11Aug/101

Carrying Less

The following interaction took place at my office earlier this week, as I stopped by the copier to pick up a print-out ahead of a meeting. The problem was that I arrived at the printer holding my portfolio, my cell phone and a can of soda -- all stacked neatly on my shoulder. My co-worker came around the corner as I stared at the sheet of paper, wondering how to pick it up and still hold on to everything else.

Co-worker: "Can I help you out in any way?"

Me: "No. I think I just need to carry less stuff at one time."

Honestly, I was standing there perplexed and wondering how I was going to pull this off. And, I think it was this look of confusion that she saw on my face as she rounded the corner. I laughed at my response and then I set everything down, slid the paper in to my portfolio, re-stacked my phone and soda and off I went to my meeting.

It was my response that caught me off guard, though. I'm always working to over-achieve and to impress people with my abilities. And, I rarely find myself perplexed with how I am going to get something done. So, to boil it down to, "I'm just trying to do too much," was a rare moment of self-evaluation.

So often I try to carry too much. I stay up too late trying to accomplish more, I have a history of working too many hours, I never stop thinking and analyzing. I bet all of us have our own unique ways of carrying too much. Too much baggage from our life experiences, too much riding on whether people like us or not, and we're too focused on the next thing we buy or our next drink. Sometimes I wish I could learn to set a few things down and carry a lighter load.

That's my goal -- to carry less. Whether that's taking an extra trip downstairs to get the next set of grocery bags instead of trying to carry four bags at a time or just taking time to relax and to get out of my head for a few minutes a day. Here's to making the decision to carry a lighter load for both you and I!