Packing Limits

Branding, Slogans and Jingles serve as very valuable tools when promoting something.

A well known slogan was modified for the purpose of this attached picture, which headlines the topic of this posting.

So what is the story behind the original slogan, the now modified slogan, and more importantly the relevance behind it?

The original slogan was “What’s in Your Wallet?:, and since 2000, Capital One Financial — the nation's largest direct bank — has been promoting its credit card services by asking “What's in Your Wallet?” Three years later it began promoting banking and other financial services using the same iconic tagline, slogan, and question.

Brilliant, right?

What makes the slogan so brilliant is it does relate to the brand and its diversified usage.

What about the slogan for the picture of this post, What’s in Your Baggage? What is its relevance to our everyday living? How does it impact us? What do we gain from it?

Often times we hear the phrase, “carrying around baggage”, which is in reference to old emotional wounds turned into limiting beliefs.

To be fair, it’s probably safe to say most people don’t want to carry around their baggage of old emotional wounds, and yet they do.

Most people don’t want to operate from limiting beliefs and hold themselves back from having, being, and doing what they really want out of life, and yet they do.

More often than not that’s exactly what folks are doing……..lugging around that oversized, over-stuffed piece of luggage. Hell, it could be an entire matching set of luggage for some, and nonetheless it’s remains daunting, draining and debilitating.

Some of the items one finds in this baggage are stress, anxiety, anger, fear, grief, shame, sadness, and hurt. Remaining firmly gripped to this baggage, so no one will steal these valuable items, you grip to it for dear life.

Seems crazy, right?

Why would anyone want to hang onto these aforementioned items?

There are a number of possible reasons:

1. They are not consciously aware they even have a bag filled with such destructive items.

2. They know the items are in their bag, but aren’t sure how to get rid of them.

3. They know the items are there, and blame others or their circumstances for why they remain.

4. They know the items are there; they purge themselves in a fit of de-cluttering, and they claim them back once the storm is over.

5. They know the items are there, but can’t seem to loosen their grip on them.

Number 5 is a doozy. How?

When people aren’t willing to give up old destructive behaviors, self-sabotaging patterns it’s because there’s usually a gain or even a secondary gain for hanging onto their baggage.

Here are a couple of examples of holding onto your baggage for a ‘gain’.

I had a client who was in a long-term physically and emotionally abusive relationship, whose partner was also a blatant cheater and didn’t do much to hide it. This client was extremely unhappy and afraid to be with this person. When we discussed them breaking away from this destructive relationship, they were fully in support of starting a new life for themselves, however their actions kept them exactly where they were….in a physically and emotionally abusive, adulterous relationship. After much dialog, it eventually came out this individual wasn’t willing to give up the financial income that was generated every month. They realized they were afraid and worried they couldn’t make it on their own. This was huge!

I had another client who kept attracting unhealthy partners in their lives. Partners who were not emotional available for them. Partners who were not physically attentive to their needs. Partners who enjoyed what they could get from them, and returned nothing to the relationship. This client was mindful of what was happening, and yet continued to attract these same individuals because they like being the supportive one. They never received the support they needed as a child, and thought being the supporter that would be enough. It wasn’t! Once they were able to be truly authentic and raw with their feelings, and said the words out loud did they realize they were still not getting the support they needed.

I had another client who was an extremely successful business woman, and desperately longed for a family. However, her actions hindered her from successfully manifesting a family. She would say to anyone and everyone who would listen, “I so want a family”, and yet kept herself so wrapped up in her work-life there was no time for creating a family. When confronting her on this matter, she said, “I’m supposed to have a family”. With further dialogue she felt burdened to have a family, which she really didn’t want, and yet continued to harbor guilt and shame because she thought she was failing for not having one. She was torturing herself with the comparative game of “well, I’m supposed to (fill in the blank) because that’s what everyone else does”.

I knew a coach who had a client who suffered from PTSD after getting out of the military. This client wanted to release the baggage around the PTSD, and no matter what they tried they couldn’t seem to shake it. After some further digging it was discovered the client was unconsciously hanging onto the PTSD because if they released it their monthly financial income would be cut-off. Huge!

Fear will riddle us into really twisted believing ways.

So often we have no idea we are carrying around “gains” as reasons why we hang onto our baggage, but we do, otherwise we wouldn’t have a suitcase in the first place. Unearthing the “gain” is an essential key to releasing the baggage.

When these clients were able to earnestly look at their baggage, acknowledge what it was, why they were continuing to hold onto it, and what the pay-off was for keeping it all these years, they were able to free themselves from stress, anxiety, anger, fear, grief, shame, sadness, and hurt.

To be able to break-free and breakthrough baggage barriers is the most unbelievable experience.

Here’s the amazing thing…..the clients mentioned above along with so many others often seek out a coach, counselor or mentor to help them deal with the people or things outside of themselves, and it’s their belief these outside influences are causing the dis-ease in their lives, when in reality it’s all within them and their unwillingness to part with their baggage.

When they made the choice to clean out their baggage, they excelled in ways that were once only imaginable to them….they are NOW living a life that serves them very well.

What’s in Your Baggage?