If It Doesn't Serve You, Then Toss It

Yesterday, I told my Sunday fitness class participants that I won't be teaching that class anymore after this month. After taking on a full-time night job, there are just some things I need to cut out. Sadly, that had to be one of them.

However, I've been thinking about dropping that class for the longest time. First of all, the pay is just low and the pay won't make any worthwhile contributions to my needs. Second, the class wasn't really benefiting me (physically) all that much anymore. It did at first, but after a while, the benefits decreased. Third, I hardly had any faithful people. I would have one or two who would show up consistently to that class, but everybody else were the "regular irregulars" -- that is, those who came only when they feel like it.

So overall, I thought that the class was just a waste of my time. I could easily replace that class with something else that would benefit me much, much better.

Another thing I cut out was my gig at Macy's. I just recently got a seasonal position there. However, the pay wasn't as much as my other job paid, and I would have to find time to work in the day. This would mean no sleep for me -- no sleep and with little pay. The job was another waste of time. So, I had to let it go.

At this time, I am just cutting out all things that don't serve me. If it just wastes my time, then it is simply extra baggage that is weighing me down and keeping me from better things in life.

So many of us carry around that extra baggage that is slowing us down. Some of this baggage could be zapping our energy so that we don't have the strength to do better things. However, we keep this baggage because we think that one day it would be worth it.

Going back to that fitness class, I had hopes that maybe teaching it at the gym would help build a business for me. Maybe I could get clients that way. Maybe I could be such an awesome instructor that people would ask me, "Wow! Do you do personal training, too??" After 4 years of teaching that class, I only gained one personal training client -- and she isn't a client anymore.

With the lack of faithful people, the lack of pay, and the amount of time spent to prepare for that class, I realize that continuing to teach it would just be extra baggage that I don't need.

The thing about extra baggage is that you never need it! When I go to the store to buy one small item, the cashier would usually ask if I want a bag for it. I would always refuse a bag because I don't need it. It would just be one extra thing to handle. Now, if I had many items, then having a bag would serve me well. But for just one item? Having a bag would be extra baggage: it would not serve me.

How many of you are carrying extra baggage? If you're afraid to let go of this baggage, ask yourself how much is this extra baggage serving you. Is it really doing you any good, or are you just holding onto it "just in case?"

I am a minimalist. I ABHOR clutter. I ABHOR doing too much at one time. I ABHOR being too busy. Having little means freedom! Having an open schedule means that I am available for those who need me. Having the least amount of stuff means having the least amount of worries. I believe that a little could serve me much better than having a lot.

Right now with having a full-time job (which I never wanted, but due to necessity had to get), I can't have a lot of stuff going on, especially if none of it will serve me. The same for you: if you already have a full plate, you don't need to add on anything else that won't serve you.

I truly don't understand how parents want to be busy with their children. In addition to both parents having full-time jobs and the children having to go to school full-time, parents want to put their kids in Boy/Girl Scouts, tutoring, sports game, music lessons, etc., etc. That is just too much activity for a family! How much of those activities are truly beneficial and how much of them are just wasting time?

Sometimes, we have to do a big "life cleanse." We need to take away all the stuff that is causing more stress than good and keep the stuff that is actually benefiting us. When you try to keep everything, you will have nothing but stress. You will always be on the go, and you will feel like you're "doing everything, but going nowhere."

• Too much baggage weighs a plane down.
• Too much baggage weighs a car down.
• Too much baggage takes up too much space.
• Too much baggage gets in the way of important things.

Think about hoarders. You know, the people who hold onto EVERYTHING! Their houses are so cluttered that they aren't livable. They hold onto everything because they put equal value on everything. If the city learns the condition of their houses, the city would condemn the houses and force the tenants to live elsewhere until those houses are cleaned up. So because the hoarders held onto so much stuff, they lost their homes!

Don't be a hoarder with activities. Don't get involved in everything. Learn how to shake off all the baggage that you don't need so that you could make room for those things that you REALLY need. You don't need everything in life. You just need what will benefit you.