lose the baggage…..
When I was growing up my sisters and I were given very little from our father. I don’t mean material things I mean the fatherly type of giving. Giving of himself to his kids.
He did give alot but it was all to himself. It was always for him and about him.
So as kids we didn’t understand that he was so self-centered. We just thought it was something we were doing that made him ignore us emotionally. So we grew up always trying to please him to get his attention. This made us become “pleasers” as adults.
A pleaser is usually a very nice person because they are always trying to please everyone. Unfortunately they end up doing everything for everyone else and neglecting their own needs. In my case this behavior can make for a very unhappy person.
It wasn’t until later in my 30’s that I began to understand that it wasn’t me… it was him that had the problem. He was the one that had no or little capacity to love. I learned one important lesson from this and it was that I would never treat my kids the way he treated his. Some might say now that I was too nice to my son….and that may be the case. But I can judge my role as a father by the fact that even at 20 my son is not afraid to publically display affection for his Dad.
So the point of all this? Lose the baggage! You don’t need to continue to drag those bad memories around like baggage in the airport. Don’t let it hold you back from being everything you can be. Recognize and acknowledge the fact that you do not have to let it affect your life from today on.
It’s never to late to change!