I didn't think it would be this heavy. The lop-sided backpack I've got strapped to me, that is. I had everything I thought I would need to help me reach the top. I ignored the warning from my friends, who said there were many things in my backpack I didn't need. They kept saying not to bring anything that wasn't essential. "Well of course everything in here is essential," I told myself. How could I possibly scale such a height without all the items I might need? I wasn't about to leave anything behind.
The beginning of the hike is nothing.You have relatively no problems. Feeling proud, you laugh and think about your friend's warnings. "They thought I couldn't handle such a load. They obviously don't know how strong I am. Glad I didn't listen to them." But soon, little by little, the terrain starts getting steeper. Your heart starts speeding up to keep up with the strain. On a particularly steep area, when your backpack becomes increasingly cumbersome, one part of you will say, "OK- maybe some of this stuff needs to go." With a quick response, though, your other half will say, "Never! I need everything in here!"
So you will keep climbing. Your back becomes distorted as you attempt to manage all the weight, and the straps start rubbing your skin raw. You try not to notice, but it's apparent you haven't used the majority of the items in your backpack. By the time you reach the peak, your body is throbbing and every movement racks you with pain. You've "made it" but you can't enjoy the view because of how tired you are. You finally take off the backpack, and toss it to the ground. Immediately you loathe it. You loathe that you brought it. You loathe that most of the items inside didn't even bring you any help.You loathe that you didn't enjoy the challenging hike you just made, because the entire journey was focused on carrying that stupid backpack.
Trust me. You don't want to miss out on the reward of a challenging hike because you were too absorbed in how heavy your load was. A load you didn't even need to begin with. Lighten your load before it is too late.
