Walking the Tightrope

Chapter 6. Balance and Emotional Baggage: What's Keeping You Down?

We all have it. We go through life lugging behind us a giant trunk full of emotional baggage. For some of us, the load is light. For others, the trunk might as well be a moving van—the really big one. Some of the things we lug around with us are from childhood. Other baggage can be from the more recent past. Though you often hear psychologists talk about “family of origin,” “dysfunctional families,” and the like, not all our baggage wounds have to do with Mom and Dad. In fact, wounds from our careers can hurt almost as much: the bullying boss, the back-stabbing coworker, the unceremonious firing. When taking stock of your emotional baggage consider some of these scenarios:

• One or ...