I want to talk about something that I recently wrote about in a chapter that got published in a book.
And that's a really big milestone for me because I always dreamt of publishing my own book.
So having this chapter published,
It feels like the first step for me towards that bigger dream.
So what I talk about in this chapter is your inner carry-on.
So I want to dive into this topic today with you.
What does that even mean,
An inner carry-on?
So imagine that you prepare yourself for a big trip.
To travel or to move abroad.
You pack your suitcase,
You prepare your passport,
Your charger,
Your clothes,
Whatever you want to take on this journey,
Right?
But there's one thing that most people often forget.
And that's actually the thing that weighs you down the most.
And this is the concept of your inner carry-on.
So what do I mean with that?
Your inner carry-on,
You could think about the suitcase within yourself,
Which is packed with your beliefs,
Your habits.
Your limitations,
Your fears,
Your doubts,
How you see the world,
Your perspectives,
And everything that makes you,
You.
But part of that is also,
For example,
Programming,
Or how you feel like you should live your life,
Or worries about what other people might think of you,
Or this feeling of not feeling enough,
Or feeling like you're too much,
Or feeling like you're keeping yourself small,
Or holding yourself back.
I'm sure you can relate to at least a few of these,
Because these are universal.
And these are all things that we all struggle with from time to time.
And that actually is what makes us go on this inner journey towards personal growth.
And the thing about this inner carry-on is that unlike physical luggage that we take with us,
We often don't even know what we're carrying with us.
When we prepare our suitcase,
We know exactly what we put in most of the time.
But with this inner carry-on,
We might be having some stories we've told ourselves in the past,
Some beliefs or patterns we have been carrying maybe already since our childhood.
There's so many things that are inside this inner carry-on that we have perhaps no idea of,
That we still have them.
And that's the part that weighs us down.
So what happens is that you might think that you're exhausted because of some circumstances,
But what could also be possible is that you are exhausted because what you have been carrying with you.
And I can very much relate to that myself.
That's why I share this example,
Because I've been on this journey of letting go of a lot of this weight that I didn't,
For a long time,
Didn't even realize that I was carrying with me.
And over time I started to feel burned out and have these depressive feelings and I was feeling very exhausted and I was like,
Where is this coming from?
And it led me to really go on this journey within my inner carry on and I started looking like,
Hey,
What is in there?
What are the stories that I've been telling myself?
What are the patterns that I have adopted over time that are actually not serving me?
What are the thoughts or the fears or doubts that I have?
Where are they even coming from?
And it's this whole unpacking.
And funny thing,
When I started my business Unpacked by Veer,
I started my coaching business five years ago,
But the name Unpacked by Veer was born about two years before that.
It started as a blog in which I started sharing my experiences of living in Australia and not the things that you often see in travel blogs of,
Oh,
This is the best restaurant or this is where you should go.
But it was really about the mindset and the challenges that come up with living abroad.
So at that time,
I didn't know that eventually that would lead to coaching people through that journey,
But it all started with that little idea at that time that we carry this luggage with us that we have no idea about,
And it weights down our travels,
Our travels through life.
And the more you can let go of that weight,
The more you can become lighter inside,
The freer you will feel on the outside as well.
So let's say about seven,
Eight years ago.
That seed was already planted that now I wrote this chapter of the inner carry-on about.
So it's really cool to see how I've,
Through my own journey,
Through figuring out what this inner carry-on meant for me,
How I can now connect all the dots and it has led from that little idea of starting a blog to now having published a chapter in a book.
But that's a side note,
So let's get back to the whole concept.
So we often think that places change us or different circumstances will change us.
For example,
You might think,
Oh,
When I move abroad,
I will finally be happy.
Or when I meet my partner,
I will finally be happy.
Or when I change jobs or when I get this promotion,
Then I finally will be happy.
So we keep on postponing our happiness or our fulfillment to the future.
And we make it dependent on circumstances outside of ourselves.
But what happens is that wherever you go,
You take yourself with you.
And if you never look inwards,
Then you keep on carrying that with you.
So eventually you can,
For example,
Move to the most beautiful place in the world,
But you're still the same person if you never go through this inner journey.
And similar fears might show up,
Or you notice certain patterns that might come back to the surface.
Maybe in the beginning,
Everything is new and you're in this sort of honeymoon phase that people often call it,
And you forget about those things.
But after a while,
When life catches up on you,
You realize,
Oh,
I still have the same doubts.
I still have the same fears.
I still have the same worries,
Or patterns,
Or habits,
Or I'm still holding myself back.
I still feel insecure in however that may show up for you in your life.
So that's why I find this concept of the inner carry on and that's wherever you go,
You take yourself so important.
And that's why I share so much about it,
Because often people get stuck in the logistics of doing something,
Of moving countries,
Of changing careers,
Having this promotion and feeling like,
Oh,
If I just get to this point,
Everything will be fine.
But it doesn't work like that.
So let's flip this for a moment and let's actually look at what belongs in your inner carry-on.
So if you were intentionally packing your inner luggage today,
What would you choose?
What would you put in it?
For example,
Would you put in confidence,
Compassion?
Empathy,
Joy.
Excitement,
Curiosity,
Resilience.
Patience,
Presence,
Perhaps you would pack a growth mindset.
Instead of a limiting mindset.
Perhaps you want to focus on abundance instead of scarcity,
Whatever it might be for you,
Right?
And it could start with your values,
Really looking at,
Okay,
What are my most important values?
What are my priorities in life?
Perhaps you also want to pack a social part of you that's not afraid to show up.
To talk to people,
To connect,
To create new connections,
Create a new network,
A community.
Perhaps you would also pack someone who really knows what she wants in her life,
Or has this deep purpose or meaning.
Perhaps you would also pack this feeling of home,
That you feel like you could belong anywhere you go.
But perhaps part of it is also unpacking,
As I said before.
It's not actually what you want to put into that inner suitcase,
That inner carry-on,
But what you want to get out.
Perhaps there are certain beliefs that you used to have that you feel like are not serving you anymore.
Perhaps.
There are certain habits that you feel like,
Oh,
Actually this doesn't work for me.
Why am I even doing this?
Perhaps unhealthy habits that you know are not serving you.
For example,
Staying up too late or.
.
.
Scrolling on your phone too long.
We all have these certain habits that are very hard to get rid of,
Right?
And becoming aware of those can really already help you to make that shift.
Awareness is always the first step.
Perhaps there's something else in your inner carry-on that you feel like,
Oh,
This is really holding me back in life.
I would love to shift that.
So as much as it's thinking about what you want to put in,
Is also thinking about how you would like to unpack.
That inner carry on.
I have a few questions for you that can help you to reflect on this.
And perhaps you'd like to journal on it.
Perhaps you'd like to have a conversation with a friend or your partner about this.
And perhaps you want to share this with someone else and talk about what came up for you both.
So some of the questions you can ask yourself to reflect on this is,
What am I still carrying with me that is no longer serving me?
And which parts still serve me?
Which parts are taking up space that I no longer need.
And if I could leave one emotional item.
Or one mindset item or growth item.
If there's one thing I could leave at the airport.
What would it be?
And what would I take instead?
So this is just my invitation for you to be very intentional with what you carry around.
Not just what you put in your suitcase literally when you go on a trip,
But what you are actually carrying.
Within yourself.
So I hope this inspired you to reflect on this and to notice,
Okay,
What are the things that are actually not serving me anymore?
And how can I unpack the things that I want to let go of so that I create more space?
To feel lighter within and to be able to then also travel lighter through life.
And for now,
I want to thank you so much for listening and I will see you in the next one.
