In recent times I have seen many friends, family, and acquaintances picking up the weight of the world. In a sense, this is like working out…in the worst way. If you start working out by trying to lift the biggest weight in the gym, then you will most likely injure yourself, at which point you will have to exercise other muscles that were not affected by the injury or push the workout plan back in order to recover, generally the result is the latter of those.
We do this same thing with tasks and media in our lives. We assign ourselves to a certain thought pattern of, ‘these are things that define me and my world’ when in reality we can sometimes sign on for more stress than legitimate growth. We can pick up the weight of the world by watching too much of the news, listening to peers who complain only to get sympathy, or consuming media that distracts or otherwise sells us on the idea that something that does not promote positive growth is ‘good for us’. We subscribe to ideas of anxiety and a conforming view of the world rather than a transforming one.
For me, this absurd weightlifting came from music for a while, listening to more brooding, or angsty music fostered the idea that whatever problem I encountered made me more resilient. It promoted the necessity for getting into arguments and hurting people who tried to help me, it said that I was fully capable of doing things on my own and opposition was just a misunderstanding. No matter what anyone says, we were never meant to carry things alone. This music promoted holding on to the past and marinating in the pain of the present, this was the world trying to take me down. Holding that weight all the time will ultimately be destructive because there is no time to rest and let muscles of wisdom and true resilience grow stronger. Looking back, it was never about the weight of the music, it was about how/when I picked it up. Improper timing was using it to amplify a time when I was feeling badly and improper form was the source I found the music in. Eventually, I did work out how I consumed music and now it does not hinder my growth like it used to.
The weights you pick up may not be negative things, but the method and times which you pick them up may be destructive. A way you can test if what you consume is helpful is if it pushes you to your ultimate goal, or improves an aspect of your life that facilitates positive change. Most times it takes moments of clarity, open connection with people, and contemplation to discern what is helpful. Building systems to analyze what weight is appropriate for each moment in life is extremely important. If you went to the gym without a plan then you probably wouldn’t be as productive as you would with one. Life is the same way, we need to develop a plan of attack for our responsibilities otherwise we get wrapped up in some sort of wacky CrossFit routine, trying to do every move and bend ourselves every direction just because ‘the gym rats said this will make me better’. Sometimes, the plan will be to rest, giving new muscles time to form before attacking the next project, a crucial step in growing muscle.