November 25, 2025
Sometimes the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day team up like a buddy-cop duo determined to kick in the door of your soul and start reorganizing the furniture. Today is one of those days. The Thought of the Day, “Just because I carry it well, doesn’t mean it’s not heavy”, pairs perfectly with the Question of the Day: “What’s something you’ve been carrying for so long that you’ve forgotten you can put it down?”
I didn’t expect these two to hit as hard as they did, but here we are. So let’s unpack the bags we’ve been hauling around. Some of them have handles. Some of them do not. Some of them have wheels that absolutely do not roll straight.
Either way, we’re going in.
Thought of the Day: Just because I carry it well, doesn’t mean it’s not heavy
There are seasons of life where you get really good at pretending your load is light. You smile. You keep walking. You tell everyone you’re fine. You answer work emails like a responsible adult. You reply to texts with the enthusiasm of a Labrador. You push through because that’s what you do.
And people believe it. They assume you’re doing great because you make it look easy. Meanwhile, you’re walking around with the emotional equivalent of a dual-axle trailer hitched to your spine.
Sometimes you carry stress so well that even you forget it’s there. It blends into the background, like the hum of your refrigerator or the smell of your car after your kids spilled something “mysterious” under the backseat. It’s not good, but you’ve adapted.
The danger is that when you’re strong, people forget to ask if you’re tired. And when you’re capable, people forget to ask if you need help. And when you’re really good at managing chaos, people assume you’re just built for chaos.
But here’s the thing: strength doesn’t make the weight lighter. It just makes it more manageable. And carrying something well doesn’t mean it’s effortless. It just means you’ve learned how to balance it without dropping it on your foot.
Because if there’s anything I’m learning, it’s that most people are carrying something they don’t talk about. And half the time, they’re carrying it because they can’t imagine what life would look like if they put it down.
Which brings us to the Question of the Day…
Question of the Day: What’s something you’ve been carrying for so long that you’ve forgotten you can put it down?
Oof.
This one hits like a sack of wet laundry, not heavy enough to kill you, but annoying enough to make you reconsider all your life choices.
Most of us carry invisible weight: expectations we didn’t set, responsibilities we didn’t ask for, fears we didn’t choose, guilt we didn’t earn. Sometimes we carry the pressure to be the “strong one.” Sometimes it’s the belief that everything will collapse if we loosen our grip even a little. And sometimes it’s a story we’ve been telling ourselves for so long that we forgot it was optional.
The truth is, we often carry things out of habit, not necessity.
Maybe you’ve been carrying the expectation that you have to say yes to everything.
Maybe you’ve been carrying that voice in your head that says you’re only worth what you accomplish.
Maybe you’ve been carrying the belief that you always have to be the calm one, the stable one, the one who doesn’t break.
Or maybe you’re carrying the memory of something that should have expired years ago but somehow still has a lease in your chest.
Whatever you thought of when you read this question, that’s the thing. That’s the weight. And the wild part? You can set it down. Maybe not all at once. Maybe not today. But it is not welded to you.
You get to choose what you carry.
If you want to explore this idea even deeper, you might like this one:
👉 This one about spending day after day not caring
Because the first step to putting the weight down is noticing it’s there.
Your Turn
I’d love to hear your answer. Seriously.
What’s something you’ve been carrying for so long that you forgot you can put it down?
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