Losing weight is an incessant theme in our country. And, though it’s good for some people, I think most people could benefit from losing the weight they carry from emotional baggage instead.

We live out the scripts from our past. It’s no different than acting out a part in a play. In childhood, you learned, if you encounter “this,” you react like “that.” The psychological truth is this: If something looks, sounds, and feels like something else, we react as though it is that “something else.” So, for example, your reaction when called to your boss’s office is the same as Mom saying, “Get in here. I want to talk to you.”

When are the scripts handed out? At moments in your life that caused you great emotion: The time your brother got the new bike and you didn’t. The time when you were punished for something you didn’t do. The time you felt Dad chose work over being with you at that important game. The time Mom was drunk when you were scared to death and needed her.

When something new comes along that causes you to feel angry, sad, jealous or fearful, your subconscious mind doesn’t have any other way to deal with it than what you’ve learned when you were young. Unless we become conscious of subconscious “programming,” we don’t change. It’s not that we can’t, or won’t. We just don’t because we haven’t learned anything different. Case in point: When was the last time you thought about HOW you tie your shoes, or even wondered if there was a better way?

Much of the learning we receive growing up is just fine. But a lot of it is “baggage.” That is, we have an emotional reaction to historical pain. And, not only do we have bags filled with ancient history’s baggage, we have current bags of baggage too. Not getting last year’s Christmas bonus, getting fired, getting into that accident, breaking up with your girlfriend – all can cause emotions that you stuff into the bags you carry (or cram into the U-Haul truck of baggage you drive around).

Sometimes a person needs some therapy to deal with baggage. There might even be a need for a “cleansing” technique to process stored emotion. But for most of your current baggage (and possibly for some historical baggage), there is a simple concept you can use…Let it go.

Since you’re the one who is holding on to it, you’re the one who can let it go. Many philosophies state that the greatest act of love is to “let go.” Letting go is at the core of unconditional love. It is at the core of unconditional acceptance. It is at the core of not being attached to anything.

But this concept, this Nudge, doesn’t have to be a BIG concept. My intention is to have it be a little one…but a powerful one. Know this: When something happens, after it’s done, there’s nothing you can do about it. Every ounce of energy thinking about it, worrying about it, reacting to today’s event as if it were like yesterday’s event – all of that is wasted energy and robs you of your power of choice.

So, here’s my idea. You’ll often hear, “It is what it is.” That phrase is said about something that is currently happening that can’t be changed. How about using an additional phrase as you think about the “stuff” in your bags of baggage – “It was what it was.”

Then, let go! Just…let go.

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This article is part of our ongoing Achievement Nudge series—short, witty, and often inspirational articles to spark your personal and professional growth. Explore more nudges on our blog, or sign up for our weekly Nudge and News email. Each edition includes an Achievement Nudge plus leadership, professional development, and personal growth videos and articles to keep you inspired and on track.