Wednesday, December 17, 2025

What’s in Your Pockets?

Sometimes, we carry things that once mattered but no longer do. Keep what serves you well. Let go of what doesn’t

By Nathan Koslowsky, Representative

Pockets are one of those everyday things I rarely pay attention to until they’re too full and I can’t sit down comfortably. But if you stop and think about pockets for a moment, they’re a fascinating human innovation. In many ways, they’re like our own kind of marsupial pouch, borrowed from the animal kingdom—think koalas and kangaroos—used to carry what we need close to us as we go about our lives.

For creatures like marsupials, a pouch is all about function. It’s a safe place, sometimes home to young ones, sometimes just a practical way to manage life on the move. And we humans do something similar, carrying little bits of our world in our pockets: tools, loose change, cellphones, and keys. Useful things, for the most part.

When I worked for a roofing contractor in my late teens, I wore a tool belt every day. It didn’t take long for it to fill up, not just with the tools and fasteners I needed, but with things that didn’t belong there anymore, like specialty fasteners from past jobs and scraps of this or that, and somehow sticky roofing sealant—always that sticky roofing sealant. That’s when I learned that pockets and pouches don’t just hold what’s helpful, they can hold what’s outdated, unhelpful, or even harmful.

These days, I try to keep it simple: phone, wallet, keys. That’s about all I put in my pockets nowadays. But depending on what you do for a living, your “pocket” might need to carry entirely different tools: a tape measure, screwdriver, stethoscope, alcohol swabs, pen, box cutter, flashlight, tire pressure gauge, perhaps a notepad.

The point is, as a species, we carry things with us. Physically, yes, and emotionally and mentally, too. And that’s worth paying attention to.

Ask yourself: What’s in your pockets? Not just your literal pockets, but your metaphorical ones too. What have you picked up along the way? Are you still hauling around resentment from a workplace situation that ended long ago? Carrying fear or frustration that doesn’t really serve you anymore and is hindering you at work?

Just like with those unnecessary specialty roofing nails in my pouch back in the day, it’s good to empty out your pouch from time to time. Turn it inside out, look at what’s accumulated, and ask, is this still useful? Is this still needed?

Sometimes, we carry things that once mattered but no longer do. And those things take up space. They can weigh us down.

So, as we head into a new year, here’s your friendly reminder: give yourself permission to ruthlessly sort through the pockets of your life. Decide what stays and what goes. Keep what serves you well. Let go of what doesn’t.

Lighten the load. Keep just the essentials, whether tools for your trade or values for your journey. The rest? You’re allowed to set those down.

Your pockets should work for you, not against you.

What’s in Your Pockets?

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