159: Reader Mailbag 18
Your responses re: health, injury, recovery.
My last post explored my experiences with injury and rehab.
At the end, I asked :
What have you learned from injuries?What did rehab and recovery teach you?
You sent in some great replies!
🔽 🔽
I’ve learned that slow and steady wins the race.
The “world narrows before it expands” line is great.
The question I still have is whether it will ever expand back to the aperture I most want or if the aperture simply changes.
Finding a lot of similarities between this and postpartum life after an unexpected c-section! Especially considering the cognitive / emotional aspects when the injury or procedure is so physical.
For me, there’s an unexpected opportunity to stop, to reflect, to recalibrate - not only in body, but also in mind and in spirit. A chance to further understand what walking one’s path is all about, and to renew hope and pleasure in the endeavor.
Sometimes the trauma, injury, and uncertainty of future is so severe and relentless that recovery and healing take a back seat to survival.
Most often it's the heart that needs to heal.
Being helped can be hard. No one knows better than the injured and the old the chasm between needing help and wanting help.
The saving grace? Love.
We are fortunate to have spouses, family and friends who love us and who we love more. Who we know will come to our aid at the drop of a hat. The only obstacle that often stands in the way is our foolhardy notion of pride and self-reliance.
From coaching others and my own injuries, I've learned the following:
1. Comparison is NOT the thief of joy; the word "should" is. While comparison can yield positive feelings when you're looking downward, "should" implies a deficit. Old PRs, what your peers are doing, what you would be doing if you weren't injured have little bearing on reality; especially as we get older or manage injuries.
2. There's a major tendency to let an injury keep us from doing anything when it might only be truly preventing us from doing some things. Got a shoulder injury? Squat. Hammie injury? Strict press. Doing our best to flow around obstacles like an unabated stream is a huge mental challenge but the only way we get through recovery (and life???).
3. Celebrate every step forward.
Keep the replies coming!
Mailbag - The Fire Jar
Letters to the editor. Readers respond! 📫
The original post :
158: Injury and Recovery
Reflections on injury and rehabilitation.
Jeremy Finch