I have arrived at the age in life where being physically active coincides with a steady drumbeat of small but manageable injuries.
And I’m learning a lot about how to heal.
Most of all, healing requires finding that Goldilocks sweet spot of consistently engaging the injured part of the body but not overdoing it.
So, not complete rest.
But not so much activity that I make things worse.
It has to be….juuuuuuust….right. For weeks, even months, without a lot of clear feedback that I’m making progress.
Two things occur to me:
First, for better or worse, this is a new lifetime skill. This means that I need to shift my mindset from “now that I’m injured, I’m taking a temporary break from my normal routine” to “recovery and prevention is part of my normal routine.”
And, second, this approach and mindset applies to overcoming our fears or areas where we feel blocked.
If we want to make progress, we can neither ignore the things we find difficult nor go straight at them, full bore.
We need to engage gently, safely, and consistently over time, and keep at it despite not seeing obvious signs of progress.
Change happens slowly, imperceptibly, but it does happen if we keep at it.
One day we wake up and discover that we’re at a different, better place thanks to our consistent attention and commitment.
