I wrote this blog during my time as a CrossFit coach. After spending the last week down and out with the flu, I came back to what I wrote over a year ago. It helped me while dealing with my sickness, and I thought it might be appropriate timing to share it again.
Most people with an active lifestyle have experienced some kind of setback, and generally it’s an ill-timed sickness or an injury (is there EVER a good time for one of those?!). It can be extremely frustrating, sometimes downright scary, and often requires adjusting your “normal” routine. Maybe you have to dial back the intensity or number of workouts you’re doing, or perhaps there are things you just have to take a total break from. Sometimes a medical professional gives you news you don’t want to hear based on an x-ray or MRI or some other test. That could mean just a temporary disruption of your level of activity or…more than that. Think, that dreaded 7-letter word surgery, or perhaps something as serious as a terminal diagnoses. For those of us who have developed the habit of working out daily or getting outside and moving frequently, these things can, yes, derail us physically but they can totally crush us mentally. We can go from the highest high to the lowest low with a single lift, fall, or doctor’s visit.
Before you tune out due to the seemingly depressing place this is heading, hear me out…our attitude determines our experience. We can choose to look at a bump (ranging from a minor speed bump to Mount Everest) in the road as an obstacle or an opportunity. It is really easy to go down a path of focusing on everything you could do before and can’t do now. It is a huge bummer when something like this happens, especially because it often seems like an injury or illness follows a time where we actually feel like we’re making improvements in our performance or are just starting to get to a good place. We ask, “why now?”, “why me?”, and we can experience a range of negative emotions. I can’t answer those questions for you all and am certainly not advocating a “get over it” mentality. However, from personal experience, I’ve seen that there is often an opportunity and things to be learned from a setback.
Recently, I’ve dealt with a few injuries that have sidelined me from what I’m used to doing daily and after going through a range of thoughts and feelings, have seen some opportunities arise from my obstacles that I thought I’d share.
First of all, it’s been a chance to really take a good look at the things I’ve taken for granted (oftentimes my health and abilities) and return to gratefulness for what I do have and can do. Second, it has shown me the importance of empathy and humility; when we can open our eyes to what others around us are dealing with, it’s humbling and redirects our overall perspective. Perhaps lending them an ear of genuine concern and care is more important than your agenda for the day. Third, it has given me the time to look at what I’m valuing and what I’m finding our worth and identity in and do some self-evaluation to see if my priorities are in line with what I say is important to me.
None of this means these experiences are easy. They can be downright tough and even completely tragic.
When I think of someone who hasn’t let bad circumstances define them, I think of Kevin Ogar. If you don’t know who he is, look him up; it’s worth the time. In January of 2014 he was paralyzed from the waist down after a weightlifting accident. If you check out his Instagram page, there are a few posts from the weekend the accident occurred (prior to the incident) and then nothing for a month. The very next post is a video of him re-learning how to swim. No hospital photo. No “poor me” photo. No “look at what happened to me…isn’t it horrible? photo. Just photos of him moving forward. Doing what he could with what he had. Embracing his new normal. I’m sure he went through all the emotions, questions, and had moments of total despair, but he also chose to turn this giant obstacle into a chance to take on life as being full of new opportunities.
Pretty inspiring isn’t it?
Thanks, Dawn… brought back memories the time I lost my kidney, had several smokejumper injuries and then those pesty heart issues….all times to slow down and change my regular routine and that was difficult for me but as time pasted God showed me reasons why these setbacks happened. Keeping a positive attitude inspired me, my family and all those around me……truely hastening my recovery. Thx u Dawn, love, dad.
Love the above baby-are you talking to me? That’s my situation to a T-and you’re absolutely right-get the pity party out of the way then move forward using the challenges to learn from and get stronger!