When I look back on my life, every time I successfully stepped out of my comfort zone and into an uncomfortable place (and successfully came back with something greater) was when I was willing. I need not know immediately the direction or the who's or what's of the happenings, I simply needed to know I was willing.
I have a story for you, one that seems to inspire people so I'll share it with you.
January 12th, 2014, I ended up in Dominican Hospital with a broken femur after a "freak" accident on my mountain bike at the local pump track. I went into emergency surgery and got to lay up in a hospital bed for a week to think about things. Those were some tough times and they kept coming.
The doctors put me on Norco to try to manage all the pain I was in, which led me down the opioid rabbit hole. I had fallen asleep in my cereal at breakfast, startled out of my sleep by nightmares, dark thoughts wanting to end it all. The scary part was that I could not stop the medications cold turkey even after only 1-2 weeks, since my body had already created a dependency on the medications. I chose to half the doses, then half, then stop. Pump in some extra drugs on top of that Valium for my leg spasms and all sorts of drugs, I decided it was getting out of hand and that I needed to do something to get my health back.
Looking back, this is precisely when s***t got real: I turned to face my situation, in all it's uglyness, darkness, it's paradoxical loss and potential, and asked silently asked myself "Am I willing to do what it takes to get my health back?". It was a clear YES and found that was all I needed to turn my life around. I extremely motivated to do whatever it took to rid the medications, cope with the pain, learn to walk, improve my strength, increase my overall health and flexibility. My other option of Not being willing meant that I'd be limited in mobility and falling into a path decrease the quality (and perhaps quantity) of my life. I needed a better future, and as fast as I possibly could.
I chose to stick to my physical therapy program, to work diligently and precisely on my program, which I did every morning along with my meditation and being consistent overtime has really paid off. Fast forward through to Fall 2019 when I FINALLY freed myself from the physiological pain I was continuing to have 5 years after injury.
From there I broke free like a wild animal with an unbreakable will.
When the doctors said "I wouldn't get your hopes up..."I was totally freaked out, but found my resolve since I knew deep down what I had to do.
I had to be Willing
to give everything into being Willing
Willing to do what it took to get my health back.
And I have AND it's paid off in multiples. I'm in the best shape of my life and I now run regularly 15-25 miles per week, run a monthly half marathon and working towards a full marathon. I feel happy and healthy in my body and dedicate my mornings to my health, not being productive, for the sake of my health.
Along my rehab journey and recovery I have found a few of the following insights helpful to understand:
The quality of your life is measured by how you feel inside.
and,
Take care of your body, it's the only one you have.
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed my article and a more personal share on how my recovery journey has informed my everyday life. I hope you find it inspiring and helps you stay motived to come back stronger!
I hope you've enjoyed this article and found value as it applies to your everyday life.
Stay tuned for more articles and insights.
Cheers,
Brian Spear