We have heard and use the term ‘we must listen to our bodies’ so much and more so when we are talking to others rather than listening to ourselves.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared my ‘health scare’ with you. This journey along with listening and talking to others has inspired me to write today’s blog.
I had a goal to walk the Tongariro Crossing with my walking group over the Canterbury Anniversary weekend. Despite my ‘health event’ I was still determined to do it! I’d been training for ages, that’s all our group was talking about AND it was our third attempt to do it. Of course I was still going to do it.
Bearing in mind the weekend trip was more than just the crossing, involved others and was only three weeks after the ‘health event’.
I was driven and kept my goal in my sights and nothing, absolutely nothing was going to change that. I had a plan and some measures to help ‘prove’ I was going to be able to do this. My plan was to do three walks over a week (my week two) to see how I managed and if, only if, I felt the trip was still doable would I do it. I was going to ‘listen to my body’.
The first walk went well, unpleasant (for me) but managed, the goal remained in my sight.
The second walk was much harder and really pushed myself (it was actually my normal training climb), and this really pushed me. I felt unconfident and was slow. As I ventured down the last decline the realisation that my trip, the crossing, my goal and plan of doing this was vanishing into thin air.
The decision was now made and hard as it was, I knew in my heart and head it was the right decision. I was going to have to ‘opt out’ of the trip and admit defeat. My body and the need for me to recover properly meant that the trip was not conducive to my recovery at all.
Was it admitting defeat or was it having a new goal?
The goal is recovering fully and once I’d adjusted my sights, adjusted my goal and ensured it was SMART, I felt better in myself, a sense of relief and confidence.
Sometimes in life, work and business, we have to make ‘hard calls’, and these hard decisions may be painful, but we know deep down they are the right decision made for the right reason.
What helped? Listening to myself, listening to my body AND listening to others. Defeat means overcoming something, and that’s what I did.
My message to you all reading this, is of course – ‘listen to your bodies’ and your health. Without our health we are helpless. Our health is precious, and we must take care of it at ALL costs.
Are you listening to your body? Start now if not..
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