There is No On/Off Switch

I am now into week four of my six weeks of crutching around with no weight bearing after my meniscus surgery. Going to physical therapy weekly and doing about an hour of it a day at home. Getting very anxious to get "this" behind me. Every time I talk to my physical therapist, I am so ready to hear that "this" is moving in the right direction and will be over soon. He, on the other hand, keeps telling me that there is no on/off switch. He says that there is simply a gradual, very gradual (you are in the basement of your recovery journey) process at work. I am so anxious to move on and get back to my life, but that is not happening, and he keeps reminding me of this truth. Every single time I walk into that physical therapy appointment, I am accosted by the reality of the present moment and nothing more.

I know I am not alone. A lot of us would like to simply flip a switch or walk through a different door and magically be in a different life. It's human nature for us Americans to want what we want, and want it NOW. It's not fair to ourselves to think life will work out that way.

This plays out with any kind of life change, self improvement project, relationship... so it bears repeating that slow and steady is what wins the race not fast and furious which creates frustration, disappointment and burnout. Some of us (me) have to relearn this lesson the hard way, more than once.

During this time on the couch, I have been working hard on the "mind game." How I look at my own life, how I look at time which seems to pass slowly, how one day turns into the same day which turns into "blurrrrrrsday" and how there is nothing I can do to feel better about any of it--other than SHIFT MY MINDSET and choose to look at things differently.

This is not the fun part. Not the best part. And yet, it is a necessary and important part of my precious life's journey. To be sure, I am learning a lot. Coaches get coached.

This brings me to you--my dear reader. This is a gentle reminder that it's all fragile. There is only so much we can control in our lives at any time.

The first thing we control--is what we let ourselves think. This is where it all starts. So, be kind, be compassionate, be forgiving, be patient and then keep going. Yes, you can.

xo Coach Karen :)) always in your corner