Wiggle Your Big Toe

A hilarious picture of me in a post-surgical opiate coma

When we're young, most adults make sure to tell us that we can achieve, accomplish, and be anything we want, as long as we put our minds to it.  Somewhere between kindergarten and graduating high school, however, most of us seem to lose sight of that.  We give up on our dreams and goals because they are "unrealistic," or because we lack some trait or advantage in life, despite the fact that thousands have already achieved the same exact goal we are abandoning.

Without going into too much detail on what Lloyd Irvin would call "the spooky stuff," it will suffice to say that even as adults, we can do anything we put our minds to.  But we usually face two big obstacles on the road to our goals: ourselves, and everyone else.

Obstacle #1

I mentioned last time the concept of positive affirmation - or, more simply, actively believing in yourself.  When dealing with ourselves, the first problem is usually inaction.  We like to wait for the "right time," or until we are "more prepared" because we think we aren't good enough right now.  But before we reach the right level of preparation, we abandon the goal.  We get sidetracked, deciding it isn't worth the time and effort, or that we aren't capable.

But even if you force yourself to make a plan and take the first steps toward a goal, you have to sincerely believe that you will accomplish it.   If I decided to walk 10,000 miles, I would have to take the first step at some point.  The "inaction" component is that most people will not decide when or where to take the frist step.  But even after I map it out and start walking, I have to know that I will make it, as long as I have food, water, and time (hopefully, this was accounted for in the plan!).  As goofy as it sounds, simply reminding yourself that the goal is attainable and that you will attain it will keep you from giving up and lead you to success.  That's the positive affirmation aspect.  The mind, visualization, belief...it's all very powerful stuff!

Obstacle #2

But once we get a handle on ourselves, we come to the next obstacle: everyone else.  Most people are stuck in their own mediocrity and can't even believe in themselves, let alone truly believe in any one else.  So you get the nay-sayers, the doubters, and the negative influences.  People who scoff at your goals and suggest you can't do it.  There's a million ways to deal with these people, but all I will say is that you can't have the negativity surrounding you if you want to succeed.

So what does all this have to do with my recovery?  Well, I had my surgery on Tuesday, and was back in physical therapy yesterday.  I've already shared a little bit about how hard it's been for me to stay positive and move toward my ultimate recovery goals, i.e., overcoming obstacle #1.  Today, in physical therapy, I swear to you it was like a scene from Kill Bill trying to get certain parts of my leg working right:

There you go.  Positive affirmation at its finest.  Someone who knows what they have to do, so they decide they are going to do it, then they do it.

So, despite the struggles, I'm doing good.  I've got a plan and I'm keeping my spirits high.  But here comes "everyone else," telling me when I can do this, when I I'll be able to do that, how it will be forever until I can do this again, or won't ever be able to do that again.  If only these people knew that I can do whatever I want if I really put my mind to it...but that's the beauty of positive affirmation.  You don't really need anyone else to believe in you.  I already know what's going to happen and I'm just excited to watch it unfold!