by Lauren Denos
Sometimes shit goes sideways. And I admit, at first, it can take the wind out of my sails. But then I have to take a step back, detach a bit from the emotion behind it, and ask myself, what is the message or lesson here?
The most recent example was when I was getting bored with my regular fitness routine, as in my weights, cardio, etc. I wanted something different, something I could create a goal out of to give me a bit more oompf again. So I thought I would make some big hiking goals. I love hiking, I have done some long-distance hiking in the past, and it works so well with my passion for photography and adventure.
I bought a new camera/hiking bag and got some great new hiking boots since I had been hiking in my running shoes. I was ready to go. Weeeelllll something not everyone knows, but I was born with a thing called ridged flat feet which can make for really painful feet, and now it has turned to pretty bad arthritis in my feet to where one of my toe joints is almost fused. Usually it is okay, and I push through it, but some flair-up is going on, and hiking hurts like a bitch. This was a serious buzz kill since I put a decent amount of thought into what I wanted to make for my fitness goal and even bought new gear for it. So I thought, no big deal, I will just hit the treadmill and work back up through the pain, I have done it before, and I can do it again. But then more pains started, now the tops of my feet have muscles that are hurting, and an old injury in my hip is hurting, my lower back is hurting, and having some pretty big fatigue issues, it is a bitch. So yeah, I have had some days that this gets to me, but there are a few different things I can do.
I can let myself be a ball of misery and give up ooooooorrrrr
I can work around it. That is the first thing I can do. This is where I look at workouts that I can do that cause no pain to my feet, like weight training, swimming, or bike riding. I can do those more regularly to keep my body in shape.
I can also work to strengthen the areas that are having issues. Strengthen my core more, do more mobility movements, do more stretching, and work my feet for as long as they can handle it, and keep doing it throughout the day.
I can look at what other things need to change. What things can be making the issue worse? Holding too much weight can be an issue for feet and joints in general. I can look at reducing my inflammation. And all of this can be done through diet alone, so besides my love of good food, no body issues are holding me back from this solution.
I can look at the lessons or messages in the “problem.” I truly believe things happen in our lives to guide us in a different direction. I have had this happen a few times in my life, complete course changes. At the time of the change, I had no understanding of what was happening, but looking back, I can see how it shifted what I was doing and focusing on. Now we do not always know why things are happening when they happen. But I think if we can stop and look at the situation and what we are being guided away from and towards, we can see some potential of why we are going through something.
Issues that spring up are not ever an excuse to give up or stop progressing in life, it is simply an opportunity to learn something new and grow in a new direction that we may not have been open to otherwise.