I had a conversation with one of our campers the other day about this phenomenon. She had a terrible injury and is cautious now. She and I are both hovering around the 50 year old mark, so have been hammer-heads for a good while now. (Hammer-head is my term for someone that just loves to go at physical activities with wild abandon, to pursue it seriously and somewhat blindly!) We’ve both operated from the space that when you hold back, when you’re cautious, that’s when you get injured – so we never held back, we’ve just gone for it, head down, pushing hard, never quitting til we hit the finish line. So now what do we do that we’ve been injured, don’t want to be injured again, that fear is making us cautious, we know being cautious is asking for injury, so we fear being injured again?
Sheesh! Crazy isn’t it? Some of you may know a little about my story, but this makes me think of what I went through mentally when I was recovering from my strokes. I didn’t know what was causing them, didn’t know when “the big one” was coming – or if it was, and I was so afraid that I couldn’t sleep. Well, not sleeping was a great recipe for having another one. I had to learn to just live in each moment and embrace it and be thankful that I had that moment and the experiences of the moment.
I’ve got to reach for that place where I’m not cautious anymore. I’ve got to get centered and find my confidence again. Have to let go of fear, it is an invitation to weakness.
Have you ever fallen down? And I mean that in more ways than just literally. Fallen down in life, on a project, or maybe not been the best spouse or parent? What about not being the best employer or employee? You have to learn to trust yourself again to hold that role, right? Set new standards for yourself to uphold and then uphold them. Make promises to yourself first and then keep them, then you’ll know you can trust yourself with the concerns of others.
I’m ready to get back up. I’m ready to embrace my moments in the now and step boldly, to trust my feet again. I’m heading to the starting line this Sunday. I know it’s going to translate over into the rest of my life the moment I get there. I can’t wait.
Do you need to hit the “Reset” button on anything? Physically, emotionally, mentally? Do you have any commitments you need to rewrite or maybe take a Mulligan on? You ready to start fresh and new again?
I have a couple of favorite sayings: “It’s like Italian race car driving. Snap off the rearview mirror. What is behind me does not matter.”
And Chinese proverb: “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”
Let’s get up and go. Let’s approach the line like it’s the first time. There’s no time like the present for a fresh start. I’m going to line up and go for it like I’ve never fallen down, like there’s no bad memories, like I can’t fall down again.
I’ll let you know how it goes next week. I’d love to hear from you about your own new fresh start. Your stories invigorate me! Please share.
Your Friend and New Again Racing Buddy,
Melanie
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