Sunday, February 26, 2023

When Will I Learn?

 I swear...I will never learn this very, very hard lesson: I need to pace myself.

I jumped on the treadmill yesterday afternoon and walked 40 minutes at a brisk pace (I could have gone longer) and then did my toning exercises on my yoga mat. Not content with this alone, I decided to do the dishes, vacuum, and oh yes, clean the blades on the two ceiling fans in our house.

After I finished with the second ceiling fan, I knew I'd made a serious error. My body had told me earlier to stop, but did I listen? No. I kept pushing. 

A few hours later, I was exhausted and in pain. I knew I'd wake up the same the next day, and you guessed it, that's what happened.

Today I had plans to go watch my nephew play basketball, take a walk with my boyfriend, and get some other things done. Instead, all I did was sit in my chair and watch tv. 

I could be mad at myself, but what would that accomplish? Absolutely nothing.

I almost, almost thought about getting on the treadmill and just doing a few minutes, but what would that have accomplished? Nothing. It would have made me feel worse. So instead, I found a new show to watch - the new Perry Mason series on HBO Max - and relaxed as much as possible.

When I have good days, I want to accomplish everything I can, but that is not what pacing is about. Pacing is about doing a little bit every day and most importantly, listening to my body. If my body has the red light flashing in my brain, I need to listen to it instead of ignoring it. 

How many times have I told myself this? Numerous. 

I need to start letting go of this mentality so prevalent in our society, that we must keep pushing, keep doing, keep achieving. If I want to achieve the goals that really matter to me, it means I must stop pushing and stop doing. 

Apparently easier said than done.




4 comments:

  1. Awww, why DO we do that? It does seem to be something we're taught to do... keep pushing. "no pain no gain" (Whoever came up with THAT winner??) etc. Maybe for some, it actually works. But you do need to listen to your body, as it will not steer you wrong. Rest up and I hope you are feeling up to stuff soon!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Doing better today. I slept all morning. LOL.

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  2. Back in my Broadway days, I got injured and was in bad shape. The doctor looked at me and said, "You're allowed to call it pain before it makes you pass out." Every now and again, I have to remind myself of that.

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    Replies
    1. That's a great quote. I hate that I never have days without pain.

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