Client Story: Action is Where Things Happen

Fact #1 - We tend to do things backwards in our approach to health and wellbeing. When we have a goal in mind, or something we hope to change we WAIT for that "magical motivation" to find us...

And we wait...

And wait...

Fact #2 -

Action precedes motivation.

ACTION for so many who feel lost or stuck in their health goals IS THE MISSING INGREDIENT. Just take action. Ideally, small.

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A month ago, on our weekly call where we discuss habits, mindset etc, a client shared that she was dealing with some neck discomfort over the past 4-5 days. She was having a hard time turning her head one way in particular. She wasn't exactly sure what brought it on, but figured possibly sleeping wrong or something along those lines.

What was WONDERFUL was, she TOOK ACTION for herself.

She didn't wait for it to get better, she TRIED things;

• Voltarin

• Tylenol

• Heat

Let's quickly chat about why taking ACTION, as my client did in this example, helps us:

1. It INCREASES the chance of creating POSITIVE change. We can't change something by doing nothing. We can't CHANGE something by doing the same thing over and over. Many of us "say we know this" but then when a discomfort or frustration in our health happens, we DO NOTHING. Doing nothing increases the chances that NOTHING will change.

2. ACTION provides INFORMATION. By taking ACTION on our health, we gather KEY INFORMATION and FEEDBACK to HELP ourselves and a professional we may be working with (present or future). For example, my client was scheduled to see her physio a few days after her and I spoke when she shared this information. On our call, she could provide me info about what she had been DOING for her neck. That allows me to suggest some safe actions to progress, regress or add to see if we can positively impact her discomfort. This also provides information she can take to her physiotherapist at their next session. "Here are the things I tried, here are things that worked to provide temporary relief and here are some things that did not help". This allows her physio to more easily assess and progress the path to managing the injury.

   
   

3. SOME relief is better than NONE. By taking action, we can discover something that may provide even temporary relief from our discomfort. SOME relief is certainly better than NONE, and it allows us a means to manage our pain/discomfort until we can seek treatment and a more direct path.

Progressing suggestions for my client

In knowing what she had already been trying and that she was seeing her physio in a few days time, I was able to offer a couple suggestions in way of myofascial release work and gentle mobility that she could continue along with her heat (which was what gave her some temporary relief out of the things she tried). This way, she could continue her "experiment" until her physio assessed the situation specifically.

I suggested to my client, as I do in clients who aren't dealing with discomfort/injury - LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If something hurts, ease up OR stop. Take note of that. If it doesn't hurt, carry on within the limits of your body THAT DAY. Don't work against it and try to FORCE things, but rather work WITH YOUR BODY to promote recovery.

This ACTION approach works in ANYTHING in health (and life)

Some points to remember...

☯ Help YOURSELF feel better. If your efforts don't yield the change you're looking for, seek professional advice/guidance.

☯ Help discover what works and doesn't work; be it a minor ache/discomfort or a health goal. Try SMALL actions and see how it goes. LEARN whether it works for you or not. Adjust accordingly in SMALL progressions, regressions or change.

☯ We ARE nature. We don't live in nature, we are a PART of nature. NATURE, does what she will based on the stimulus we provide. Focus on providing a stimulus/environment where CHANGE can happen. By taking action, we can create an environment to heal, recovery, calm, strengthen, increase mobility and functionality in our body and more. By waiting, we don't change the stimulus or environment for nature (and our amazing physiology) to work it's magic.

☯ Keep it simple. If it hurts, ease up the intensity or stop doing what you're doing. If it's stressful, make it easier to fit into your day. If it's taking alot of time that you don't have, do less of what you're doing - but still do something.