It sucks to be sidelined-in sports, life, whatever!  I have recently recovered from surgery that occurred just as I was getting on a real roll with progress in my beloved fitness and health program.  How humbling.  But it taught me a few things…

1.  I am not going to heal any quicker than anyone else (ok, in general) so I better just suck it up and be good.
2. It is easy to slip back into bad habits.  And darn it if my surgery didn’t occur right before Halloween, the little candy bars flooding my house…
3. I must keep my eye on the bigger picture, the future goals…but the short term goals must change.  But they are just that-short term goals.  I tell my patients this all the time…this is just a short period of your life when you are recovering or trying to get out of pain or whatever the problem may be.  Your short term goal right “now” is to get back to that path, so let yourself heal!
4. It is easy to be jealous of or even angry at those who are not injured, who are going about their activity with ease.  I was also angry at my own body, for not acting like it should and needing surgery.  Now what good does that do?  Absolutely nothing but make me eat little candy bars in self pity.

Another big hit that I wasn’t prepared for was the feeling of not being a part of the “team” anymore.  The team that was practicing, working out, encouraging each other.  Yeah, my friends encouraged me to “hang in there,” but I wasn’t doing what they were doing anymore.  I was an outsider.  Enter in feelings of the past…more little candy bars…

When I was in middle school, I had to have major surgery on my shoulder.  Looking back on my surgical report as a now physical therapist, I do not know how that thing was still attached (and I have a huge, huge amount of love for my surgeon who fixed it!).  There was absolutely no choice-major surgery.  So out of the pool I went.  I did my therapy and was good.  Return to swimming was slow, there was little support from my coach (I don’t think he even believed I had HAD surgery, despite the scars), and often resentment from those who were having to train more than I could.  That surgery enabled me to swim in high school and college, but I always knew even through those years many did not understand why there were some things I couldn’t do.  That is an awful feeling.  A feeling of being not good enough, and not healthy enough to ever be.  A little later add in a knee overuse injury and my entire path I had set since I was young changed.

At this point in my life I have to say WHAT THE HELL?!  What I wouldn’t give to be doing what everyone else was doing!  Why did they care so much about what I was or was not doing, when it was their own goals they should be focused on?  And recently, what I would have given to be attacking my workouts and having fun doing it….

So the commercial with the line “stay in your lane, bro” comes to mind.  Do not worry about everyone else’s journey.  That is theirs to worry about.  Do not let their thoughts, words, etc about your journey cause you to drift from your own path.  Easy?  Not at all.

Surround yourself with those who truly cheer you during both the ups and downs.  I learned a lot about who was this type of supporter during these past 2 months, and who reminded me more of past teammates (and coaches) who made me feel like crap.  Do not be one of those people to others…you don’t know what they’ve got going on and how much they would give to be “able”

And finally, revel in what your body can do.  It is an immaculate machine.   Be present in your workouts and be amazed at what your body can do.  You never know when that can change.

(And I need to throw the rest of these mini candy bars out!  Maybe just keep a few….)