Positivity requires an ENORMOUS patience…
Mentally exhausting. Physically agitating. But, Emotionally REWARDING!!!
Many of us know that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Some of our strengths are our biggest weaknesses, and some of us are in denial of our weaknesses.
Patience is one of my weakest skill sets that I’ve spent years of improving. Since the day of my car accident, I’ve suffered multiple fractures, body bruising and abrasions. I wasn’t able to move out of the bed, feed myself, nor go to the bathroom. I needed supervision 24/7, but that wasn’t always the case.
All I ever did for the first five days in the hospital was staring at the bland white ceiling. And sometimes if I wanted to change it up, I would adjust the head of the bed and look at the wall. I couldn’t watch TV because supposedly patients HAVE TO PAY for cable (Thank God for Netflix and Hulu…on my iPhone).
It was the most miserable, the most lonely days I ever had in my entire life. I was in rock bottom: I had no home to go back to, no job, no car, had to be stuck in my sister’s one-bedroom apartment to heal. The plans, I’ve died and worked hard to prepare for, have now been post-poned.
It is very easy to wallow into the pool of self-pity. Because when you’re just laying in bed as a patient, that is all much you can do is to think: making negative assumptions, the “should have, could have” predictions, feeling physically useless, probably can’t climb or do yoga any more or something melo-dramatic scenario. We all have tendency to fall into bad habits, mentally. But it doesn’t mean, we’re intolerable to switch off to think positively.
Yes I know… it may seem to be one of those ‘how-to’ type of articles. But I’ll save you the agony and make it short and concise. There are three suggestions.
And everyone knows that any advice is always easier said than done. Although this can all vary by your mental endurance. It all starts with…
- Being VERY stubborn: I know that stubbornness is considered to be a flaw for most people. Although in this CASE, your stubbornness will be your own personal moral cheerleader. The more headstrong you are, the less likely you’ll want to give up. And you build a strong sense of character (I learned about this through climbing).
- Productivity: keep your mind busy. Create a hobby. Read a book. Paint. Play a video game. Learn to code. Learn to write. ANYTHING… there are non-injured people out there who want to find the time to do these things. Take advantage of it.
- Time is your best friend: Don’t think of it as your enemy because if you actually do, then you’ll feel more agitated than ever. But if you let it take its course, you’ll heal a lot quicker than you realize.
- Challenge yourself physically: You’re more physically capable than you think you are. And turns out, it can really surprise you. To give you an example: my right hand is dominant, I had a radius fracture and wasn’t able to write, draw nor use this hand for anything. Then I had a brilliant idea, I challenged myself to draw on my left hand.
- Surround yourself with people: If you’re physically stuck in a location and you don’t know anyone, then start getting to know your surroundings: find a community, go to fairs, festivals or farmer’s market, where ever your heart desires. Or even better, make an online account on Tinder can help you keep socially sane.
- Soak up all the positive vibes: There are friends and family who care and support you. Sending you as much love as possible.
Ok… that was six. But it wasn’t that many.
Naturally, you’ll go through a lot of ups and downs during this process.
And this process will be continuous. Few months to couple years to even ten years from now, the scars you see on your body will always be a reminder. This trauma changes you. However, if you look into a different perspective (a positive one), not only you’ll be able to exceed your physical limits but you’ll feel more optimistic than you were ever before from the accident. Your patience enhances and you’re less fearful about making decisions.
