My motto is “I CAN DO.” I began using this phrase after getting my first Internal Cardioverter Defibrillator or ICD. I got my first device in 2010. I’m on my second one now. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, getting an ICD was a game changer. But I quickly did my best to flip the script, and find a positive. That’s not always easy to do.
Recently, I’ve been using another phrase: “Do What You Can Do.” In life, things change. Our bodies change. It’s a part of becoming VINTAGE! Ha. But we all get to decide how we will respond as we become more and more VINTAGE. We can complain about what’s changed or we can say to ourselves, “Do What You Can Do.” I choose the latter.
By no means do I have it all figured out. I still have a long way to go. But I’ve learned through two surgeries, a blood clot in my right coronary artery, passing out while jogging, and other experiences that if I can just do what I can do, then I will be good to go.
I remember after having my blood clot in 2014 when I was going through cardio rehab how I would go for rehab with a bad attitude. I felt like it was a waste of time. The room was filled with old people…oops I mean VINTAGE people. I didn’t belong there. I certainly didn’t need to be walking on the treadmill at 1.7 m.p.h. But I shortly realized that if that’s what I could do, then I needed to do it. It’s all I could do at the time, so I did it.
After getting my second ICD in 2016, I couldn’t do much that first week afterwards. But I decided I would still get dressed every morning and go to the gym. Again, I was on the treadmill walking at 1.7 m.p.h. I told myself that I was going to stay in my routine, even if I couldn’t go hard at it. I’m glad that I did. Once I was given the green light to go full speed, if was AMAZING.
How are you doing with your fitness so far this year? Do you find yourself not being able to do what you used to do? Don’t worry about it. If you can still do something now, then by all means do it.
So here’s what this may look like.
Identify what it is that may be holding you back. Do you feel like that it’s not even worth doing anything because it’s no where close to what you did in the past? If you feel that way then embrace it and acknowledge it.
After doing that (and maybe even crying for a bit) realize that all is not lost. Spend some time appreciating that there are some things you can still do. Be grateful for what is still available and what your body is still allowing you to do.
Create a plan. A plan for when you will workout. A plan for when those negative thoughts creep into your head. A plan of recognizing what you are accomplishing.
Then DO WHAT YOU CAN DO. Take action. Move. Get after it.
Let’s go! No excuses. Get up.