Life Lessons From A Knee Immobilizer

A couple of weekends ago, the ice got the better of me and I fell on my knee. I’ve been hobbling around ever since. Luckily, my icy injury has been getting better, but moving around quickly is still not in the cards.

It wasn’t until my knee forced me to slow down that I realized how jammed packed my schedule is. I’ve structured my life in a such that there’s no wiggle room for injuries. There’s not much down time or white space. While I like it that way, when something goes astray, it’s scheduling gymnastics to figure it out.

What my knee has done is allowed for time to reflect, something I should do more often and will now try to build into each day. Below are a few of the lessons I’ve learned while being immobile the last couple of weeks.

• It could be worse: I’ve had days where I felt really sorry for myself. How did I manage to do this? The timing couldn’t be worse (in fact, it could). And then, I realize it could have been much worse, like cracking my head open or chipping a tooth.
• My body, my temple: When your body functions properly, you totally take it for granted. It’s after your body fails, even if temporarily, that you realize how important each moving part is. For me, this mean refocusing on my health and fitness once this knee heels.
• Every bite counts: Since I can’t exercise, I’ve notice that every last thing I eat matters. There’s no room for cheap meals or cocktails when you’re not burning calories. Also, thanks to a colleague, I’ve realized how bad sitting all day is. I hope to bring an exercise ball to work as an alternative to sitting all day in a chair.
• #Blessed: This knee thing is a momentary setback. Others aren’t as fortunate and have permanent, life changing injuries. I have a newfound appreciation for those people because it can’t be easy.

Thankfully, my knee will heal and I’ll be back to running, yoga and Zumba in no time! I am glad that I was forced to slow down and reflect, something I need to do more often. Have you ever had an injury that slowed you down? Share in the comments!