This summer was a story of ups and downs. It was filled with the glory of wonderful time with family, the excitement of travel, and quiet time in a lovely locale. It was also filled with an exhausting upper respiratory illness, interrupted physical training, mental and physical exhaustion, and a lack of routine.
You might be thinking it could be worse, and you’d be 100% correct. Regardless of that fact, it was a challenge for me to navigate. As much as I hate the idea of routine, I also admit that it works for me, for the most part. I thrive when I know my training, writing, volunteering, and other activities are laid out in front of me.
What I noticed, especially when coming off an illness or travel, is that I need to mentally prepare myself for “starting over.” For example, I’ve had a rather lengthy break from playing trumpet, and I know it’s going to take a long, slow process of starting over: long tones, scales, rebuilding muscle, breath, and finger mobility.
The same goes for physical training. I know my body will not be able to lift the same amount of weight, do the same number of push-ups, or hold planks for as long as I did before a layoff. It’s going to take time, patience, and a not insignificant amount of discomfort, both physical and mental.
But that’s the job, right? Deal with the setbacks, reframe each challenge as just another in a lifetime of challenges, and go forward with an attitude of support and love, not recrimination, blame, negativity, and defeatism.
After all, what choice is there?
