I have to say goodbye to my trusted car - my good ole' buddy for the past 9 years.
Yep. On the way home from a most phenomenal weekend in Joshua Tree (filled w/ camping, hiking, and my first rock climbing experience!), the "Ravster" died a quick death. It overheated so badly that the engine is no longer salvageable.
But that's not the whole story...
I saw some signs that something wasn't right. But I decided to ignore those signs. I just kept driving - thinking "I'll just take it in to have it looked at when I get back to Long Beach". It was an expensive mistake, and a painful lesson to learn, nonetheless.
And that got me thinking...
Do you know how often I see people neglect other parts of their lives just like that??
When a problem arises, how many times have YOU ignored or neglected that problem - just hoping that it would resolve itself or disappear?
Here's the definition of neglect:
- To pay little or no attention to; fail to heed; disregard
- To fail to care for or attend to properly
- To fail to do or carry out, as through carelessness or oversight
I neglected to heed the warning signs of my sweet Ravster.
And in the past - although I hate to say it, I've failed to take care of my body when I've felt pain, discomfort, or irritation. It goes 'unnoticed' until it's too late. For example... a little shoulder tension that wasn't handled with stretching and soft tissue release techniques soon developed into a more debilitating shoulder injury.
Why do we do that??
Why do we neglect and ignore the warning signals that are being sent to us?
Why do we fail to realize that it doesn't really take that much energy to do something about it before it's too late?
I have too many clients, friends, and family members who play the ignorance game with their bodies. And since that's my field of expertise, we are gonna simply stick to that topic (because there are so many other areas to neglect in life... but I digress).
So, I'm writing today's post to URGE you to:
a) Immediately deal with any bothersome physical aches and pains you may be having.
If you don't know where to do to begin rehabbing your issues, then get a referral from a local, trusted fitness professional.
b) Quit 'working through' pain and discomfort... if something is painful (and not in a good, my muscles are about to explode kinda way), then that's a sign that something is wrong!!
Most of the time, it simply stems from tight muscles (tightness from everyday activities can be relieved through stretching), tense muscles (tension can be released through massage), weak muscles (imbalances can be corrected w/ proper exercises and stretches), lack of mobility (full range of motion is important and can be restored through activation exercises and mobility drills), etc.
c) Realize that every little thing you do contributes to your health.
How you sleep, how long you sleep, how you sit, how long you sit, how you hold your posture, how often you perform unbalanced activities, what you eat, what you drink, how you exercise, how often you exercise, how often you stretch, how you release tension, how you de-stress... The accumulation of many bad habits can give you a body / a health status / a fitness level that you don't necessarily want. Take responsibility of your health by being aware of all these little things AND by making good decisions.
d) Come to grips with the fact that what you eat determines how you function. Period.
Sometimes, those aches and pains and weird bugaboos come about because you have been filling your fuel tank with crap. The fuel you put into your body will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how your body handles injuries, tightness, stress, etc. Start eating well - if you haven't already.
There is no need to neglect ourselves.
There is no need to let problems go so far that they become a pain in the you-know-what.
Take a lesson from my baby.
Thanks for everything, sweet Ravster...
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