Daily Movement Prompts, Friday June 9, 2017 edition: Facing Fear and Pain
Several different folks have been discussing what it takes to create motivation when you notice that you’ve been avoiding movement because of pain or fear of some sort. Wow, do I totally appreciate this topic! I spent two years limping mostly because of a fear of diagnosis and trying to ignore pain.
Pain can be crippling. It can mess with your brain. Fear can also be crippling and it definitely messes with your brain. Combatting either of these will depend on how *you* respond well to things. Do you respond best when you have a support system? Does the encouragement of friends or a buddy make you feel better? Can you think more clearly when someone else’s voice chimes in?
Or do you think better with written instructions? Do you respond well to an alarm clock or an appointment on your calendar? Will you go to a class because you promised to be there? Or will you do stretches or movement because you set aside time betwen other tasks? Or do you respond to financial commitments? Will you go to a class because you paid for it?
How you face your fears and face your fear of pain might even change over time. What might have worked years ago might no longer work. What I *can* suggest is that you ARE successful at something. Maybe you are good at small tasks at home or at work or within your family. Rather than make movement a GIANT MOUNTAIN, maybe you could try making small tasks that head toward a goal. If sitting up in bed is the only thing you do, then sit up in bed twice. Sit up in bed three times. Sit up ten times and celebrate your progress. If walking to the end of the block is all you can do, then walk once. Then walk a second time. Then when you’ve walked to the end of the block ten times, you may be able to see that you really have made progress.
What fears or pains are keeping you back right now? What tasks are you succesful at right now in life? How can you use those successes to give you ideas for facing your fears or pain? How will you move your body today?
Bernadette Peters and the Muppets – Just One Person