I SO BELIEVE in the power of positive energy, a cornerstone of my 110 Philosophy, and that is the reason why I am sharing this latest part of my crazy health journey with you all:
This is NOT a “poor me” post though, I assure you! It seems hard to believe that I will be going in for surgery AGAIN in a few short days! This time nothing life-threatening, however, but nonetheless nerve-wracking. I have a genetic foot issue, inherited from my grandmother, that is terribly painful, and requires that my arches be essentially rebuilt.
I can clearly remember numerous occasions when visiting my grandmother that she would be in tears over her painful feet. So, here I am with the same condition, and I ask myself – “If I am going to live to 110 years young (my personal Vision) do I want to be living with this much pain?” Of course, the answer is NO! I always say, I can’t control my destiny, but I can direct it – so it’s time to “get ‘er done Luanne!”
On Wednesday, this major surgery on my right foot will take place. This will require an 8 week, flat on my back with no exceptions, recuperation to allow it to heal properly. Yeah, yuck! That is enough detail, and now for the point of my post...
What I want to share is that this is a time in my life, what some might call a “bad” or “negative” time, that I utilize the techniques of the 110 Philosophy more than ever to help me get through this experience in as positive of a way as possible! As surgery day approaches, and my nerves and worry kick in, I do what I CAN CONTROL about the situation, keeping myself busy and preparing for my recovery. I am distracting myself by getting my house ready for being laid up, needing assistance with day-to-day activities.
[I won’t be getting around much, but I have my crutches and bathing assistance ready! My mega charger next to my bed will keep my charged and ready for electronic distraction and learning!]
I intentionally put reminders all around me that keep me focused on the positive, and inspire and remind me of how far I have come. We all go through tough times, and reminders that you got through it, and to look how far you’ve come, is powerful! I love a good visual! My favorite dancing boots are where I can see them and plan for some foot-stomping fun once I am recuperated!
I have also made sure I am spending plenty of time doing activities that make me smile, and that I enjoy – getting outside with my dogs, spending lots of quality time with my family, and taking really good care of myself with nurturing exercise, a new hair cut and color, and enjoying good food at great restaurants. I’ll be laid up for a while, so I’m stock-piling memories of being out and about to look back on until I’ll be able to make new memories.
I WILL NOT allow myself to sit around and get negative, wallowing in worry and thinking about worse-case scenarios. When I think, “why me?!” I KNOW (I am confident, little doubt) it is because I have something to learn from all this. I keep my head-talk focused on my clear vision of my grandmother, and I refuse to live in such pain. I could say, “that won’t happen to me”, but that’s living in denial. Or I could focus on “It’s too painful” as I know from last time, so why do it again, but I remain focused on my Vision, and I know I want to live well at 110 years young. And so here I am again. The point is not to think about all these negative what-if’s and avoidance, the point is to learn to get my priorities in order and hold firm to what is most important – taking care of myself, my healing (not work, not other duties)!
When I think, “why me?!” I know that this time laying around healing is not to be thought of as unbearable, and endure it with endless hours of TV (although I’m looking forward to a little Netflix binging of course!) to “get through it”, but rather a great opportunity, that I would otherwise not take, to read a lot of interesting, new material, and to work on my book, The 110 Philosophy!
So while of course, I’m not looking forward to the pain and discomfort, and it won’t all be great, or even good, some days, I have a bigger VISION for myself. This Vision pulls me through all yucky stuff and shows me the upside of not only what I have to look forward to on the other side, but how to utilize this time I’m being given to its utmost BEST use! As I face the latest “leg” of my journey, haha – don’t forget HUMOR is a bit part of the 110 Philosophy – I know there is a greater reason for everything and I look forward to experiencing it all. I am grateful that I am here to experience it all!