Slowing down isn’t an option

I’ve often seen or heard from sufferers of chronic pain that they had to slow down the pace of their lives and learn to be gentler with themselves by cutting back on commitments and no longer pursuing all the goals they want to pursue.  I understand this approach.  It’s necessary sometimes to tamp down on certain activities until your body’s back on track, but I cringe when people speak about it like they will have to maintain their slowed pace forever.  Why?  Because the people who drive themselves to succeed and achieve and compete are people who are chomping at the bit to continue to succeed and achieve and compete, and slowing down is absolute torture!

I think the more satisfying route is to figure out what specific activities need to be either cut down on or compensated for with a specially designed program that accounts for the repetitive motions required of those activities.  If you sit at a computer all day, you need a program that will undo that damage.  It’s that simple.  Using a Blackberry all day while zooming from one end of Mission Valley to the other and then up to Escondido?  You got to have systems in place to undo the damage of curling your whole body into a ball so that you don’t end up in pain.  If you want to succeed and achieve and compete, just lay down a solid foundation so you aren’t stopped short by avoidable pain down the line.