Small Bites and Little Victories
Small bites and little victories is the way that I like to live my life. It makes me feel like everything is not only manageable, but reminds me that those small wins deserve to be celebrated! Your boss told you that you kicked ass in a meeting - go get yourself a glass of champagne, you star! You deserve it. (Seriously though, go pour yourself some - its good for you!!)
I adopted this mindset about seven years ago, when, after a wide right turn on a morning bike ride, I found myself on the business end of an 18 wheel truck. I woke up in the ICU after 10 hours of emergency surgery without feeling in my legs, my pelvis fractured in 5 places, all of my ribs broken, a punctured lung, and intense internal injuries. In a few seconds I went from being an incredibly athletic and active twenty five year old brooklynite, to a broken little human who the doctors told probably wouldn't walk again.
All of us have been in a position where we feel like our vertical world has gone horizontal. That feeling that the rest of your life is going to be spent trying to readjust to this new angle, one degree at a time. That was when small bites and little victories became my mantra. The idea of tackling the big worries (Will I ever walk again? Will I be able to live independently? Do wheelchairs work on the beach?!) was too much. I had to set little goals and then celebrate the shit out of them!
After a lot of hard work, love and crazy pants support from almost every person in my lovely life, I have been able to build a life that looks very similar to the one that I lived before I was run over by an 18 wheel truck. I am no longer able to do a lot of the athletic activities that I loved in my old life, but I've built work arounds to create a life I want to live.
I wanted to start this blog because I know how hard it is to stay motivated, and to be proud of yourself when your successes don't feel like other people's successes. My hope is that this will be a small sliver of life where one can talk about those tiny miracles, surprising moments of awesomeness, and celebrating all of it!
I adopted this mindset about seven years ago, when, after a wide right turn on a morning bike ride, I found myself on the business end of an 18 wheel truck. I woke up in the ICU after 10 hours of emergency surgery without feeling in my legs, my pelvis fractured in 5 places, all of my ribs broken, a punctured lung, and intense internal injuries. In a few seconds I went from being an incredibly athletic and active twenty five year old brooklynite, to a broken little human who the doctors told probably wouldn't walk again.
All of us have been in a position where we feel like our vertical world has gone horizontal. That feeling that the rest of your life is going to be spent trying to readjust to this new angle, one degree at a time. That was when small bites and little victories became my mantra. The idea of tackling the big worries (Will I ever walk again? Will I be able to live independently? Do wheelchairs work on the beach?!) was too much. I had to set little goals and then celebrate the shit out of them!
After a lot of hard work, love and crazy pants support from almost every person in my lovely life, I have been able to build a life that looks very similar to the one that I lived before I was run over by an 18 wheel truck. I am no longer able to do a lot of the athletic activities that I loved in my old life, but I've built work arounds to create a life I want to live.
I wanted to start this blog because I know how hard it is to stay motivated, and to be proud of yourself when your successes don't feel like other people's successes. My hope is that this will be a small sliver of life where one can talk about those tiny miracles, surprising moments of awesomeness, and celebrating all of it!
Here's to you! 
Yay, your blog rock as hard as you do! Keep on celebrating and being grateful! I hope to Sunrise Power Walk with you someday (have you thought about starting a Meet-up?)! -Ruth G
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Ruth!! I would LOVE to sunrise power walk with you, that would make my heart so happy :) A meet up is brilliant! I will totally look into that! Such an awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteYou are an inspiration! Can't wait to read all your blog posts!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Lysi!!! Love you!!
DeleteThis is a beautiful blog - glad that I found it (thank you Kerry Robinson)! Thanks for putting this out there!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reading Fran! I am so delighted to hear that you like it!! Kerry is a wonderful person, and I am so happy she turned you on to this boyg!!
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