Pushing Through Pain, Listening to Your Body, and Healing

I'm a very active person, and I know it's in my genes—my mom was the same way. Sometimes I push myself to the point where I get injured because I'm just pushing too hard. I know this about myself; it's part of my personality, and it shows in pretty much everything I do. I can't understand my limits unless I push myself to failure. So, pushing myself to failure helps me learn what I'm capable of, where I need to grow, and when I need to get stronger physically. For me, that's how I live life, and I feel like it allows me to live to the fullest—without regrets, without feeling like I'm holding myself back.

But the challenge comes when you break a bone for the first time, and you don't really understand—or your body doesn't know—when to hold back because you don't know what that feels like. You have to ask a lot of questions of your doctor. So, I had an honest conversation with my orthopedic surgeon about my ability to push myself and my concerns about potentially hurting myself long-term as a result of not listening to my body properly because I didn't understand what to listen for.

He was incredible in his response. He said, "You can push yourself; your bone is healed. It's all about muscle now. If you feel a sharp pain, that's your body telling you to stop. But anything else is just your body needing to build strength and muscle. So the more you can build that strength and muscle, the faster you're going to recover, and the stronger your leg will get."

Hearing this was such a relief. It gave me the confidence to push myself within safe limits. I needed someone to give me that indicator—how far is too far? His guidance helped me understand how to listen to my body better. And it's allowed me to recover really well.

I've heard this from the physical therapists I've worked with—and I've worked with quite a few lately due to this injury, transitioning from one state to another. It's great to hear their insights and experience with people and recovery because they've seen so much. They can give you a gauge of how you're doing and the time you need to recover. It's really good to have those types of people to engage in conversations with, to reassess and understand where you're at. Are you doing okay? Should you be doing more or less?

For me, I want to be ahead of the curve—that's just who I am. I want to heal as fast as I can because the faster I heal, the faster I get back to my life, or at least some semblance of normal life again. And that's important because I am an active person, and being active is what keeps me motivated and enjoying life.

I know that for many people, recovery from an injury like this can be life-changing because they just don't know how to push forward. I see that in what I do for others when it comes to pushing forward to change your life from a career perspective—it's all a mental state. Injury, struggling in a job—these are all mental states that you have to get past and beyond. And the only way you can do that is with support, guidance, letting others help you—which is something I'm not really good at. I know that, and so I'm learning to let others help me so that I can be my best.

So if you're struggling to move forward and need a little help or guidance, please reach out, our team at Nebula Academy is here to support you.

We're here to support you in building a sustainable career and helping you build the life you imagine. We know it's hard, and we're here to help you overcome whatever it is you need to move forward.

Next week, I’ll continue sharing my recovery journey from a Plateau Tibia fracture, including my progress and how I’m working my way back to my daily yoga practice. Recovery is a process, and I’m learning every day. I hope you’ll join me as I dive deeper into this journey.