Tools

A doctor recommended a knee brace to my client to help with his #kneepain. Which he then wore. Every day. For 3 years.

And the only thing that changed with his knee pain was that it got worse.

Tools in a healing quest are seriously useful band aids.

#Stretching. Braces. #Foamrolling. Movements. SI Belts. Creams. Pills. #SelfMassage. #Breathing. Specialists. Insoles. #Journaling. The list goes on and on and on and on.

Often we believe (either through stubbornness in not wanting to dig deeper to the painful core, or because the "expert" fails to tell us/doesn't know this tool is a band-aid) that if we just keep doing this thing - forever and ever and ever - we will one magickal day be fixed.

It's frustrating and can quickly lead to #overwhelm as the tools pile up and you try to do #allthethings like the good patient you are.

Because you are #dedicated. You are #willing. You are #doingthework. You want to feel like yourself again.

So it can be quite jarring to hit the point of overload, stop doing everything...

And your pain improves.

It's as if those helpful little items you were collecting along the way were actually #obstacles and meaningless #sidequests.

As in the case of my client with his brace. Once we got him to stop using it, he was actually able to build strength through the affected muscles and the rest of our work began to have a longer lasting impact.

Tools, no matter what they are, are temporary. They are there to help you through the #lowestlows so you can still #livelife.

The best tools are meant to induce their own obsolescence.

So how do you know a good tool from a shitty one?

It works for you.

If you find yourself treating your tools like they are God, like they rule your time and your life, there is a problem.

You #Know what is working for your #bodymind, what is actually progressing you forward beyond what is rational, beyond what is visible.

#Dedicationisimportant. But if you are miserable after doing your exercises, feeling more anxious after journaling, calling yourself a failure for not being further - #ItIsTimeForAChange.

Some tools you will keep because they bring you #joy. Some tools you will drop nearly immediately (that #Knowing I mentioned earlier) against advice. Some you will absolutely hate but still do anyway (again, you Know what is working for you). And some you will modify, or come back to intermittently.

No matter what the tool becomes for you, the immediate goal should always be the same: use the tool so you don't NEED to use the tool.

Ready to find #TheRightTools? Ones that you won't be slave to for the rest of #forever?

Let's chat.