Don’t climb ladders and other lessons I need to learn

I know you get it. 

You know something is a really bad idea, but stuff needs to get done and who else is going to do it but you?

 Right?

So I apparently thought it was acceptable to climb a 24 foot ladder to fix something at my house all by myself because, well, not sure why I thought that was ok. Turned out it wasn’t ok in the slightest. Lesson # 1

What came out of this is an even greater understanding of the meaning of GRATITUDE​​​​​ . I am very lucky to be writing this today to be sure.

A couple of fractured vertebrae, life in a back brace for a while, life and business interruption​​, scared my kids to death, and a lot of self reflection. 

Anyway, the point of this is that I am ​​recovering as expected so far and learning to be less impatient with myself that things are not moving as fast as I would like. Lesson #2

Learning…it’s an ongoing and imperfect journey still :).

Lesson # 3 is that I need to ask for help and take help that is offered.It is not a sign of weakness or failure. I thought that I had covered that lesson as I made my own journey from fearful to fabulous, but it seems, like all lessons, there is more to do here. That’s the great, and the terrible, thing about being human. There is always so much more to learn. Just when you think you have overcome or things are chugging along nicely, stuff comes along and you are knocked back in some way.

I used a quote on my social media recently,

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

It seems just so appropriate for everything that we need to deal with in life. Of course, if only it was so easy as, 

“Yeah, I’m going to have a good attitude about that today.” 

I know it isn’t. For the first time in the 3 weeks since my accident I sat down and cried yesterday. Over something silly that was frustrating me. It wasn’t about that, of course. It was the fear of future that I allowed to build up until it spilled over. In fact, I’m pretty sure that it was a good thing to let that pressure out finally. (It’s even hard for me to admit that I cried… another lesson to learn or just that I’m British??) Lesson # 4. 

Eventually I calmed down and decided to drive my car for the first time since the accident. This was a milestone. I was actually really nervous of driving in the back brace and how could I manage. Could I even get in and out safely? Would I be able to brake hard if needed? What if I went over a big bump? Are people going to stare at me in this exo-skeleton I now have to wear? But I had the all clear from the doctor and this was one of the keys to getting life back on track. After the first trip driving like one of those little old ladies that I am so frustrated to get stuck behind….I will have kinder thoughts in the future I promise…..I got back into the swing of it and it was all good.  Lesson #5. It’s never as bad as you think it’s going to be. So take a deep breath, slap a smile on your face even though you might not be feeling it and just do it.

Every day is a fresh start. I got up, showered and dressed not in the outfit of leggings and tank top from the last couple of weeks, but a pair of jeans and a nicer shirt. I put on makeup and jewelry. It may have taken me much more time than it used to but I felt more like the “me” I want to be. It may sound superficial at first, but the way you present yourself, even when no one else is going to see you, deeply affects the way you feel about yourself. Believing you are worth the effort is a vital key to moving positively forward in every aspect of your life. Lesson #6

That’s all I’m getting up to now in this new journey. I’m sure I will have to go over these lessons a couple of more times and find more to learn in the next couple of months as I recover. Everyone encounters challenging circumstances in life. Whether it be divorce, health issues, family problems or finances. It’s up to us to determine whether those circumstances will master us, or whether we’ll master our circumstances and turn our obstacles into opportunities for blessings and growth.