Don't Perseverate; Engage in an Active Recovery Period

Today my therapist, Andrew, taught me a new word:

Perseverate
to: repeat or prolong an action, thought, or utterance after the stimulus that prompted it has ceased.

It is important not to perseverate about my pain. If you constantly think about the pain you are in - after the prompting cause is gone, (physically, or emotionally, etc.) it will only feel worse. This is much easier said than done, of course. However, it is good to think about this word....perseverate.... that I might be more aware in the future of it happening to me. Being more aware will help me to stop perseverating. It's a real word. I didn't think so, but it is. Believe me.

I had a pretty major pain day yesterday... the kind that renders me unable to do anything by the end of the day...except maybe perseverate... (ok, I'm done. That was the last time. I promise!) And it was the kind of day that made it so I couldn't sleep because of the pain. I know that I overdid it. I was on my feet almost all day - fulfilling my calling as a mother, and doing way to much cooking. I just didn't think it would be that hard, or that the cooking time would go over into John's entire nap time...or that John wouldn't take an afternoon nap....and I just didn't feel like I could justify letting him watch another movie after I just let him watch one. And I used part of the nap time to schedule physical therapy, catch up on emails, and upload priceless videos of John. It was a big combination of things. Important things... certainly. But I needed to let some pinecones go that I didn't. Probably the whole "no TV" pinecone. Because I couldn't have known until mid-day, when I was exhausted and John refused to nap, that the whole rest of the day would be that exhausting too..

Anyways. That was yesterday. Today was today! And I learned some new things, and made some more progress. It doesn't matter how slow, just as long as I'm still headed in the right direction and moving forward.  My physical therapist told me that it was great that I still came to therapy despite the pain, and that we would engage in an "Active Recovery Period." We did things that would first help soothe the pain, and then build some strength, and then soothe the pain again. Great plan. I like it. I think active recovery periods are way better than just collapsing to wallow on the couch (no offense to couch wallowers. I've been there, and I'm sure I'll be there again :)

Active recovery periods can apply to all areas of life if we have been injured or are experiencing pain. And today, the words for me are:

Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we RISE UP, DUST OURSELVES OFF, and MOVE FORWARD. ~ Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You CanDo It Now,”