This week, Jack Marris and I swapped blogs! Check out my post, Why Your Job is Worth It, and check out her other blog posts while you're there. I'm excited for this post, because this is a subject that I wholeheartedly agree with, as I too could be considered a bit of a meat head when it comes to self care. Anyway, here it is! There's nothing better than a good military quote to get you going. Often short and blunt; I could spend hours looking at long, loving, poetic quotes and not find one that comes close to it. My favorite will forever be “Keep it simple stupid” (this can be quickly and easily shortened to its acronym KISS for a convenient reminder.) I have often had to tell myself this, day in and day out when I let things get too complicated. Yes, military sayings are gems, but there is one that I lived off of almost as much as KISS, that I am weary of now. “All I need is Caffeine and Hate.” Don't get me wrong here—this method is fairly sustainable; I lived off of it for months before it did me dirty. But eventually it did drop me like a hot potato. It started normal—ok disregard, it wasn't normal, I was sick, but in the process of denying it with vigor—when suddenly, I was sick. To the point where I could not deny it anymore. Turns out I had been fighting a common cold for a while but because I didn't acknowledge it and continued to walk for miles in the rain and work like normal, it had turned into bronchitis. Because I refused to take a break from work and acknowledge that I was ill, I ended up having to take almost two weeks off to recover. Thought I learned my lesson? Me too. But I didn't. Less than a month later, I partially tore my right bicep because it was a busy day, and I was working hard and fast without any breaks. I then continued to ignore the pain in my arm for the remainder of my shift. How did that one work out for me, you ask? A month of light duty and crippling pain in my dominant arm. I had to re-learn basic skills with my left arm, suffer through loads of paperwork, and have months of physical therapy still on the docket. All because I fueled my body on that really long busy day with only two red bulls. And the day before that I had one meal and two red bulls, and before that, and before that. At this point I had to seriously address the fact that caffeine and hate weren't working for me, and I had to do it quickly before I lost a limb. So, using that as a painful backdrop to the lesson, let's look at how we can truly give our highest performance. First off, God designed pain as a warning signal. Yes, sometimes, like when were working out, we have to ignore the warning system so that we can get stronger and move the signal back a bit. But when we push through the warning system for too long, too many days in a row, we will eventually find the thing it was warning us from. Don't get me wrong; I know how attractive it is to try and outwork someone or to take a dare, Just be careful to listen to your body. Push its limits, stretch and grow but also know when to stop and say no. (Just because you have a high pain tolerance doesn't mean you should abuse it.) Second, your body is a temple. Sure we want it to be the most amazing, fit, chiseled temple there is. But when it comes down to it, be diligent in taking care of it. Drink water, take vitamins, work out, stretch, do whatever you need to to take care of it. One great example I heard was “just pretend that you're a spirit and your body is just something you vibe in. You're a spirit and so you can do a lot and you're super strong, but your body isn't and so you got to take care of it and feed it and stuff so that together you can go and do amazing things.” < super abridged, but you get the point. Lastly, your body is a machine. I am the proud, partial owner of an old, bright blue, Ford pickup that has a broken gas gauge, sometimes doesn't shift, and has a tailgate held on by bungee cords. Ol’ Blue is a challenge to drive on a good day, but if you treat her right, she will make it. You have to have both tanks full, you have to start her about 10 minutes before so she can get warmed up, you have to turn her lights on with a piece of wood, you know, stuff like that. And the same thing goes with you. You have to prep yourself for high performance by fueling right, stretching, and clearing your mind. Ok, after all that I hoped you learned at least something along the lines of Unprepared high performance isn't really high performance. Don't make the same mistakes I did; there's plenty more for you to make and learn from. If you want to hear more of my mistakes, lessons I've learned and/or tips and tricks of the trade check out our blog, Guardian Angels. About the author: Jack Marris is one of those people that can survive off peanut butter and Red Bull for an indefinite amount of time. She developed this endurance through years of successful hunting seasons, late night shenanigans, and writing marathons. “I have but one desire now—to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.” —Elisabeth Elliot. 1 Corinthians 12:9-10 Read more of her work here: https://guardianangels3746.wixsite.com/4046 Or contact her directly here: [email protected] Follow us on Instagram @guardian_angels3746
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About meHi, I'm Rachel. I write adventure stories, but I can't let my characters have all the adventures. Archives
April 2021
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