Image by Michael Schwarzenberger from Pixabay
Those of you who have been in our office for a while have heard me say, “What are you hoping to accomplish?” Which is a nicer way of saying “What do you want?” Because we can’t help you if you don’t know where you want to go. Like getting into a taxi and saying, just take me somewhere!
But most of you, and me, say something like, “I want the pain to go away.”
Fair enough. But not quite true. Usually, we want something else. If we can put our finger on that something else, we can work together for a reasonable solution. Making pain go away can be had at the “Regular Doctor”. (I often wonder when I hear this term if that means the person takes a lot of fiber.) But pills work. They really do. They make pain go away most of the time. But usually this is like sweeping the dirt under the rug. It is just masking a symptom. Honestly, you really don’t just want the pain to go away or you would not have consulted me. You want something more.
What do you want?
I have heard versions of this tale for years; I don’t really know who to give credit to. So, I’ll just plagiarize, personalize it, and use it. Unless someone speaks up.
Every year in our country millions of quarter inch drill bits are sold. Do people really love drill bits all that much? I have bought plenty. Do I love drill bits? Nope. I really want a quarter inch hole! I don’t really want a drill bit, I want a hole! But wait, I don’t really want a hole either. What good is a hole? A hole is a place where you can put a wall anchor. So, I really want a wall anchor? Not really. What I want is to be able to hang that priceless Bob Ross original painting in my house, the one I found at a yard sale for $1.25. But do I really want a Bob Ross painting? Nope. I really want to impress my friends with my yard sale prowess and show off that one-of-a-kind bargain-shopper-swagger. And you thought I wanted a drill bit!
I can tell you from experience that what we desire, what is at the heart of our seeking care, is not really pain relief. What we want is to be able to sleep! We want to be able to move! We want to be able to do our life! We want to feel young! We want to engage our friends! We want our projects to get done! The list is endless…
So maybe a better question is “What do you want to do with your health once you have regained it?”
I had a lady tell me recently that she hosted her grandson from out-of-town for a month this summer and she barely remembers it because she was so distracted by pain. But pain was not the issue. Pain kept her from what she really wanted, connecting with her grandkid.
Let’s be honest, dead people are pain free. Certainly, we want more than that.
Wake up and want more!!! Set your sights on something higher! Health is not a destination; it is a tool to get us to where we want to go.
What do you really want?
I can tell you what I wanted, when my ankle and foot hurt so badly last Christmas for about 10 weeks, I was so miserable. Working in our office was close to unbearable. No kidding, I was crawling to the toilet at night because I could not put weight on my foot. You bet I wanted pain relief! (It is the reason we bought the StemWave technology in the first place.) But I didn’t really want just pain relief, I wanted to be able to put my foot on the floor and put my weight on it so that I could work without peeing my pants. But really, I wanted to put my ski boot on so that I could spend time with my ski pals. I really wanted to be outside and goofing off.
Once we get to the bottom of what you want, and often it takes time to think it through because you are in pain after all, we can make a plan and move you forward. Plans take time, persistence and focus and the focus needs to be on why you want to be pain free. Not on removing the pain. Otherwise, you really are just getting into a taxi and saying take me somewhere.
You see, what you really want doesn’t matter if you don’t take action, commit to the process and follow the plan.
Get real with yourself and what you really want. Then make a simple plan to move in that direction.
Keep it simple.
Cheers,
ks
PS – I don’t own a Bob Ross painting and I hate yard sales. But I do own StemWave technology and my ankles are the better for it! Yours can be too (or knees, shoulders… well you get the idea!) Info on StemWave Technology