5 Lessons Learned While Taking Time Away From Work: My internal Pep-talk

"Nothing will work unless you do."

-Maya Angelou 

5 Lessons Learned While Taking Time Away From Work: My Internal Pep-talk 

5. Try to live in the moment. 

In life there are no do overs. What I mean by this is, every day you are given 24 hours to live your life; you determine what you do in that time and you also determine your behavior during every minute of your day. Instead of stressing about tomorrow focus on your plan for today. Focus on your decisions for today. Living in the moment is taking everything in. It does not mean 'YOLO' and give excuses for poor behavior. It does mean to embrace every challenge of the day. Right now I am not at 100% and that is okay. It's important to live in this moment because when it is all over this will be a memory of how I fell down the stairs and have a huge battle wound to show for it. All the authentic feelings and emotions will be a thing of the past. Every moment is important and I should cherish that. 

4. You get what you give. 

There are constant references in the media or better yet the bible that state:

'You get out what you put out.'

'You reap what you sow.'

'You get what you give.'

All these statements are very true. When I was working I would whine and complain to my family and friends about my job. The one thing that would stress me out at work was 'productivity.' I was always so stressed that I couldn't focus and my patients weren't getting the best therapy I could give them because I bought into what I couldn't do. I later realized on the days where I was more productive, I was usually more organized and at peace and I was able to have great therapy visits with my patients and felt less stress. While having this time away from work, I still see the importance of productivity. Instead of wasting my days off work on social media, watching television, and movies; it is important to go back to the basics like; What are my goals  for my life? Where do I want to be in the next year? If I put in effort during this time to better myself as a young person then when all of this is over I will reap what I sow. On the other hand if I sulk and cry and stress when I come out of this I'll be left with nothing. The biggest thing  I can do is to prioritize my time. Make short term goals and most importantly pace myself. 

3. Anxiety will cloud your judgement.

Every now and then I find myself getting anxious. This happens because instead of living in the moment,I think about what is going to happen in the future. In my case, I've always been a planner so it's difficult to continue doing my everyday routines when the biggest routine I had has changed. I went from working a 40 hour week to going to therapy three times a week and having no other organized and structured task to do. However, because my brain is in perfect condition(at least in my mind it is...) it makes it difficult to remember that I am healing; this is a process that is going to take time, and in order for me to be a better therapist I need to allow for this time.  With that in mind, it is also very important for me to put the anxiety aside and really work toward figuring out what my role in this field is supposed to be. I went to school to become an occupational therapist, and that is just what I did; now I need to find out what kind of therapist I want to be.

Being anxious will just make that revelation hard to find, so instead of being anxious I am working on changing my focus on the things I can control. First I will start wit my attitude. 

2. Put your pride aside and accept assistance. 

If I have learned one thing so far it is that I will not give up on people in society. In this day and age not everyone you will encounter is out to steal your ideas or make you feel bad. Many people I have encountered want to help they just don't know how. Yes there will be moments where people stare at you like you're an alien but there will also be people who understand your shortcomings. For instance in my case currently I find it scary to drive. I have a car but the idea of driving one handed makes me nervous. Luckily, I have a support group that is always there to assist me so that I make it to my doctors appts, therapy visits, and any other little errand I need to run. I had to put my pride aside and accept the fact I cannot do this alone. People are understanding. I say this because people will help you when you put your pride aside and ask for assistance. People will also help you when they see that you're having difficulty. It doesn't matter that you seem like you're able to do it, people want to help and it's important to accept  that assistance because if you don't,when you really do need the help you won't have it. Don't push people away accept their help because in the end they are trying to make you feel better and less stressed. 

1. Be thankful for the journey. 

I did not ask for this injury nor did I expect this to happen. I am not able to work and take care of myself independently. I am limited and I am struggling emotionally, financially, and physically. However, through it all at this point I am very thankful. I am thankful for the time off work to figure out my purpose in my career. I am thankful for my family for altering their lives and schedules to make my days go smoothly. I am thankful for my friends for their outpouring of love, support, and most importantly giving me that sense of normalcy when everything in my world right now is chaotic. I am thankful for this blog as it is serving as an outlet for me to share my inner thoughts and ideas I have kept in my brain. I am thankful for this journey because I don't know where I am going but I know I will get there and this bumpy ride will reveal to me its true purpose.

Thank you to those who have read my blog! I am grateful for the support thus far. This is becoming something bigger than myself so thank you!

Any comments are appreciated and topic ideas are always welcomed!