Soreness, Injury, and Balance

One of the difficulties that people face when trying to change something in their lives is the resistance that both their mind and body put up to thwart that change. We all have an embedded inertia within ourselves that stands in the way of habit-changes, both for the good and the bad. When we decide to train ourselves athletically, our muscles become sore, and we are faced with the question of whether we just need to train through that soreness or look at the possibility of having suffered an injury that would require abstaining from training. Similarly, in non-athletic areas of our lives, a change is likely to cause an unsettling of emotions as well as an increased state of mental fatigue. I believe that this is part of our natural resistance to change and must be combated in order to change our habits in a more positive direction.

Lately, I have been experiencing a greater amount of sleepiness, which seems to go around the clock. I’ve examined my lifestyle, and I have concluded that I have taken on quite a few projects that require some serious habit-changing. And the fatigue is a natural reaction to this. So what should I do about this? If you have read this blog, you’ll notice that I have a feature titled “The Eights”, in which every eight weeks I report on my progress (or lack thereof) in a particular area of personal self-improvement. And there are an awful lot of areas in this regard that I am trying (with dubious success) to juggle around! So, in order to facilitate effective habit-changing and reduce the associated fatigue, I am going to (temporarily) suspend some of them and concentrate on the very few that are the most important at this stage.

It is important to listen to your body when your life is becoming more stressful. Sometimes there are legitimate health concerns that need addressing. But usually, it is a sign that you are really changing (for the better), and your stubborn self is fighting it tooth and nail! It’s important to be able to discern the difference between the two and strike a healthy balance. And that’s something that I am now currently struggling with.