Is there Power in Changing your Perspective?
{Hint: I believe there is!}
Looking at something from a different perspective can have immense value in discovering a new way to navigate the topic. And, it can require significant work - work that may be mentally and emotionally challenging to do. This is an area I invite my clients to consider taking a step in to, and I see them wrestling with that challenge, and, I can empathize.
My story involves a change in perspective around my health.
This week I was able to go back to the gym and begin lifting weights again, after two and a half years off. I can’t tell you the feeling I’ve been carrying around with me all week. It’s feelings of relief, happiness, and confidence mixed with an conscious intention to view my health differently.
Prior to this, I woke up at 4am every work day to get to the gym before I landed at my desk. HIIT classes, heavy weights and intense workouts were my jam. Weekends were filled with significant hikes with my dog to the tops of beautiful mountains - something that brought me so much calmness and peace. This approach to my physical and mental health was part of my identity, and having to step away from the gym for this long period of time was not at all by choice.
In mid-2022, in my early 40s, I had two strokes a few days apart. The first one began while I was driving with my dog to the beach on a sunny, Sunday afternoon in June. The second one was a few days later and considered a massive stroke. After the second one, I was diagnosed with fibromuscular displasia, a rare condition that causes narrowing of one's arteries, which then causes blood clots to form and can interrupt blood flow to the brain. This appeared in several arteries within my body, but was most notable in my carotid artery, which now has a significant stent in it, allowing it to remain open so blood can flow through to my brain as it should do with normal arteries.
“ I’ve never experienced a situation that brought these realities to the forefront of my life - and let’s be real - we don’t often talk about our mortality or disability until we have to. ”
To say this happened completely out of the blue feels like an understatement. I understood what mortality meant. I understood we’re not on this beautiful planet forever. However, I’ve never experienced a situation that brought those realities to the forefront of my life - and let’s be real - we don’t often talk about our mortality or disability until we have to. I felt entirely out of control of my physical body. I had to stop driving, exercising and working; I had to set reminders to turn the stove off; the extent of the energy I had most days was to move from my bed to my couch. In my early recovery I experienced aphasia in every sentence I was trying to speak. I experienced anxiety and strong feelings of loss because, as someone who previously could take on many tasks at once, was well educated with a upward moving career and could remember things without making note of them anywhere, I didn’t feel smart anymore. I felt like my agency over my life was taken from me and I really didn’t care about anything anymore.
“This required me to change my perspective on what being healthy meant to me...and by doing this, I allowed myself to see a different path towards my health.”
I share this story with you because I'm a living, breathing (with gratitude) demonstration of the power in changing perspective. Experiencing this medical event and being forced to stop doing many things that made up parts of my identity required me to look differently on what being healthy meant to me, and by doing so, I allowed myself to see a different path towards supporting my health. I was still able to walk with my dog. Sleep became even more important to me and my brain's recovery. I became more selective about the energy and time I gave to my work. I catered my life to incorporate more time to just…chill. All of these combined developed a new criteria for me of what it meant to me to be physically and mentally well.
A change in perspective can support us to:
overcome a fear of failure, recognizing there are different paths available to achieve our goals
recognize a bias we may be holding and create space to let it go
grow our acceptance and compassion for ourselves, and for those around us
recognize and make shifts in our resilience, growth, and self-awareness
The power in changing our perspective can allow us to get “unstuck” from a place that may be holding us back. I'm celebrating being able to be back in the gym and lifting a small amount of weight again, while staying true to the new perspective around my health I’ve created for myself.
Coaching conversions can greatly impact those who may want to look at something from a different perspective. If you are someone who is craving clarity on how to gain a different perspective, as your coach, I can be of support. Reach me here.
Gratefully,
Jacquelin