So here it is.

Injury is not a sign of failure. Injury is normal. Injury may be the enemy, but it is a part of the natural order of things.

Injury is not “your fault”. There are far too many factors and variables at play that contribute to injury for it to be “your fault”.

We all know this. At least abstractly. But it isn’t real until we experience it for ourselves.

Isn’t that the truth.

We think of injury as something we can avoid if we do all the “right” things. While it is true that we can reduce our risk by practicing things like strength, mobility, and proper form as well as adhering to sound training protocols, injury is like any other disease. We certainly cannot control our age nor our physiology any more than we can control time. Now factor in all of the additional emotional and mental stressors that go beyond the basic physical factors.

And so, we really have very little control over what our bodies may or may not tolerate at any given time!

It is easy, however, to define ourselves by the moment of struggle we are wrestling with. It is a very human thing to be consumed by what moves through us. Certainly, we must seek to uncover the meaning in our hard experiences as hard experiences can help us sculpt away the excess.

Instead of letting hard experiences define who we are, we can use them to define who and what we are not.

We are not failures.

We are trying. We are moving. We are growing.

We did not do anything wrong.

We are learning. We are experiencing. We are expanding.

Simultaneously deconstructing and rebuilding.

One day at a time.

One week at a time.

It’s life.

This is living.