Limitless Monday – Don’t Allow Your rain to Take the Easy Route

Limitless Monday – Don’t allow your brain to take the easy route

The brain is a powerful organ that believes it knows what’s best for us. However, there lies the problem. While the brain’s intentions may be good, it tends to prioritize comfort and minimal exertion, avoiding risks and stress. Fortunately, most people have a limit to how far they’ll let their brain dictate their actions. Some might succumb to inactivity, while others rebel against their brain’s comfort-seeking nature and take action, such as starting an exercise regime.

The brain looks to avoid pain for immediate pleasure. It hunts for any excuse or sign of weakness to dodge stress, strain, or effort.

Two weeks ago, I attended a Tuesday evening Jiu-Jitsu class, as is part of my normal routine. Half way through my first roll (a Jiu-Jitsu sparring session) I caught my foot in my uke’s (a training partner) gi.

As I extracted my foot I heard and felt a snap. So did my opponent. Upon closer examination I could see my second toe on my left foot had snapped like a dried twig.

One of my first reactions was to calculate how long I would be out of action for.  I guessed at least two weeks. For the next five days I could barely walk, I hobbled at a tortoise pace grimacing in pain. The peak of the pain was reached on Friday when my toe began to throb in agony. On Monday, six days after the incident, I was able to walk a little better. The swelling had subsided, although I still felt pain when walking. I therefore decided that I would return to Jiu-Jitsu against the advice of just about everyone. I didn’t intend to go hard, just watch and participate in a few drills. It was a wise decision. Yes, I experienced some pain, which could have been avoided had I opted to sit on my couch, drink beer, and watch Pornhub, but Pornhub is no match for Jiu-Jitsu.

The next night I tried again. It was all going to plan as I continued to avoid anything that had the potential of causing my foot pain. But then my plans took a dramatic change. Our Sensei Tommy selected three of us to take a spot in the center of the dojo. I looked at Tommy to see if he was going to change his mind about including me considering my current impairment. He wasn’t. Next the opponents started coming at us, one at a time. Each had 2 minutes to tap us out.

Before the first opponent arrived, I predicted I would probably only survive the first one or two antagonists before I was submitted. After opponent number two I forgot all about my injured foot and focused on the matter at hand: submitting whomever came to claim my spot. I fought 8 people that night in 20 minutes. It was another great evening of Jiu-Jitsu action to lock away in the memory bank, a memory that would not exist if I had followed the advice of my feeble mind.

A friend and fellow Jiu-Jitsu student recently underwent a major knee surgery. He was laid up in bed for at least two weeks. As soon as he could walk again he attended Jiu-Jitsu class. He didn’t do much apart from watch but the point is, he showed up. Life is all about showing up!

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If you break your leg, I am not advising you to go to the gym and start performing squats. I am, however, suggesting that you go to the gym and exercise your other leg while working on your entire body which remains in good shape. Why let your body, and eventually your mind, turn to mush because you have an injury? As someone said to me the other day as I complained about my toe injury, “You still have another 9 toes!” Like most good advice, it was unwelcome at the time.

If you are unfortunate enough to get injured or you find yourself taking the easy route, you must change tact before it is too late. Get back to doing what brings you the greatest long term benefits as soon as humanly possible. Pain is temporary, benefits are long lasting!

Happy Monday!

Banner Image: Don’t let an injury stop you. Image Credit – yang miao