Knowing when to stop

Our family has had a pretty good past month. We've had holidays, come back to some exciting new things happening for our family and our church and I think we're feeling pretty focused on the future and what it has in store. Certainly, I'm pretty motivated at the moment.

Coming back from holidays I was especially motivated to loose some weight. lol

Yes, with the inevitable overindulgence, I toppled over the 100kg mark and new it was time to get serious about it. I'm above 40 and it doesn't get any easier as you get older. I needed to drop about 8kg and the process thus far has been pretty enjoyable thanks to one my best mates, a gym junkie and trainer.

Well it was until last wednesday.

Until recently, I've not really been able to do push-ups. However, by last week, I was doing 4 sets of 10 each morning. I say was. I'm not anymore.

It seems my elbows didn't approve.

After a week and a half of daily push-ups, my elbows, specifically the tendons, got really unhappy. REALLY unhappy. I've had anti-inflammatory cream on them every few hours and they've hurt a fair bit. At first, I laid off a little, but continued my regular routine.

That was a mistake.

I realized this morning, after a solid weekend of engagements and tasks, that I had to find a way to stop. Basically the only way I could do this was to sit still and do nothing. Nothing at all. Otherwise, I'd been stressing my arms in some way or another. And they weren't going to get better any other way.

Man, how hard is it to stop?

And then came the feelings. Guilt coz I wasn't working. Frustration coz I couldn't make progress with one thing or another. Impatience with the weakness of my own body. Concern over compromising my exercise routine. Etc.

But basically, I had to. I'd overdone it.

That's the reality of life. When you're sick or hurt, you have to stop. Stop, rest, reflect and let your system recover. I've got a few friends who've just lived this but depression and anxiety. For me, it's easy. A few days of taking it easy and I'll be back to strength again hopefully.

For them it's harder. Much harder.

Most of them have resigned from their jobs to heal properly. They've done the right thing. Society puts lots of pressure on us to keep charging when we're broken and damaged. That attitude leads to destruction and burnout.

If you're hurt, stop and rest. If you're broken seek help.

There is no shame in it. As the old saying goes...

"He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day"

Jesus words in Matthew 11:28 encourage me even more...

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."