This blog entry is a continuation of a discussion on how the book It Takes What It Takes by Trevor Moawad has impacted my life. If you haven’t read part one I encourage you to do so.
This book has been a great addition to my motivation tool bag and has helped shape the mindset needed to overcome a lot of the obstacles on my journey. This is definitely one of the best books I've ever encountered. With the lessons learned from this book and conversations from a new friend, I have been able to accomplish two major milestones.
The first milestone I achieved was being able to ride my bike on the indoor bike trainer for an hour. This is an extremely hard task to do with one leg. Prior to this point, I had only been able to ride on the bike trainer for 20-30 minutes. To achieve the level of fitness I desire on the bike, I knew I had to step it up a notch and so I set a goal of riding on the trainer for one hour.
WHEW BABY!!!!! When I tell you it was hard,I mean that on everything I love. I had to stop several times to take short breaks, but I would immediately climb back on the bike and start pedaling again. On the last twenty minutes of the ride, I had to take a break almost every two minutes. I used an app called Zwift to track my progress. The app only tracks time when the rear wheel on the bike moves. Those last twenty minutes of riding probably took me forty minutes to complete.
It was during the last twenty minutes of the ride that I had to rely on the lessons learned from the book and the P.U.S.H. Mentality. The book teaches that, if you want to be successful, there are no choices. In this instance, if I wanted to achieve my fitness goals I had no choice in whether or not to complete this ride. It was something that I had to do. No matter how long it took to complete, it had to be done. I had to Persevere Until Something Happened!
I recently befriended a fellow amputee that lives in California. Thank God for the internet and social media. She has been a great inspiration for myself and others and I love her determination and grit. She has also shared wonderful tidbits of information that have helped make my journey a little easier.
This beautiful soul mentioned to me one day that she walked for 90 minutes several times a week. My jaw hit the floor when I read her message. You see, she has a hip disarticulation. In plain terms, her amputation occurred at the hip joint. This is the hardest lower limb amputation to recover from. Most amputees with a hip disarticulation opt not to use a prosthetic because of the difficulty involved with rehab and learning to use a prosthetic. This conversation motivated me to do more.
Prior to her telling me about her 90 minute walks, I had been walking with my walker at the local wellness center for 20-30 minutes a few days a week. I now knew it was time to step my game up. I wanted to be able to walk a mile but decided that focusing on time would be a better option. The philosophy behind that thinking is that the body doesn’t know the distance you walk but rather the amount of time you are walking.
So one day after therapy I set out to achieve my goal of walking one hour. There were several times when I wanted to quit. I told myself, “you did well up to this point. You’ll get it done next time.” But I knew that way of thinking wasn’t an option. Giving up would have felt good at that moment but later on I would have regretted it. I kept P.U.S.H.ing. Instead of focusing on the time or the distance, I just focused on taking the next step. The time was going to pass anyway, so all I had to do was just take the next step. Whether fast or slow, just take the next step.
When it was all said and done, I had walked for an hour and also completed one mile. I was proud of myself for not giving up and super excited to reach my goals. If I had to summarize these achievements I would resort to a common saying made popular by motivational speaker Les Brown.
”By the Yard it’s Hard. But Inch by Inch, Everything is a Cinch.”
Until Next Time...
P.U.S.H. Because No One Fights Alone. #WrightStrong
