When things don’t go to plan.
I had a crap week last week.
I am not having the month that I had planned. I decided to set myself a couple of fitness challenges for the last month of the year. In December, I am usually tempted to take a “there’s no point in starting anything new until January” sort of an approach. But this year I decided that I would not procrastinate and would just start now. I could have four weeks of fitness under my belt before the first champagne cork of New Year’s Eve had been popped.
My goals were a beginner’s strength programme (I really want to be able to do a proper push up) and increasing my Peloton spin classes from 30-45 minutes.
I even started on 28th November:
Monday - 45-minute spin
Tuesday - strength training
Wednesday - broken ankle
I spent an uncomfortable afternoon waiting my turn in the emergency department. I had plenty of time to sit and get cross about the impending inconvenience and scuppering of my plans. The doctor confirmed that I had sustained an avulsion fracture when I twisted my ankle. I slid on wet leaves, as I walked to work. My family are blaming my chunky platform boots, but they are sensible Clarks boots, and I cannot possibly agree!
In 2014, I did the same injury walking (in flat boots) on uneven ground. I spent a week non weight bearing, which was a total nightmare for someone with the upper body strength of a peanut (see requirement for push up skills). Then I spent five weeks in a walking boot. It took an age to return to any sort of fitness. I spent hours on the sofa watching daytime TV and getting fatter. I knew that things were getting bad when I got anxious that I might miss an episode of “Bargain Hunt.”
I felt deflated and miserable at the prospect of the next six weeks being the same. But I have changed since 2014 and so has my career. Back then I was working as a Consultant Anaesthetist in the UK National Health Service (NHS). To be perfectly honest, I was glad of a break from work and a chance to rest. A broken ankle was an extreme reason, but it made me stop and gave me time to think. I had already recovered from an episode of burnout, and I knew that looking after my physical and mental health was important. I was also starting to think about how I could change my career. The time and space to think were invaluable.
It took another two years for me to confidently change direction and leave my NHS job. There was much self-coaching to be done.
The benefit of being a coach is that you can practice on yourself. I had been mentoring and coaching for many years in my medical education role at work, but I did not have a hat or shiny badge that stated “Coach” on it. I have written here about the kinds of things that I did, without realising that I was coaching myself.
It was when I started listening to podcasts and reading self-help books, that I thought coaching is something that I would like to add to my portfolio career. And yes, I went off and did a serious qualification so that I could prove my worth. Imposter syndrome is a post for another day...
How did coaching help me in 2022 with ANOTHER broken ankle?
The wait in the emergency department was long and it gave me time to think about what else I CAN do.
My arms (and the rest of me) still work simply fine, so I can do modified body strength exercises. Exercise really boosts my mental and physical wellbeing.
I am allowed to walk, so I can get outside and do some more of that when the pain is better.
I can go to work. I proved that in my morning clinic before I admitted to myself that I had better go to hospital (I did hobble round a bit).
No driving, so that will limit my capacity for Christmas prep. In fact, I can now delegate with impunity (yay). I have written a post about reducing stress at Christmas, as a recovering perfectionist, here. There are 20 other tips that do NOT include breaking your ankle!
I am curious and look for ways to re-frame things when I can.
I am good at setting realistic goals and reviewing them regularly. SMARTER goals are a great place to start (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound, Evaluated, Reviewed).
I am better at sitting with ALL my emotions and know that it is all right to feel rubbish sometimes.
I may have ordered a new bright lipstick to cheer myself up (that is OK too).
I am not able to get ahead in the way that I had hoped, but I don’t have to resign myself to doing nothing towards my goals. I left the local emergency department with advice to wear the protective boot and an expectation to receive a physiotherapy appointment in 4 weeks. A Google search revealed a brilliant NHS Virtual Fracture Clinic, in Brighton, that gave me information about what I could do to help myself recover from day one.
It would be great if the NHS could share resources between Trusts so that all patients around the UK can benefit from excellent practice!
My next find was a “Hurt foot total body workout” on YouTube. I have already done it twice and think I can manage 25 minutes every day. There will soon be Abs hiding under my midriff, and I will be well on the way to doing a push up by next year.
It can be easy to fall into a negative mindset when things don’t go to plan, but sometimes a change in plan can have a silver lining.
Oh, and I do have the perfect excuse to catch up with some TV and binge watch seasons 4, 5, and 6 of Outlander. No Bargain Hunt for me this time!
What strategies do you have for when things don’t go to plan?
Let me know in the comments.
To find out more about working with me check out the links in my Linktree.