Take Your Time

We’re almost 3 months into the new year, and unfortunately, a lot of people have already given up on their goals for the year. How are you doing with the goals you set for yourself?

One study shows that 40% of Americans give up on their New Year’s resolutions. Doing anything new is hard for everyone. One of the reasons people give up, is they aren’t getting the results they want quickly enough. We cannot apply the “microwave” mentality to life.

While goal setting is beneficial, having an effective game plan is critical to achieving your goals. Regardless of what your goals are for this year, understand achieving them is a process and processes take time.

Below are a few of the top goals people have each year.

• Getting in shape
• Financial freedom
• Relationship goals

Writers have their own specific goals for the year, I have a couple myself. Goals are great for pushing ourselves to make progress. After my accident, I learned the importance of setting daily, weekly and yearly goals.

“Maybe it won’t be famous. Maybe it won’t be a movie. But that’s not why I started it. And that’s not why I’ll finish.”

Ryan Reudel

As with everything else in life, recovery is a process, it’s best to learn how to take your time.

Take Your Time

I had to relearn everything in life, and how to do them despite my limitations. Disabled persons want to get back to their “old” lives as quickly as possible. However, for most of us, it means accepting the “new” normal.

Sometimes rushing a recovery can do more harm than good. If your body and brain aren’t ready, a disabled person can hurt themselves and will suffer a setback in the process.

As with anyone else disabled persons must deal with growing pains that come with their recovery. There are unnecessary consequences many have to learn the hard way. It took me falling off of the toilet in the hospital to realize just how bad off I was.

Setbacks can make you want something more or give up. Understanding trials are part of the recovery process can help us enjoy the process better. Injuries take time to heal and each patient must do their part if they want to get better.

7 tips for recovering from injury from Social Elite Physical Therapy.

1. Critical original entry stage –When your injury first takes place, your initial response can have a drastic impact on your overall recovery outlook. For any injury that does not require an instant visit to the emergency room, there will always be a period of time before you meet and strategize with a physical therapist or doctor.
2. Rest and ice- After assessing your injury, the very first step is to take it easy and rest the affected area for at least a few days. The resting stage can perfectly coincide with the period of time that you set up an appointment with a physical therapist.
3. Compression, elevation –The second half of the fail-safe RICE method involves compression and elevation. Like step number 2, you should compress and elevate the injury the same day it occurs, or immediately if possible.
4. Light activity/exercise –If you are still at the stage where you are attempting to self-diagnose the severity of your recent injury, this can be a great step to lightly test the affected area. Make sure to never try your regular workout regimen.
5. Every case is different –There are so many factors that vary with each person’s body that could affect injury recovery and progression. Every case is truly different. That’s why you need a physical therapist to help guide you.
6. Balance of injury versus exercise –This can be one of the trickiest steps to execute within the injury recovery process. It’s important to stay in shape, but not at the expense of your injury recovery. Once you have received a diagnosis from your physical therapist or doctor, you will need to strictly follow their guidance for day-to-day activity.
7. Be aware of setbacks –Recovering from an injury in many cases can be very difficult. There is potential for setbacks. It can be fairly easy to tweak an injury and worsen your condition. Even if it has begun to improve.

The recovery process is a marathon just like the path to publication. Writers must take their time to learn the craft, hone their skills, and polish their writing.

“Assuming you already have your manuscript completed, it can take a writer nine months to two years for their book to be published once a contract is signed.”

Writers Digest

The writing process is long, but it gives us time to become better writers and to grow in the craft.

Grow As You Go

When we rush a process, we lose the time necessary to receive the best results. When we take our time we allow our muscles and skills to grow. Muscles grow and heal when our bodies are resting, not when we are working them.

After my accident I was in such a hurry to get out of the hospital, I didn’t realize the limitations of my eyesight. On one occasion I walked into a door frame while talking to my neuropsychologist.

The doctors decided to keep me in rehabilitation for a few weeks longer until I was better prepared. Novelist PD James observes, “Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer- however happy, however tragic- is ever wasted.” The recovery process serves numerous purposes.

• Allows the body to heal
• Helps us understand our weaknesses
• Helps us to grow stronger

Likewise, a writer’s journey takes time. As writers, we understand how important it is to grow our platforms and brands. Writers also must learn the craft, develop their voice and learn how to polish their writing; each of these is why we must take our time.

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.