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Another common thread that tied most of us together weekend was the full belief in personal responsibility. I didn't hear people blaming CF. I didn't hear them saying it was "impossible" to get all of their treatments in. I didn't hear them give reason upon reason as to why they would get sick at times, if they knew they weren't doing everything possible that they could do to stay healthy. Instead, what I heard was peeps talking about "controlling what you can control" and "making sure that at the end of the day you could be proud of your effort". And hearing stuff like that was certainly like a sweet symphony in my ears.
I've always been a big believer in personal responsibility. Now, I'll be the first to admit that it hasn't always bled into my CF life, but in everything that didn't have to do with CF, I was never an excuses kind of a guy. There was a time when I fell for the classic CF tricks like "I don't have enough time" and "I can't possibly handle anymore treatments", but fortunately, I was able to see the error of my ways after a very close call and 52 days in the hospital. Since that "little" episode, I have taken up the flaf of personal responsibility in the area of my health as well. I knew after that crazy time in my life that all of the little excuses I was making and all of the tricks I was falling for were going to get me nowhere but dead. And frankly, dead is not where I wanted to be.
The thing is, if we wait around for the perfect time to give our max effort, it's never going to happen. I can still give you plenty of reasons why I can't exercise. I could go on for days about how inconvenient my treatments are. If I waited for a time in which I was not tired to exercise, or free from pain, I'd never see the gym.
Here's a recent example...I took the red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston. I left Phoenix at 11:45pm and landed in Boston at 7:35am. I maybe slept for three hours on the flight. After arriving at the hotel, I did three things, and in this order:
1. I went to Dunkin Donuts to get some coffee
2. I did a treatment set
3. I went for a run
Now, was I tired? Yes. Was I not feeling on top of the world as a result of the flight? Yes. Did I want to run? Nope. There wasn't anything in me that wanted to run. So why did I do it? Because the days that I run, I feel better. Because I didn't run the day before. Because I said that I would when I left Phoenix. Because I want to live and live well. Because nobody else can run for me.
Point is, we often do things that we don't want to do. The thing is, it's doing everything to take care of ourselves that will put us into position to do more things that we want to do and do them well. With better health can come better life. I didn't fully believe that in the past. I thought I was having the time of my life back in the day, but little did I know that that life was slowly killing me. Now, with a refocus on health and personal responsibility, it feels like I'm living more than I ever have - and it feels great!!
What about you? Are you doing everything you can do to put yourself in the best position to succeed each and every day?
