So, under the sage advice of all of my healthcare providers, I've been rehabbing my way back to functionality after my 2nd back injury in the past 9 months. Most recently I started PT (finally!) to restore my core strength (core meaning the abdominal and deep muscles that support your spine and...well...pretty much your entire midsection, which in turn supports everything you want and need to do with your body).
I realized in a moment of disillusionment that I had lost so much of my strength, and my once truly stunning "rock hard abs" had disintigrated into a serious case of the "gooshie mushies." Ok, in an effort to remain ENTIRELY truthful, they hadn't been designated as "rock hard abs" since the birth of my second child, but even after that, they still could at least be referred to as "kind of thick plexiglass hard abs."
But, I've been doing my best to stay optimistic about the journey back to pain-free movement and Zumba classes, so I took on the pelvic tilt exercises with conviction and focused all spare energy on holding in my rather flacid midsection every time I walk. This, I was told, would begin to start engaging those core muscles slowly but surely and retraining them like out-of-practice circus animals to behave again.
At first, I referenced these modest little exercises as my "rock hard abs" workout. Then I jokingly referred to them as my "rock hard flab" workout, because that's kind of how it felt. Then, even though I laughed when I said it or thought it, I suddenly (and thankfully) caught myself. That's exactly the WRONG way to go about creating the change we want in our bodies or in our lives.
In the realm of health and well-being (much less every other area of our lives), we're taught to focus so much on what's wrong, what's not as it should be, how things aren't the way we want them to be, what's broken, and the like. We live in a world focused on weaknesses rather than strengths, deficits rather than assets, and illness rather than wellness. And that's what gets us weaker, with more deficits, and more illness.
That common Phrase "what you focus on expands" is absolutely correct, whether it's your negative thoughts about your job, relationship, bank account, or waistline. So, my resolution today is to transition (again) from referring to my "rock hard flab" and return to focusing on my "rock hard abs." Seems like it has better potential to bring me more of what I want in the coming months, including a healthier back and a super-human midsection, so I think it's worth a try, at least. Won't you join me?
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