Climbing Higher
Climbing higher, a rich, long life requires wisdom. Not only the kind found in books and intellectual endeavors but also the deeper insight and understanding that is etched into the soul by decades of showing up again and again for the deceptively simple, unglamorous, and repetitive effort.
It takes years of mistakes—lessons in the making—staying strong and committed in discomfort, trusting that the protracted process is working in your favor. Trouble is, building the necessary layers of insight and understanding that help us master life requires uncommon durability and longevity. Climbing higher requires a sustained upstream effort where the current of decline keeps pulling at you.
I saw this lack of durability come to life, one-by-one in my friends, clients I work with, and my fishing club peers.
It was troubling to watch friends and peers I was close to relegated to sitting in the stands while we played in the adventurous arena of fly-fishing, hiking, biking, and climbing higher. It was almost unbearable to see capable friends sidelined by what I knew with full confidence was preventable.
My challenge became how to spark change. Teaching fitness is not my goal. Thousands of people do that. My purpose is to inspire the spirit of growth and development in a sea of stagnation and decline.
Know that no matter where you are, what condition you are in, your body can do more than you think. We have been conditioned to use appearance as a fitness indicator, to measure weight not capacity. We are misled.
What if your goal was function?
Tom came to me with ‘claw hands.’ Carpal tunnel syndrome that with a lack of attention, had become extreme. Tom ignored it thinking the condition was just part of getting older. It never occurred to him that his condition was preventable and even reversible.
My first hurdle was to help Tom understand he had agency—the capacity to change his situation.
After several weeks of exercises—repeated four to six times per day—he began to feel supple and strong. Tom felt a shift. He said, “You always tell me aging is an opportunity. Well, it’s really hard to see the opportunity when you are in constant pain. Now, I feel like my body can be an asset not a hindrance.”
Within a few months, Tom was convinced to see an orthopedic specialist and pursue surgery. After surgery and with continued exercise, finger pliability increased. The numbness in his hands may or may not completely diminish, but the continued progression of his ‘claw’ condition will end.
Tom is not exceptional. His body simply responded and adapted to being given a reason.
Your body is not fragile; it’s adaptable. It will respond, grow, rebuild, and become resilient if you give it a reason to. Strength, endurance, balance and performance are not traits that you own. They are skills that are built.
When you experience what your body can do, you begin to respect it and give it the care and attention only you can provide. You realize that new behaviors and new habits have a deeper origin.
When was the last time you felt strong and resilient?
What if you began looking at your life as a laboratory?
Categorized in: Art of Aging, Fly Fisher Fitness