No one likes injuries — this goes without saying. Still, accidents happen and sometimes things don’t go your way. To make things worse, while injured, life isn’t quite the same. You’re probably unable to do the things you usually do, and you certainly won’t be able to be as active. Doom and gloom aside, we have an essential message for you — keep your hopes up, you’ll get out of this.
How do we know? Because our bodies have a remarkable ability to recover, especially when paired with proper care and attention. On this optimistic note, we’d like to add that this process can be expedited by following and adhering to the right advice.
What you’ll need
First and foremost, you’ll need friends and family to support you during your recovery. You’ll find that they’re a great source of motivation and support, more often than not, enough to keep you going. Second, you’ll need a space where you can feel comfortable undergoing your physical therapy. It’s essential to be in an environment where you are at ease to push and challenge yourself.
Third, you’ll need to create a list of physical therapy goals, along with appropriate milestones, so that you know where you’re heading and how far you’ve come. Finally, create a reward system for yourself for when you inevitably complete your goals and milestones. Last but not least, you’ll need motivation — this is vital: without motivation, it will be tough to do anything.
Turn your therapy into a habit
An old axiom includes the lines, “sow an action, reap a habit.” Doing anything long enough will create a habit. So, take that bit of wisdom to heart and follow these recommendations.
Do a bit of it every day
Like exercise, it’s essential to do a little bit of therapy every day, which means no days off! Sure, the idea of this may sound daunting at first. But as you’ll see, by following the rest of the tips outlined in this article, you’ll be surprised to find that it’s easier than you imagined. As you endeavor to do a bit of therapy every day, you’ll notice it becoming more manageable, habitual, and almost second nature as your mind and body grow accustomed to integrating therapy into your daily routine.
Always remember where you’re heading (your goals)
Never lose sight of your goals! If you do, it quickly becomes effortless to break the habits you’ve put so much time and effort into developing. It’s crucial that you remind yourself of your goals every day, especially before your physical therapy sessions. One of the best ways to do this is by visualizing them. Whether it’s the simple act of writing your goals down on a board or the fridge or looking at a picture of yourself in a healthy physical state (injury-free), it will help keep you motivated when you visualize your goals.
When defining your goals, make sure that they’re realistic, achievable, and measurable. The last thing you want to do is set yourself up for failure and the subsequent disappointment that comes with it. Allow yourself plenty of time for recovery and record any and all progress. Seeing the progress you’re making is motivating in and of itself.
Make your training fun
The best way to stay with any type of training or therapy is to make it an enjoyable experience. How can you do that? We’re glad you asked!
Challenges
Challenging yourself is not only vital to physical therapy but also your growth as a person. When you overcome a challenge, not only are you met with a wave of satisfaction and euphoria, but you’re also instilled with a newly found confidence in yourself. You now know that YOU are capable of not only completing past challenges but, given your track record, future challenges, too. With that knowledge, you’ll have the confidence to push your boundaries and yourself toward achieving your physical therapy goals.
It’s important to note that when challenging yourself, it’s perfectly okay to fail. Did you know that failure is a blessing in disguise? It’s the single most excellent learning mechanism available to us, a stepping stone between your current position and success. As you learn from your mistakes, you only get closer to your goals. Failure is not final.
Prizes
There’s an opportunity cost to the way we spend our energy and time, which means we tend to gravitate toward the most rewarding courses of action, favoring activities with little to no compensation. With this said, you’ll be able to make physical therapy much more fun (and rewarding) by rewarding yourself with prizes. We recommend smaller rewards such as a tasty treat, beverage, or time allocation toward your favorite activity as a reward for participating in daily physical therapy.
We recommend rewarding yourself with something more substantial for reaching milestones. Perhaps a movie night? An online purchase (or two)? Whatever it is, it has to be something that you are willing to work toward obtaining. It has to be enough to motivate you!
Motivation
Motivation is essential to reaching your physical therapy goals. Although the mental battle to spur yourself into action is made far more winnable by challenging and rewarding yourself, sometimes you need an additional boost to get going. That might come in the form of a supportive friend or family member. It may also come by observing your daily patterns, identifying when and where you are most active, and aligning your physical therapy sessions with those times. Either way, motivating yourself requires a degree of introspection that you’ll achieve by being mindful of yourself and your mannerisms.
Turn your fitness goals into an achievable venture
By creating a list of achievable and measurable goals and forming daily habits conducive to achieving them, you’ve taken the first steps toward your successful injury recovery. While striving to achieve these goals, we recommend converting them into a venture, complete with challenges and prizes to help motivate you.
One of the best ways to go about this is to gamify your goals, something you can do with Bobo Home. Bobo Home introduces fun and straightforward balance training and injury recovery therapy. Learn more by clicking below.
