What do I mean by a “Failure Prescription”?
Basically, it is when someone receives a diagnosis and because of that, they give up all hope, all efforts to stay healthy and fit. It is as if that diagnosis was a prescription to fail. I borrowed this term from another blog.
For example, someone may have been told they will never regain their strength, so they do not even try. They avoid lifting weights, they avoid carrying shopping bags, they hardly walk and spend most of their time sitting. They lose hope.
Now, I am not condemning these people. They are just fulfilling the “failure prescription” they feel they have been given by acting accordingly. I do understand and sympathise with them.
This post is about challenging those assumptions. How? Well for example:
1) It is likely that the health professional who gave a failure prescription (“you have arthritis”, “you have wear and tear of your spine/knee” etc) were only reporting their interpretation of a test result. If they said “you may never regain strength”, they were probably bracing you and themselves for the WORST possible outcome, not the most likely one and certainly not the ONLY possible outcome. We all know of cases when doctors said “you will never walk again” only to find that their patient DID indeed get better and was able to happily walk again.
2) Just because you have arthritis, it does not mean you have to have pain. Just because you have some wear and tear in your spine (or disc degeneration), it does not mean you will (or need to) have pain. There have been autopsies on the bodies of people who never had back pain but who turned out to have had several deranged (“prolapsed”) intervertebral discs.
3) Always work towards your ideal life. Want a strong body? You specifically need to imagine yourself strong again in the future and do resistance exercise religiously. Get someone you trust to help you design a program and also motivate you on this path. Only employ people who, you feel, believe you can do it. People with integrity and honesty.
4) Whether you are currently healthy or not so much (we are all at different places on this health spectrum), we can always change our health status for the better. How to do so is not really a secret (though there is some trial and effort involved, and definitely some effort, but the rewards are immense)
Holistic approach to health. Live a healthy lifestyle (food, sleep, exercise, reduce stress), maintain a positive mindset (including gratitude), supportive relationships and cultivate your spiritual side.
Not sure how to start? Ask me. It will be my honour to help you along the path, moving away from “failure prescriptions” and towards improved health.
Blessings,
Emanuela.
Holistic Fitness Consultant