As a person who's been burdened with chronic pain my entire adult life, I’ve invested unthinkable quantities of time, effort and money into overcoming pain. While many of these experiments have contributed to the extraordinary improvement in overall well-being I've experienced, nothing has made a dent on the pain.
Without dispute, it's a problem that's had me banging my head against the wall for a very long time -- the pain seemed to have a death grip on my soul. Even still, my resolve to move past it has never wavered (for long!). After all, isn’t the entire reason we’re here to overcome the challenges that arise in our lives?
From my experience in building lasting change in other areas of my life, I've discovered that (at least for me) it all comes down to the execution of a simple formula:
Vision: Establish a clear picture of who I want to become
Belief: Create an unshakable knowing I can become that person
Plan: Build a clear path for bridging the gap between who I am and who I want to become.
Despite knowing the 'how' of things, I was still standing at square one because I was lost. Each leg of the tripod was broken and needed to be repaired before I could move forward:
Vision: So focused on what I didn’t want (to not be in constant pain), I'd left no space to be inspired by my ideal future.
Belief: On the surface, I'd convinced myself I was capable of being strong and physically resilient, but deep down in my heart of hearts, I didn’t believe it to be true. How could I not feel defeated by the endless stream of failed experiments? In all honesty, I was pretty certain I was deformed and would never taste the change I longed for.
Plan: Most important of all, I was confused. I simply had no idea how to build a sustainably healthy body. More than anyone else I’ve ever known (or have ever heard about) I’ve experimented with countless tips, tricks, products, ‘gurus’, books, supplements, and movement routines; each with its unique approach to ending pain. Like is so often the case, the accumulation of knowledge led me ever deeper into the pit of bewilderment.
Enter Becoming a Supple Leopard by Dr. Kelly Starett. Since picking this book up a month ago (November 2023), I’ve watched in complete shock as the pain has steadily evaporated from my body. While there's still quite a lot of work left to do, I'm certain the principals in this book will provide me with everything I need to say goodbye to chronic pain for good.
The book has provided clarity to each of the three principals:
Vision: My desire is crystal clear — to move with effortless power into and through any position I want for as long as I’m still breathing.
Belief: The book's simple, yet profound, framework felt immediately right. With certainty, I knew I'd achieve the future I wanted through the diligent application of all I'd learned.
Plan: With my belief in check, it was easy to throw my ego (and the accumulated misinformation) out the window and rebuild my movement patterns and training routines from the ground up. Within the first week, I’d experienced improvements far beyond anything I could’ve imagined. This miraculous trend has continued in the weeks that have followed.
For the first time in my life, I can sit and ponder what I'd do with a perfectly healthy body. Literal tears of joy roll down my cheeks as the visions flow through my mind. With the sincerest of gratitude, thank you Dr. Starett!