When you are recovering, or rebuilding your strength following an injury social media can be tough to view. Each day my feed is full of photographs from my running friends who are sharing their successes. Most weekdays I wake to photographs of beautiful scenery from their runs. Weekends are full of race medals, smiling faces and finish line celebrations. Sure, I am happy for all my running friends who are continuing their journey. Sure, I celebrate all their accomplishments, support and congratulate them – and I mean it. But, that doesn’t mean it’s not hard for me and that I don’t feel like time is passing me by. I miss my runs, I miss my races and I miss my running friends.
Recently, I went on Twitter and noticed a photo of a group having a meet up run. I must admit I felt left out to not have even known about it. It’s not that they didn’t tell me they were meeting, it’s that I wasn’t able to be there to run. This run happens every year, I just wasn’t watching the run group calendar of events as I am currently on break. I had that FOMO moment and really started feeling sorry for myself. I got that nagging, whiny feeling of – “Why me?” “Why is everyone else able to run without any injury and I get injured when I think about running.” Then I reminded myself, that these photographs come from the “highlight reel” of their lives. Every runner struggles with injury, aches and pain because running is hard work. For every smiling photograph on social media, there are many other not so pretty moments on the journey.
This time of year can be especially hard on many people and social media can heighten these feelings. If you are feeling overwhelmed, it may be a good time to take a break from it. Get involved in something else to occupy the time you normally spend on social media. I have been walking instead and to stay motivated I joined a Fitbit Challenge called the Workweek Hustle. My work friend has been pushing me to walk more each day by upping her steps in this friendly competition. The walking has helped me to clear my mind and spend less time on the computer. That’s a win win for me on this recovery journey. I hope you consider doing the same.
Last year around this time I wrote a blog about similar feelings that you may find interesting.
Knowing you are not alone in the struggle can often lift you up. Drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing. Your notes of encouragement lift me up and often put a smile on my face. Thanks to all who take time to comment each week, I greatly appreciate your thoughts.
Reclaiming My Health 