I would wager that just about all of us are guilty of neglecting our bodily needs from time to time. I don’t necessarily mean we have, at one point or another, completely ignored something our body is trying to tell us (or perhaps we have), but chances are we have all turned a blind eye to a message our body is trying to send us for the sake of efficiency.
I’m not going to pretend I don’t fall into this category, because I most certainly do. I am very much a ‘push through the pain’ sort of person, and while this ideology isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it encourages ‘toughness,’ and/or resilience, if you will, it can be problematic when you push yourself too far and end up seriously hurting yourself in the process.
Our bodies are such unique, intelligent creations, and they are very capable of sending us messages and signs to indicate something may be wrong. But despite the abilities our bodies possess in this context, a lot of us choose to deflect and look past what our bodies may be attempting to signal to us in order to keep going on with our lives.
As tempting as it is to push and persevere, allow me to contest to the importance of not only paying attention to, but further listening to what our bodies require from us. If you’re tired, get some extra sleep. If you’re sore, have a warm bath with epsom salts. If you have a toothache, call your dentist. Chances are that addressing an issue with our bodies prior to it developing into something far worse and more complicated will be the better choice in the long run, and I imagine most of us would agree with this testament.
Be nice to your body. You’ve only got one.
ontheedgeofeverything 