Real or Imagined Barriers?

Have you ever considered doing something, but stopped because you believed that there was an insurmountable barrier in your way? When I work with clients, students and mentees, I challenge them to truly evaluate that barrier. Is it actually a barrier or is it a perceived barrier? This became three dimensional in my own life this summer

To understand this fully it is useful to know that, in January of 2017, my husband and I did all the demolition work to gut the second floor of our 1940’s home. At the end of that intense process, nine out of ten of my fingers had developed what is known as a “trigger finger,” (the working theory was that 56 is too old to begin a career in construction). I saw my primary care doctor in April that year and she told me to give them six months. By December only my right thumb and my wedding ring finger were still locking. Neither responded to the cortisone injection and I had the thumb surgically repaired. It was a very quick, relatively painless procedure.

Really a magic solution.

However, my wedding ring finger continued locking. The barrier I saw to getting it fixed was the removal of my wedding ring, most likely by having to be cut off. My Mom had to have hers cut off to do a similar repair and she was unhappy about it. Sooooo I lived with it.

Then in mid August of this year, the occupational therapist who was assisting in rehabbing a work related injury saw that trigger finger, (now quite painful both triggering and untriggering). I had less than two weeks on my health insurance before it changed and I was sure that I would not be able to get into the hand specialist’s office and get it taken care of.

No problem. I saw the surgeon in three days. He saw no reason to remove the wedding ring AND performed the procedure five days later under my health insurance before it changed.

All of that to say, take a good look at what is holding you back. Is the barrier a real one? Is it truly an insurmountable obstacle or is it only in your mind?

Something to think about…..