It has been over two months since I got the steroid injection in my neck to help reduce the inflammation in the nerve that has been affected. It has been 5 months since all of this has started. 5 months.
I blew up the disc in my neck…GOOD. Why would I say good? Because there are so many blessings that can come from a setback if you look for them or take the time to notice them. Jocko Willink does a great job explaining this in this short video clip.
The injury has given me perspective on what other people are going through and it inspired me to write this so that if anyone else is going through it, maybe we can help each other. It has given me the opportunity to slow down and really appreciate living in the moment. It has taught me to breathe, yup you read that right, breathe. So many of us don’t know how to breathe properly, especially while exercising. It has taught be about patience and persistence. I believe that I also have a deeper appreciation for what I do have vs. what I am chasing.
Having an attitude of abundance around what happens to you and looking for the GOOD in it can be very empowering. We don’t get to choose the results or outcomes, we only get to choose our habits, our activity, then the results or outcomes will happen.
As I reflect on my life and the choices I have made, the choices I made when I was in my late teens and early twenties are exposing themselves in a big way now. Time exposes everything. I have to live with abundance and accept those results because I chose to do what I did back then. Think about it. You can apply this to every area of your personal and professional life. Some are negative and some are positive. How you react to them is entirely up to you and you get to choose your attitude towards them. You can live with abundance or scarcity. Positivity or negativity. Proactive or reactive. It’s up to you.
An update on my neck, things have been really good lately. Occasional flair ups due to unnecessary stress that came into my life but I worked through that. Stress is something that can really cause long term negative effects. If you are not dealing with stress and trying to avoid it or ride it out, time will expose you. How do you handle stress now? For me it is food. I love to eat when I am stressed. Not drinking alcohol probably drove me to food as well. But I have always been that way. Now that I notice it, I have to create a new habit/routine when I am stressed. Exercise is another great stress reliever.
The best way to handle stress is to talk it through with someone. Maybe a professional, maybe not. Some people have some issues with therapists and being labeled. You have to get past that and do yourself a favor and seek out a competent therapist that can help you move past your issues. We all have them and we all should get the help!
I have been running 3 days a week which is huge for me these past 5 years. I am up to 4 miles which I have not run that far for 5 years now due to an injury of some sort. I feel great. My core/hips and legs are strong and feel like they are really nimble. I have started doing daily mobility exercises to keep my joints moving and do the Cal Poly hip warm up as well. Don’t forget that I still do my back/core warm up with Foundation Training daily as well. The one area I don’t workout is my chest, shoulders, and no pull ups. If I do pushups or another chest exercise, my neck flairs up and I pay for it later.
If you think you cannot run because it hurts or causes pain, I am here to tell you that you can, you just have to really want to and then put the time in to learn how to run properly, ditch the crappy shoes that most companies are making and start from scratch. Read up on “The Natural Running Network” & “Pose Tech Running ” to learn how to run properly. Then put in the time to do it right. I can tell you have most of you won’t because it is new it is hard and it takes a lot of time to do this right. But if you do, you will be able to run until you are really old with no issues.
At work I have my desk area set up with my balance disk to stand on while I stand at my desk or I sit on it while in my chair. I stop what I am doing throughout the day to do exercises once an hour. Air squats, yoga moves, disk squats on one leg or two legs, etc.
My daily top ten routine has been the most impactful routine I can do. Praying multiple times a day. Journaling, gratitude, reading. It all adds up. Then compound that over time and you get some positive results vs. negative.
The scalene muscles are still the one area that helps bring the most relief and I am struggling to get this one area to release. There is a large knot in there that won’t go away. Along with that I am getting my left shoulder/back worked on as that is the one that I separated in 2009 and it appears has not developed properly thus causing some of my issues. I’ll keep you posted.
Nutritionally things have been well. When I get really stressed a week ago or so I lapsed a bit but that was temporary. I really enjoy the LifeVantage products and have noticed my energy level is awesome, along with my mental cognitive alertness. I believe that everyone should read the book “Deep Nutrition”. Ditch the vegetable oils at a minimum!
To your health & abundance!
Steve Aune, Ninsurance Ninja
Steve Aune 
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