One place where I have gotten good about spending money on myself is therapy, both physical and mental. This was a process too, and I initially had a hard time parting with copays. But I've come to see that improving myself is well worth the $200 and (gulp) almost $900 that I will have respectively spent in therapy offices by the end of the summer (that money represents the 6 weeks of physical therapy I foresee doing and the mental therapy I've been going to since last May).
Speaking of improving myself, I've found that it's a really good thing that I'm going to physical therapy. I initially started up because of shin splint issues; I was having a hard time running, and I wanted to learn some stretches to help me out. After being evaluated, I found out that I have some back misalignment issues that are tilting my pelvis and may very well be the cause of these shin issues. So now they're adjusting my back, and I'm starting to wish that a crampy shin was my only problem. The back adjustment is definitely painful.
Of course, I don't help out too much in the body department. I'm a bit of a klutz, and yesterday I managed to bruise my foot (dropped some paddles on it) and my cheekbone (watch that frisbee!). So the current tally is this:
- minorly sore calf
- bruised right foot
- bruised right cheekbone (tho I'm pretty sure you can't see it in the mirror, but I can feel it)
- really sore back
The worst part is that the back is limiting me from doing the stuff I love. I have been kayaking at work, but I can't give it my all because the twisting kills. Worse yet, I could only play a few points of frisbee last night. The bouncing of running up and down field became killer. I also felt wussy for spending so much time on the sideline.
In the long-run, I know this is worth it. I can't imagine getting older and having permanent back problems and pain that keep me from ever doing sports of outdoor activities. The hope is to fix this now and learn exercises and stretches that keep me strong and healthy. Of course, then, I have to do those stretches and exercises. I'm a bit lazy with stretching, so I've decided to come up with some personal motivation, and I'm mentioning it here so that I don't dilly-dally on this too much. I'm going to mark my stretching sessions on my calendar. After a month of stretching at least twice a day, I will allow myself to go buy a refurbished ipod nano. Then, I'll buy a nike+ chip so that I can start tracking my runs. I've wanted to do this for a long time, and this is just the motivation I need to keep me stretching and healthy.