Читать книгу Above and Beyond - J.S. Dorian - Страница 57

“The future is purchased by the present.”

SAMUEL JOHNSON

“We’re going to get this thing under control,” the doctor assures you. For the first time in months you’re able to smile through the pain. She then outlines a rigorous program designed to relieve your crippling joint inflammation and stiffness.

For two weeks after that you follow the program religiously. You set your watch alarm in order to take each of the four medications on time, and you carefully weigh out the diet supplements. You take frequent rest periods, stretch and exercise as prescribed, and do your utmost to eliminate stress from your life. Then, one exhausting day, with no real improvement evident or in sight, you are suddenly overwhelmed with the prospect of continuing this demanding routine for the rest of your life.

Join the club. Many of us experience disillusionment when we optimistically plunge ahead with a new treatment regimen and then discover how difficult and time-consuming it is.

But there are many ways to reverse such self-doubt and waning motivation. Perhaps the very best way is to take a hard look at the consequences of giving up the treatment program, or doing it haphazardly, and allowing the disease to resume its debilitating course.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Haven’t you felt bad enough, long enough?