Why breaking my arm was a triumph, not a disaster

Breaking bones when you’re over 60 can be a worry. When I broke my arm last year, my initial reaction was fear and shock.

For the first 40 minutes I was in a huge amount of pain. I was focused on the pain and trauma. When I got to the emergency department at the hospital, they assessed me and said they would bring me some painkillers while I waited for an x-ray. After an hour, no painkillers had arrived, but by then I’d decided I didn’t need them.

The television in the waiting room screened a news item about an earthquake and flood in Serbia. Images of people injured, dying, losing their homes and families flashed before my eyes and I shifted my focus from my trauma to my blessings. I realised that as someone who teaches people resilience skills – how to survive and prosper in life and business – I had to live my philosophy 24/7.

So, I used hypnosis to control the pain and set myself the challenge of becoming fully ambidextrous within a few days. Instead of ‘awfulising’ about my situation (I broke my right arm which is my dominant one), I geared myself up to be excited about the challenge and how I would go about it.

Here’s a 2-minute video clip of how I turned breaking my arm from a disaster into a triumph:

Within just 24 hours I’d mastered completing the majority of daily tasks with my other hand. I did it by rewiring my brain.

Is it time to rewire your brain?

Most people are emotionally attached to being the same person year in, year out. I get it. I’ve been there. But it doesn’t serve you emotionally, relationship-wise, socially or in your career or business.
Doctors’ surgeries see a host of people requesting drugs to alter their moods because they’re unable to cope with change. Bankruptcy courts deal with the consequences of many business people who didn’t adapt to market forces.
And the cemeteries house a plethora of people who lived a life of regret and whose dying words were: “If only”.

I read an article recently about a woman who said her two-year marriage, which ended 20 years ago, was still the cause of her not having relationships today. This is a classic example of holding your past responsible for everything that happens today and in the future.

Like I said, I’ve been there and done that and I know it’s no way to live life. So, it’s time to get your slow brain into action in the fast lane – no matter what your age, it’s not too late to make changes. Adaptability is the key to an extraordinary life.
Nothing stays the same. We are not designed by nature to stay the same. The only guarantee in life is that change will occur. Yet society, families and many other groups try to convince you to stay in your own little corner of the world. You may even tell yourself to stay the same and not rock the boat, in an attempt to remain safe.

But change will happen, with or without your permission. How you handle it will determine your level of happiness and satisfaction with your life. Here’s the good part: You can rewire your brain, change your thoughts, behaviours, emotions and circumstances fast when you surrender yourself to the possibility of change and learning new survive and prosper skills.

Here’s a short video of me 48 hours after breaking my arm, writing my name with my non-dominant hand. Click ‘play’ to see which easy and fun technique I used to rewire my brain and make this happen:

Tell us, have you broken a bone? What did you do to cheer yourself up?