Darn You Auto Correct
I have become completely reliant on my cell phone. My life is in that little box. I truly believe I would have some type of physical withdrawal symptoms if I were to lose it. Not just misplace it over and over…but truly have it taken away. It’s my lifeline to communicate with family, address pertinent issues at work, capture memories, and stay in touch with my peeps.
Like many phones, it has an auto-correct feature that allows me to type and get “close” to the intended word…only for it to read my mind and correctly spell the word I meant to type. This is very useful because I have man hands and fat thumbs. I appreciate the smart technology. The catch is that I have to check every message before I hit send because the auto-correct feature doesn’t always guess the right word.
I’m not alone. There is now a website dedicated to auto-correct mishaps. The messages that people sent unintentionally can be side-splitting hilarious. Auto-correct can definitely equal trouble. Auto-correct fixes our words when they become broken…and sometimes it fixes them even when they aren’t broken.
Why is it that we don’t fix something until it’s broken? This is particularly true regarding our health. We don’t seek help for that persistent back pain until we can’t bend over to tie our shoes. Not until we get a diagnosis of diabetes or high blood pressure do we start doing something about our weight or eating habits.
It’s no secret that a lot of us put off taking care of ourselves – when do we have time between car circle, work, homework, and taking care of our homes? Regarding pelvic floor dysfunction such as urinary incontinence, research has shown that women take years to even mention the problem to their doctors. Personally, I think the reason is that we are busy taking care of everyone else and put off addressing our own issues.
When I was pregnant with my children, it was easy to take care of myself – I was doing it for them. I maintained a balanced diet, avoided caffeine and highly processed foods, and exercised regularly. Breast feeding was the same way – when I was considering someone else’s needs, choices were simple. But as soon as life was back to just me, I fell back into my old habits.
It all comes down to motivation. When we are eating for two, we are motivated by our unborn baby. We want to give him the best start possible and make wise decisions concerning his health. If our health starts to decline, we are motivated by fear…fear of more problems arising and possibly fear of death. That is enough to motivate anyone!
I’ve found that other external factors can act as motivators also. A friend recently told me that the mirror in her bathroom is directly outside of her completely see-through glass shower. She said that looking at herself naked in the mirror every morning has motivated her to lose weight. I think it would do the same for me!
My motivator is peer pressure. When people around me are working out and changing their lives, I want to be a part of the positivity. It spurs me to action. I also take words to heart. Compliment me on my hair and you better believe I’m going to wear that style over and over. I’ve always been very frank with my husband to just tell me I look horrible in a pair of jeans simply so I stay motivated to run. Even though I tell myself over and over that true change comes from within, those external influences go a long way in my book.
But why is it so hard to take that next step? For me, it’s simply a dislike of change. I don’t want to change what feels comfortable. I’m afraid change won’t taste good. Change may make me do something I’ve never done before. Change might even hurt or get me out of bed early in the morning when I want to sleep. Change is scary.
But there are ways to make change easier. Building a network of support is a great first step. We have physical therapists in our facility but we also work closely with the coaches at CrossFit Conversion to help clients make life changes. Every client is an individual and the first step looks different for everyone. It might be exercising for the first time in years, changing poor lifestyle habits, or addressing an old injury that prevents activity and taking the first step. Whatever the issue – putting it off only prevents a solution.
If that’s not motivation enough, have your spouse turn on the auto-correct feature. Even though my husband has (wisely) chosen to stay neutral when it comes to complimenting my physique, his auto-correct feature sent me all the motivation I needed a few weeks back.
Him: “You are an amazon woman.”
Me: “Excuse me?!”
Him: “I meant amazing woman. Dang spell checker.”
Me: “Okay…love you, too;-/”