What a Busted Shoulder Taught Me About Reaching Your Goals

What a Busted Shoulder Taught Me About Reaching Your Goals

reaching your goalsHello, dear reader!

Yes, it’s my busted shoulder I’m going to be talking about!

When I say “busted”, it’s not broken, however it’s extremely painful and I have very little movement in it. A little less movement now, it seems, following the events of this afternoon.

I shall come to that forthwith…

How I Wrecked My Shoulder

This subheading is a little misleading, simply because I don’t know precisely why my shoulder feels like I’ve gone five rounds with a rancor (for non Star Wars nuts, a rancor is a huge, people-eating monster!).

Having said that, it occurs to me that I wouldn’t last one round with a rancor, let alone five.

Rancors are big, nasty beasties and it would be highly likely that I would be dead in about 10 seconds if facing one.

But rancors know all about reaching goals. Their goal is simple – eat the little guy.

They spot the little guy, they chase the little guy, they eat the little guy.

Unless you’re Luke Skywalker. But a Jedi, I ain’t. I think even Yoda had more mobility in his shriveled, little arms than I have right now!

Anyway, I digress….

So, as you may know, I’m a musician. I play the guitar, drums, keyboards (a little) and pretty much anything I can get a sound out of. I also sing and write songs.

A couple of posts back I mentioned a couple of friends of mine, the MonaLisa Twins. For about four or five months I’ve been promising them that I would record a cover version of one of their original songs. Well, last week I finally did it.

And I busted my shoulder.

reaching your goalsPlaying the drums.

Now, Mona is an excellent drummer (much better than I) and yes, I tried to emulate her drumming on this particular track as well as I possibly could. However, I wasn’t using a bad technique or bad posture, so far as I was aware. Neither was I doing anything particularly extravagant or strenuous.

However, later on that evening I felt some severe pain around the top-front of my right shoulder socket.

Somehow, something happened in there while I was sitting pretty, happily beating the skins.

So, while I know what it was that I was doing that led to the problem, I don’t know exactly why.

Fast Forward to Today

After applying Ibuprofen gel and being very careful not to overdo any movement with my right arm, today I felt as though maybe, just maybe, things were very slowly starting to improve.

For the last week, as part of iPro we have been undergoing a marathon course of traffic training.

By the way, if you haven’t yet heard my debut podcast all about traffic, give it a listen. Just sayin’. 😉

So I’d settled down to enjoy today’s training all about Facebook marketing but the nagging pain in my shoulder was, well, nagging me.

I remembered that my mum used to have a couple of heat pads and I had an idea of where they might be, so I set about trying to find them.

I pulled out a drawer to look in there, but they weren’t to be found.

It was then that I became aware of something….

The Vicious, Black Beast of Mega Death

reaching your goalsSylvester!

My cat, just like probably all cats, likes to go inside places.

He likes to go and investigate pretty much anywhere that seems different and, therefore, interesting to him.

Therefore, it should have come as no surprise that he wanted to head straight inside the gap that was left by the now-removed drawer.

Of course, I didn’t want him to go inside there, as I was in the middle of trying to put the drawer back.

That didn’t stop him.

I told him, sternly, “No.” (Yeah, right, as if he was going to pay any attention to an inferior life-form!)

That didn’t stop him.

I tried to move him away.

That didn’t stop him.

reaching your goalsDue to a combination of poor balance and cat-obstacle, I began to fall.

That didn’t phase Sylvester one bit.

I went a-tumbling but, of course, despite my frustration and pain, I didn’t want to fall on top of my furry, best friend.

So I did the natural thing and extended my right arm to grab on to the couch and stop me from falling on the floor.

“Ouch.” I said (or something like that).

I haven’t been able to extend my right arm upwards due to the searing pain in my shoulder. But somehow I managed it!

The pain was made much worse when I successfully stopped myself from falling (round one). The pain in my shoulder as my body was being (momentarily) held up by my right arm was too much and my arm just gave way, leading to falling (round two).

This time I went further to the right and fell on the couch.

Square onto my bad shoulder. What I felt can be pretty much summed up by the following picture:

reaching your goals

“Oh ouch.” I said (or a close approximation).

Now, I know what you’re wondering (apart from, “Okay, what did you REALLY say?)…

What was the loveable, innocent, cute, little puss doing through all of this?

Why, trying to get into the gap, of course! He was completely unfazed by it all.

He didn’t care one jot that he wasn’t supposed to be inside the sideboard.

He wasn’t troubled at all by the gigantic, tumbling lummox, arms and legs flailing about him.

reaching your goalsHe just had his goal and, by hook or by crook, he was jolly well going for it!

It was only when I landed on my shoulder and let out, what can only be described as, a series of bellows and screams of ogre-like proportions, that he seemed to think it could be prudent to vacate the area.

“There’s Pleasure After Pain”

Those are some lyrics from the song that I was recording by the MonaLisa Twins called, “Nothing is in Vain”. So whenever I get frustrated by the pain in my shoulder, I can’t help but think of those pertinent words from the very song I was recording that led to my wrecked shoulder.

Recording this cover has been a goal for a few months now, as I mentioned, and I’m quite pleased with the result (the song, that is, not the injury!). The girls seem to be thrilled by it and a few of their fans have indicated that they like it too. I’m sure that, looking back, it will all seem worthwhile.

Although there’s pain now, I sincerely hope that there’s some pleasure coming my way!

But I had the goal, I knew that it was going to be a challenge, I’ve had unexpected obstacles crop up, but in the end all will come good.

cat-256171_640I got to thinking about Sylvester and, indeed, cats in general.

Cats are very determined creatures. Just as they won’t do something if they don’t want to, if there’s something that they really want to do you’ll be hard pressed to stop them from accomplishing it!

That reminds my of my friend’s cat, Wilbur.

Wilbur was a real character and, like most cats, he loved me (my friends actually call me “The Cat Whisperer”).

Wilbur would like to come on my lap, which wasn’t a problem unless I was eating or had my suit on. Then, when he approached, I’d give him a firm, “Ah-ah!” and hold my index finger up to him.

He knew what it meant and he would always stop. He’d sit there for a few moments, looking everywhere but at me.

Then he’d go on the move.

He would climb up on the nearest available object and proceed to do an impressive circuit around the perimeter of the room, jumping from thing to thing until he eventually made his way to the back of my chair.

He would then jump onto the back of the chair, put his front paws on my shoulder and proceed to slide down my chest to get onto my lap!

Of course, there was nothing I could do because witnessing this amazing feat of furry flair never ceased to be hilarious and I was always in fits of laughter by the end!

This has just reminded me of one of Sylvester’s recent amazing displays of feline ingenuity, but I won’t write about this now. Otherwise I could be here all night as further examples pop into my noggin! If you’d like to hear about it, let me know in the comments below and I’ll share it with you there. 🙂

reaching your goalsSo, once you’ve set your goals, be determined, just like my beloved Sylvester and the dearly departed Wilbur. Don’t let anything prevent you from reaching them, whether it be a screaming, pained giant or a living room obstacle course.

There will be challenges and obstacles on your journey and yes, there could well be pain at times. But stick with it, ride out the difficulties and you’ll find that “there’s pleasure after pain“.

I hope you enjoyed the tail (see what I did there? 😉 ) of my painful week (and even more painful day).

What are your goals?

How do you plan to reach them?

Let me know in the comments below. And if there’s any way I could help you in reaching those goals, I’ll be hosting a live, informal, no obligation Hangout very soon, hopefully next week. On it I’ll be there to answer any questions you may have and, if I can, offer advice.

If you’ll like to join me then enter your e-mail in one of the subscribe boxes and, not only will you be among the first to know about the Hangout, you’ll get my free e-book which chronicles how I went from a newbie with zero knowledge to making, not only my first ever money online, but experiencing my first four-figure day!

Until next time!

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10 thoughts on “What a Busted Shoulder Taught Me About Reaching Your Goals”

  1. Hi Glenn,

    Sorry to hear about your shoulder!! I hope you are feeling much better now.

    Thanks for sharing a great lesson from your story. Pain is an opportunity for learning more about ourselves and others. There must be pain involved for growth to happen. Pain can stop us in our tracks sometimes and so many people give up when the going gets tough. But those who will stick with it will grow tremendously.

    There is a value for pain when it comes to our growth. It gives us an opportunity to turn our lives around.

    Thanks Glenn for sharing your story and the great lesson behind it. Enjoy the rest of your week and take it easy and feel better soon!!

    Be Blessed,

    Neamat
    Neamat Tawadrous recently posted…How Changing Our Thoughts Can Change Our Life??My Profile

  2. I appreciate people like you who don’t make excuses but make things happen. You could have just as well laid down and said forget it. But you pressed through the pain and did what you had to do.

    That is a mark of a true champion and one who is determined to win. You and I both know that the road to success of full of moments like these. They are the very things that make or break you. The decision you have to make is are you going to allow it.

    Keep pressing bro (bum shoulder and all).

    Thanks for the inspiration!

    Jerry
    Jerry Handy recently posted…What Are You Telling Yourself?My Profile

    1. Hey Jerry,

      In all honesty, the idea of giving up never occurred to me. I can’t say that this has been true all the time in my online journey – there have been times when I’ve very nearly thrown in the towel. But that’s not me now. Now, I know I’m getting somewhere. Now I know I have what it takes. And now I know that I can actually help others to get somewhere too. Regarding the post, I was going to write about something else but I thought, you know what? Why not use what I’m feeling right now and actually create something to learn out of it! There’s a lesson in there, folks! I’ll let you see if you can figure that one out… 😉 (Come on now, I’m not going to do ALL the work around here!)

      Determined to win? You betcha! Not only am I going to win but I’m gonna do it in style, brother! 😉

      Thanks for your support, Jerry. Talk to you soon!

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Do You Need Knowledge to Be an Authority?My Profile

    1. Hey Ben,

      There’s still a lot of pain and lack of mobility, but there’s definite improvement today. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to drive again, which will be helpful as I have a band jam to get to – no, I won’t be drumming! I’ll be playing guitar, which should be a pretty stress-free activity so far as my shoulder’s concerned.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the story. I’ll will do this now and again. 😉

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Churn and Burn Blogging – Should You Do It?My Profile

  3. Hey Glenn,

    Tony Robbins talks about the relationship of pain vs pleasure. Either you’ll endure the pain to gain the pleasure, or avoid the pleasure because of the pain.

    In any event, it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it. Enjoyed the post.

    By the way, that pain in your shoulder? It’s most likely the rotator cuff. It’s a common injury for bloggers and white collar workers. It has to do with posture and sitting at a desk or in front of the computer. If it’s not torn, some stretches may help alleviate the pain.

    Hope you feel better.

    Mark
    Mark Curtis recently posted…Confessions of a Blogging JunkieMy Profile

    1. Hi Mark,

      Thanks for the info, buddy. I’ve a feeling that you could be onto something. I do work from my laptop a LOT. Although I do sit upright and have my back well supported, I think that my shoulders do end up sitting further forwards than they would be if I was sitting at a desk. I wonder if sitting like this for a long time has maybe trapped a nerve and the drumming movements caused that to flare up. I don’t think anything’s torn, I’m sure I’d have felt that. There is definitely some minor inflammation there, though, so I’m not sure about stretches. Anyway, it does appear to be easing up now, so I’ll see how things go. I’m going to try changing my sitting habits at any rate.

      Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…3 Approaches to Online SuccessMy Profile

  4. Hi Glenn,

    LOVE the story telling here!

    LOVE the Rancor reference.

    Hope you’re feeling much better now. Cats are brilliant, nature is brilliant, for we watch things, being as they are, allowing the Universe to act through them. Jackie the Balinese puppy here is a sickly, doggedly persistent, inspired little guy, and like cats, and dogs, he’s just programmed to keep at it, no matter what.

    Keep up the entertaining posts Glenn, well done!

    Ryan
    Ryan Biddulph recently posted…How 2 Flamboyant Thai Lady Boy Prostitutes Taught Me (and You) 6 Clear Blogging LessonsMy Profile

    1. Hey Ryan,

      I’m glad you enjoyed it! I actually thought of you when I was writing about the rancor, I had a feeling that you’d appreciate that! lol!

      Storytelling has always been a forté of mine, ever since childhood. I do it now again in my posts and e-mails but I think I should do a lot more of it. I was actually going to write about something totally different originally, but my shoulder was in so much pain and then even more pain after the cat/falling incident, then I thought heck, why not just write about that!

      Thanks for the visit and the great comment! Appreciated very much as always. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…EMA 001: The Number One Newbie Traffic Mistake That Could Cost You Thousands (And Your Sanity!)My Profile

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