Spring brings about many changes – at the office the most notable is the sea of orange pylons, cavernous holes in the middle of the road, grumbling machinery, and the not-so faint smell of fresh asphalt. After battling with 3 months of construction on our poor roadway all of last summer, yet again we are in the midst of a seemingly unending road redo.
Patients are late, parking is overflowing, and co-workers are getting, umm… restless. Our neighbouring businesses that rely on walk-ins and street traffic are no doubt suffering. A particularly cheeky business neighbour even changed their advertising sign to “This Construction Sucks”.
It’s true – change is hard. It’s easy to look past why we need change, and forget our ultimate goal when we start to struggle. In the office we seem to have forgotten how bad the street use to be, all the potholes, temporary patches, heaves, and crumbling curbs. And I’m sure we will forget our two-summer struggle once we have a cleanly paved, pothole free street.
Sometimes in health we suffer from the same routine amnesia. It is easy to forget how bad a health condition was once it’s gone, and sometimes it’s difficult to remember why we chose to change. That’s why it is so crucial to measure change, however we choose to do it. Whether it is a sleep journal, a log of daily energy/mood, or even (dare I say) a chart of bowel movements. Sometimes a reminder of the way things use to be is the best motivator for sticking to the positive change one has made.
I hope construction is done soon, and that the small businesses up and down our road continue to flourish. I’m thankful for the hard work done by the city and the construction crews. I promise to remember the way the road use to be, and the struggle through the days of construction in order to truly appreciate the new roadway (whenever its finally here).
McGregor Naturopathic 