In 2012, an inadvertent, but not so unknown, swollen node made its first appearance, and rapidly we received a cancer diagnosis. This type of news makes us think about what we are doing TODAY and if that is enough to counteract the risks that our lives begin to have as the years go by or when diseases overcome.
Those questions asked by a person with a very emotional personality structure make the answers have a longer transit before reaching a final answer. But in the case of a very rational person, the answer is revealed more quickly and sensibly. No option is better than another, only that the path has different times and a mixture of emotions depending on the look of the analysis.
The parallel history to the passion for sports
With this in mind, the personality structure of my husband, tremendously rational and analytical, allowed him to arrive at an answer: to retake the off-road bicycle, a sport that in the past had already generated very pleasant experiences and that, in addition, connected him with the vital. Now, we viewed health with greater optimism because riding in the Valle del Cauca mountains was mythical, tremendously challenging, and required a lot of technique.
Then, this adventure is the starting point of a series of years when the trips to chemotherapy sessions were less devastating. That was because we began to believe and live the saying: “when I understood that what I am going to take in this life is what I live, I began to live what I want to take”.
The question of “what are we doing today?” had already an answer, we already knew what we wanted to take. The answer that made us feel proud members of the cycling elite; however, the next challenge was to evolve as such.
Wonderful things can be done with the own resources and, under the premise of “investing in sport is investing in life”, we prepared ourselves so that the crossings did not lack anything. We had the most appropriate outfit for the natural scenarios we visited.
Beyond clothing, we had a constant fixation on the sports experience, on performance, on how the body responded to the demand of physical activity, and how “the mind” supported that demand; the biggest fight was against the ideas of tiredness, it was a resounding “NO” to get off the bike … never.
It was a permanent struggle not to lose the enjoyment and fun, although the adrenaline and attitude of competition, sometimes, also naturally generate frustration and anger.
Where did cancer go?
It was there, he had not left at all, but it was no longer the most important thing because the quality of life was undoubtedly better now we were fully involved in the sport.
The evolution in this sport is mediated by the number of hours we endured a route; the improved technique, we used when climbing slopes and mountains; the analytical capacity when we saw a cycling tour; the change in the appearance of our muscles; by the control of the energy used during the stages of the rides…
All of the above, although it sounds emotional, was more rational than you imagine because only with the good judgment you can get out of the black cloud that means having a disease, which can also completely darken a person’s life, and you begin to think about how to improve your levels every day and how to improve the technique. This, added to how to visualize a future full of health and with everything planned and assured because the last word is not in us.
A connection with the sports
Once we connect with a sport, it is possible to transform the habits and beliefs we have about what we are capable of doing and the faculty to influence directly the results we want to achieve; otherwise, we will always be at fate’s mercy.
Now, how many times we intend to do sports, but none connects us, we do not “fall in love”.
In this sense, I fully support the idea that we were not born endowed with super tools that make us good at everything, that is why it is so important to understand where is our potential and intelligently use our genetics to evolve in what we do best, in what we can do better and that we also fall in love with.
With the above in mind, sport ceases to have a distant concept, only suitable for the most influential or popular in networks, and begins to be closer and possible for those who want to risk for the first time or for those who wish to live longer and better, with diagnosis or not, just live better.
The final thought
To do sports or physical activity of medium demand we must not only consider our phenotype but identify the personality structure, as I mentioned before, we must understand the ability to place our skills in the right moment, intensity, and combinatorics.
This significant image reminds me of the experiences around a desire for life, a desire to heal, to breathe fresh air… The sport we chose gave us more than that, it gave us experiences, it gave us a marriage, it gave us a life project. Our rehabilitation was total, mind, and body.
We firmly believe that all human beings can play sports, regardless of what motivates us, and to achieve more personal satisfaction we must know our epigenetics, modulators, and abilities.
