So, I’ve embraced a regular exercise routine and am engaging in several out-of-the-box athletic activities. The goal is to keep moving, have some fun, and engage in challenges outside my comfort zone. One of the reasons behind my articles and this blog was to give other people with MS hope, motivation, and possibly inspiration. I want to elaborate more on my blog’s impact on a more diverse group.

While receiving feedback from various MS warriors, I came to realize that the challenge is that often, the only unifying common ground of people with MS is the MS disease itself. Other than that, MS connects a very diverse group of individuals who differ in background, age, and the degree of progression of their MS.   

How to Get Moving?

For example, I have noticed that people might get upset when reading about some activities they cannot do anymore themselves due to their age and/or level of disability. I guess this might also depend on the state of mental well-being. I imagine that if you sit at home with depression, you might find it daunting to watch a bunch of people running a marathon and cheering you to come outside and join them. That might be the last thing you want to do. And yet it might also be the activity that can eventually help you.

I know that it is probably not that simple and that a more complicated process is required to overcome depression. Perhaps a sequence of smaller steps would need to be implemented to leap forward and become a happy runner. Another requirement is that you are physically able to run in the first place. But that’s another issue associated with actual physical ability. Here, I would like to discuss our ability to overcome the natural barrier against getting outside our comfort zone and pushing ourselves beyond our self-perceived limits.       

Getting out of Comfort Zone

In my stories in this blog, I am always trying to find some common topic for everybody. Okay, I admit that backcountry skiing in Colorado is a bit extreme. It is at the edge of what I can still do, though. I think I always try to challenge myself in pretty much anything. I guess it makes me feel good, but I am unsure why. Maybe it’s to prove to myself that I can do something I might not do later. Out of FOMO – fear of missing out, maybe?   

I would like to generalize my approach now and provide guidance to others. I believe that everybody, and especially people with MS, should push their boundaries and get outside of their comfort zones. These boundaries are very individual, of course, and hard to define. For me, it’s backcountry skiing in extreme terrain and climbing a fourteener. For somebody else with MS or other challenging health conditions, it’s getting out of bed, walking 50 feet with a cane, or reading a few pages in a book.

Comfort Zone Edge?

I believe everybody should get out of their comfort zone to keep up self-development and push themselves forward. This is especially true for anyone living with a chronic disease such as MS.  By no means do I want to make it sound like MS warriors are not already doing that. Because of the challenges the disease puts in front of them automatically, they must. However, there is always room for improvement and more push forward. I believe that the further we can get outside of our comfort zones and closer to our physical limitations, the better. There is a caveat, though; all has to be done within a reasonable safety margin, of course, to avoid injury!  

The difficulty with MS is that we must be our own judges, as no one can know what is happening inside. Some additional motivation and push from the outside can be beneficial, though, if provided sensibly. For this, I am very grateful to my wife, who has been my great support since the very beginning of my fight with MS. And yeah, sometimes her help manifests itself by allowing me to go on adventurous trips on my own with friends!

I hope to keep finding the right balance between pushing against challenges alone and with the help of friends. Likewise, I hope that other MS warriors can do that, too, either with their partners, friends, or MS support groups, depending on circumstances. Let’s not give up, please!