At the end of last week, I managed to rupture the tendon of my right index finger. Apparently it’s an easy thing to do. The upshot of this is that my finger is in a splint for six to eight weeks while the tendon heals.

This morning I joined Sanctus' daily journaling session where the prompt was ‘What are you aware of?’ It got me thinking about how the splint has affected me over the past few days as I’ve been getting used to doing things a bit differently. Most things are OK as I can still grip with the remaining three fingers and thumb. Where a bit more dexterity is needed, for handwriting, eating and tying my laces etc, I’m having to modify my technique.

What I am most aware of is:

  • the level of patience needed as everything is naturally taking me longer
  • how it’s forcing me to slow down and be more deliberate in my actions
  • that I will inevitably need help with some things and must be prepared to ask for it

I’m only a few days in to this but I can already feel I’m going to learn a lot over the next couple of months. And that those lessons will apply more broadly to life than just what I can or can’t do with my hand.

This is day 37 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100daystooffload.com