Psychological arthritis that can’t be remedied

Here’s a statistic that blows my mind.

Fifty percent of people cannot touch their toes.

Isn’t that sad?

The hilarious part is, the person who commissioned that research study is the chairman of a global fitness franchise, so the data might be a bit biased.

Nevertheless, the issue of flexibility, or lack thereof, is a critical one to discuss. Not only because it can lead to life threatening circulatory problems, but also because it can make you a pain in the ass to deal with.

The other day my friends and I asked the woman sitting next to us at the bar if she could scoot down one seat to make enough room for everyone. She looked at us like we we’d just asked if we could sneeze in her soup.

Reluctantly, she slowly moved down one stool, sighed loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear, all while shooting daggers at us the whole time.

What was that about?

Maybe she was superstitious about her favorite seat. Maybe her butt fell asleep and she didn’t want to move. Maybe she was in a cranky mood and any interruption would have sent her into an emotional tailspin.

My theory is, she was simply an inflexible person. Somebody who can’t touch her toes, figuratively speaking.

Do you know somebody like this? A coworker who can’t cope effectively with complexity and change, even in the smallest measure?

It’s curious how people might get this way. It’s like their brain just stiffens the moment anything challenges their current universe, causing a sort of psychological arthritis that can’t be remedied.

Personally, yoga has dramatically increased my flexibility in the past fifteen years. As someone who loves routines, rituals and regiments, practicing the postures has helped me slow down and accept what reality teaches me, rather than expecting the world to adapt to my speed.

Doesn’t mean I’m as flexible as the rubber man in a carnival sideshow, but my ability to adapt to sudden changes rather than always insisting on consistency has improved by a factor of ten.

Working at startups has also developed this trait in me. You kind of have no choice when you work with a scrappy team. One week you’re going gangbusters shepherding a new initiative, then one of your coworkers gets recruited to a competitor, and now it’s all hands on deck until further notice. So much for that cool project you were excited about.

But then again, what’s the alternative? You jump in where you’re needed.

Whereas a younger and more stubborn version of me might have gotten bent out of shape in the face of changing priorities and conditions.

As stuck in my routines as I like to be, it actually feels better to swivel flexibly than suffer stiffly.

Plus it’s better for my hamstrings.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
When was the last time you touched your toes?