What is Liminality? I recently read a book titled "From Strength to Strength" by Arthur C. Brooks. While his focus when talking about Liminality was on mid-life changes, I saw how this might also apply to changes in anyone's health at any time. Liminality is defined by the psychological process of transitioning between stages or boundaries, often marked by uncertainty. Most people I work with (and in my times of illness or injury) feel the uncertainty. We are looking for someone to answer our questions, our concerns and to give us hope.
Navigating this change, especially with our health, can feel like a "lifequake" as one of the people in the book discussed. This person had a cancer diagnosis that left him facing the realities of possible death in his forties, with your kids at home. This may not be cancer for you, it might be a knee injury at the beginning of your senior year in high school, debilitating pain that might lead to surgery, pain that limits or activity, and other circumstances.
The author goes on to give lessons for good liminality:
Number One: Identify Your Marshmallow
Stanford University social psychologist Walter Mischel completed a psychology experiment in 1972 involving kids and a bag of marshmallows. He would sit at the table and ask the kids if they wanted a marshmallow and they remarked that they did. He then said they would get one but there was a catch. He was going to leave the room for 15 minutes. The child could eat the marshmallow if they wanted to. When he returned, if they did not eat a marshmallow they would get a second one. They found that a majority of kids would not wait and ate a marshmallow. Those who were able to delay their gratification found greater success as they grew up healthier, and happier, and scored better on their SAT exams. Many conclusions came of this but in the end, the message was "good comes to those that wait, and work, and sacrifice and maybe even suffer."
Number Two: The Work You Do Has To Be The Reward
The author talked about the "broader truth, that waiting for the destination to be happy is an error". Earning success in life or earning the place of better health takes work. It takes having the right team and keeping your focus on each day, each week on what needs to be done to get better. This will keep you seeing all the steps and goals made along the way until you are where you ultimately want to be.
Number Three: Jump!
The last lesson he explains when telling the story about when he and his family were on vacation at the Big Island of Hawaii. His family was at a cliff where people were jumping into the surf 30 feet below. He was the lone one of his group that decided to take the jump. After some encouragement, he did the jump and felt the sensation of being reborn. Many people will feel the worst when dealing with an injury or health issue. The decision has to be made, and deciding to jump in and make the steps to get to a healthy and strong place is up to you.
Karen Baltz Gibbs, PT, DPT, LMT, CSCS, CMP, Owner of Garage Training & Rehab Gym
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