90% of Healing is Mental
In a meaningless game on Christmas Eve against the Redskins, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson tore his ACL in one of those The human body is not meant to bend at that angle type of hits. Three horrible popping sounds caused everyone who heard them to wonder if he’d ever play again. Those three letters, ACL, are probably the worst letters any football fan can hear in relation to their favorite star player.
Since Peterson is widely regarded as one of the most physically gifted athletes in sports, naturally the expectations for his recovery were very high.
The truth is though most professionalization are never quite the same after the dreaded ACL tear. A running back is required to make hard cuts at high speeds, so every carry becomes a game of Russian Roulette.
So to most in the sports world, Adrian Peterson sounded slightly delusional when he swore that he’d be ready for the Minnesota Vikings season opener. Russ Paine, who supervised much of Peterson’s rehabilitation, said he was continually surprised by Peterson’s unwavering smile as he battled through immense pain throughout his eight months of torturous rehab.
Less than a year after suffering what to most would be a career-ending injury, Peterson literally defied all practical medical expectations and returned to the game.
But to anyone who’s ever been in his orbit, said it was hardly a surprise. Others might have his talent, but few possess his work ethic and mental toughness. He attacked his recovery with his usual fierce vengeance and approached the tedious exercises to restore his range of motion with the same approach he flashes at the line.
“This guy is in the top half of one percent of the human bodies in the world,” said Paine, his longtime physical therapist. “Those guys tend to recover quicker, but I’ve know lots of guys who just weren’t mentally tough enough to do it.”
Peterson said, “I hope that I inspire a lot of people to change their mentality. I think that’s the biggest part – 90% of healing is mental.
“The things you don’t see is how hard I worked and grinded and fought through my situation to get back. Mentally, I was able to push through when I was tired and didn’t want to do anything. I understood that if I kept doing my therapy and kept working hard that it would be OK.”
Like any rational person, his coach figured there was simply no way a wrecked knee could heal that rapidly, so he figured he’d start Peterson out playing him conservatively and hope for the best.
That plan was quickly trashed by Peterson, who insisted his leg was stronger than ever and that his mind would not allow his body to fail.
Less than one year later, he was not only back on the field playing at a high level, but he lead the league in every category for his position, took his team to the playoffs and earned the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
What Peterson’s harsh journey through recovery should remind us of, is that if you are willing to train your mind it will help convince your body to go where it wants it to go and do what it wants it to do.
This training is designed to give you that mental toughness to be able to push through and come back stronger from any injury. You don’t have to be a professional athlete or in as good of shape as Peterson. You just have to want it and be willing to train your mind. Just like Peterson who said:
“People keep asking me if I’m surprised by my recovery. No, I’m not at all. A lot of people are surprised, because they don’t have the same mindset, the same belief process, the same faith. So no it doesn’t surprise me.”
You have it inside you right now to find that inner strength and I’m going to help you go get it and use it to get started on your own amazing come-back story!