What You Want — and Are You Willing to Have It?

I’ve been here before. Just months after my first knee surgery, I chose to do it again, this time on my left knee. Same body. Same surgeon. Very different experience. 

I knew the pain. The discipline. The long road back. But this experience presented something else: stuckness.. 

Last time, healing followed a familiar rhythm. I knew what progress looked like. This time, my knee was stuck much earlier in the healing process before I ever found my stride - and I don’t mean being metaphorically stuck. I mean physically, solidly, and unmovably stuck. 

Before surgery, my knee range of motion was 125 degrees. After? Not even 50. This procedure was supposed to bring relief instead my knee was literally stuck and would not bend. In moments like this, your brain takes a few different turns; one of which is Wait…what is happening right now?

We tried everything. At home physical therapy along with physical therapy sessions with a therapist. Dry needling, stem simulation. But nothing worked! My knee refused. And the thought crept in: Hmm, what if this knee just won’t fully regain the range of motion needed for the joys of life.

That’s when the choice appeared: 

I could give in to the stuckness. 
Or I could surrender to the work required to increase the range of motion and educate myself on the reasons why any knee remains at a stagnant range of motion.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: staying stuck would’ve been easier. More comfortable. For most people, it would’ve been reasonable to accept the narrative coming from experts that this was “just how it’s going to be” unless or until foregoing another procedure to force the range of motion.

But I refused to just give in. 

Why? Because there are people who were once stuck and aren’t anymore. The only difference between me and them was the work I hadn’t yet done. 

So I did the research. I was consistent. Disciplined. Vigilant. I considered options outside of the box. I protected my space - my mind, my heart - from clutter, especially from people who believed that this goal could otherwise be achieved.

Progress has been small. Real. Earned. You don’t eat the fruit the same day you plant the seed. 

I know some people think, ‘That was extreme’. I’ve been warned not to push it. Maybe they’re right. But I knew what I wanted—and I was willing to do what that required. 

My mother once told me, “You’re cut from a different kind of cloth. Whatever needs to be done, you’ll do it.” 

I think most people choose comfort because the pain: physical, emotional, intellectual, relational feels too great. So they settle. 

But here’s the real question: What do you want - and are you willing to be uncomfortable enough to have it? 

Producing results isn’t always pretty. There’s fear. Angst. Worry. That doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong path. It means you’re in the work. And if it’s truly what you want, you keep going. 

Because if it’s not, you won’t last. The pain won’t be worth it, and you’ll quit. 

To determine is paramount and requires honesty. Reflection. A willingness to face yourself outside the comfort you’ve built. 

Otherwise, noise will wear you down, and the monster of comparison will bully you into submission to what you don’t want. You are the makeup of one, YOU! Comparison will only keep you chasing, relieved for a moment, then right back in the cycle. The best comparison is against yourself yesterday. When I increased my effort from the day before I felt like a champion. What I wanted was a life of freedom, joy, bliss and all things Lisa!

I’m moving in that direction.

What life promises is you will at times get stuck. The question is will you overcome the stuckness when it happens or just give into it?

So I’ll ask you again: What do you want… and are you really willing to have it?