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Are you a settler?

As a runner, trekker, and an adrenaline junkie, I had accumulated a number of injuries, all on the same leg. Running on the beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia while on a holiday, I tore a ligament in my ankle. A year later, in Maui, Hawaii, I tore my calf muscle. The following year, while climbing Mount Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo, I tore my meniscus. All these injuries were on my left leg. The next year, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, and at the end of the trek, my left knee was all messed up.

When I got back from the trip, an old Lawrencian friend of mine recommended that I visit Invictus Performance Lab on Millers Road in Bangalore. Varun and his physiotherapists Abhishek and Yashoda set to work on fixing the origin of my problem. When I tore my calf muscle, to deal with the pain, I changed my gait. This caused an imbalance in my leg muscles and led to the series of injuries on the same leg. I worked with the people at Invictus for over a year, and got much stronger.

Then, of course, I set off on a trip to Namibia where I managed to climb Dune 45, the most famous dune in the Sossusvlei area of the Namib Desert in Namibia. Unfortunately, I had cramps and spasms in my left knee throughout the trip. When I got back to Bangalore, Varun asked me to get an MRI of my knee.
I was in Trivandrum at a family function, dressed up in a sari and having a great time with my cousins, aunts, and uncles, when I got a call from Varun. He told me that the MRI scan had revealed a number of loose pieces under my left patella which were causing the spasms. He said that I needed to get them surgically removed. I hung up in total shock. I could not believe it! Knee surgery? I may never trek again. In an instant, my whole world had come crashing down. But there I was at this family function, feigning joy when I was completely shattered on the inside. I could barely breathe.

I got back to Bangalore and went straight to Invictus. When I met Varun, I was in tears. Everyone at Invictus knew how important trekking and fitness were to me. Varun waited for me to calm down and then said, ‘Jessy, you have never been a settler. Why settle now? All your life you have pursued your goals relentlessly and never quit halfway. Don’t settle.’

I heard him out and decided not to settle for a knee that would only get worse. I chose to go ahead with the surgery. A week later, I underwent the operation. The day after I got home, I went back to Invictus and started physiotherapy. My knee was stitched and bandaged up, and I was at Yashoda’s mercy. Relentlessly, I pursued my rehabilitation and exactly two months after my surgery,I climbed to the top of Nandi Hills. I had the Invictus team for company—they came to make sure that there were no glitches.

A year after my surgery, I did the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek,and last year, I went on a -30ºC trek in Ladakh!
What pain and struggles are you willing to go through? Do you have what it takes to get to your leadership goals? Or are you a settler? Are you going to wonder for years ‘what if…’
Do you have it in you? Of course you do. Don’t settle. Go forth and take ownership of your journey t0 leadership!