My father broke his leg two months ago.
He was in a lot of pain at first but then he started walking.
By exercising his broken leg despite the pain, he got better slowly.
As I supported him through this process, I kept thinking about breakups.
The two are very similar.
A broken leg is a metaphor that can help people cope with breakups.
Today, I’ll break this metaphor down to help you as you’re going through a breakup.
Tip 1: A broken leg gives you a fresh perspective
When you break a leg, you realize how difficult it is to get by without it.
You see how you took it for granted.
Suddenly, you’re able to truly appreciate it.
Likewise, we’re all guilty of taking our relationships for granted.
As the newness wears off, we get used to our partner being in our life.
But when they break up with us, we suddenly feel a huge loss.
It’s an unwelcome, painful lesson but it’s exactly what you need.
The pain makes you look at your relationships from a fresh perspective.
And you’re able to make your next relationship better.
With that, it’s time for the next tip.
Tip 2: A broken leg hurts but heals with time
With a broken leg, you’re in a lot of pain.
You hate it and want it to stop immediately.
But it doesn’t work that way.
You need to be patient and wait for about two months.
The same thing is with going through a breakup.
You’re in tremendous pain after it happens.
(Even research backs this up.)
You think, “I don’t want this pain. Please take it away from me.”
But that’s you not accepting the pain.
And the more you resist it, the worse it gets.
But just like with a broken leg, you’ve got to be patient about healing.
You have to accept the pain as a natural part of this process.
That said, here’s my next tip.
Tip 3: You have to overcome the pain
When you lie in bed with a broken leg, you hate the very idea of getting up and walking.
But you need to do it in order to recover.
You’ve got to overcome the pain and start walking.
Likewise, you have to overcome heartbreak and get back to life.
That’s tough because your mind says, “No, I don’t want to date other people. I just want my ex back.”
But you need to start rebuilding your life sooner or later, right?
It hurts a lot in the beginning just as it hurts to step on a broken leg at first.
Yet, by overcoming that pain, you’ll keep getting better.
Now it’s time for the fourth tip.
Tip 4: If you don’t exercise a broken leg, it’ll get worse
I have good news and bad news for you.
Let’s deal with the bad news first.
If you don’t exercise your leg after breaking it, your muscles atrophy.
The longer you wait to do that, the weaker your leg muscles become.
This makes walking even more difficult and can easily cause another break.
Likewise, grieving over your breakup without taking positive action makes it worse.
For example, the more you sit around and think about your ex, the worse your sleep is.
And the next day, you feel tired, irritable, and even more prone to thinking about your ex.
To break this cycle, you need to take conscious action toward healing.
With that said, it’s time for good news.
Tip 5: You can speed up the process of going through a breakup
There are so many similarities between breaking a leg and going through a breakup.
Yet, there’s a crucial difference.
Whereas a broken leg is mainly a physical event, a breakup is largely in your head.
It means that with the right mindset, you can short cut the healing process.
One way to heal faster is to use Tony Robbins’ Triad.
It’s about changing three components:
- Your physiology. Change your physiology by walking, smiling, and keeping your shoulders straight. You’ll feel better as a result.
- Your focus. Focus on finding your next date. This will take your mind off your ex.
- Your language. Find one good thing about the breakup and keep saying it to yourself.
Using the Triad, people have recovered from their breakups faster.
Please share your thoughts
Now I want to turn it over to you.
Will the broken leg metaphor help you heal from heartbreak faster?
Let me know what you think in the comments below.