January 07, 2013

Finding the Right Combination


Based on the picture above, what might you guess this post is about?

Hmm, I guess only brilliant/obsessive/imaginary followers of this odd little blog could have any clue.

OK, another hint: here's a similar picture I posted a while back:


Notice what's different? And so what sort of post might you be in for?


So if you guessed either:

a. A Quick Fix for Presbyopia; or
b. Some Boring-Ass Fitness or Personal Growth Analogy;

You'd be right!

Let's take 'em in order.

Miracle Presbyopia Cure:


Yep, the picture is of the reading glasses I'd been hooking through my gym lock as my one concession to exercising while middle-aged.  As I mentioned, it's embarrassing to stand there in a state of post-shower nakedness trying to find a young person to open your locker for you, so I started bringing reading glasses to the gym. But then a few weeks ago I went to an optometrist and discovered a miracle solution!

Caveat: it only works if you are also nearsighted and wear contact lenses, or are contemplating lasik surgery. Which I am not, as the idea of someone taking a scalpel to my eyes while I am wide awake makes me want to curl up into a small shivering sniveling ball of cowardly terror. NO KNIVES ALLOWED ON MY EYEBALLS! That's just one of those quirky rules I live by.



Though if someone wants to bake me one of these I may reconsider.

If you have to correct nearsighted eyes anyway, the trick is this:

Under-correct one eye.

This means you can read with one eye without reading glasses, and see distance with the other!

It also means you can render yourself almost blind, if either eye is called upon to execute the other eye's function. Probably not recommended for airline pilots or sharpshooters.

The more you're willing to give up in "general" visual acuity in each eye, the better overall results you can have. But your reading eye is going to suck at distance vision, and your distance eye is gonna miss those reading glasses because it won't be able to read squat anymore.

So What The Hell Does This Have to do With Fitness and Personal Growth?

The emphasis in both these realms tends to be on "balance."

It is generally assumed that you should be spending the most time and energy fixing the things you suck at, not spending a bunch of time getting even better at things you are already good at.

And this makes perfect sense a lot of the time, especially if you want to avoid rotator cuff injuries because you neglected weak muscles, or bankruptcy because you never learned impulse control, or divorce due to being a stubborn inflexible opinionated butthead.

But, I like to be contrary.   And so to extend the presbyopia analogy: sometimes balance is bullsh-t.

There are lots of times in life where you get better results if you specialize at what you're good at.  You can often enjoy more success and happiness if you learn to delegate, trade favors, work around, or just say the hell with what you are untalented or unskilled at and focus on what you're naturally good at.

So my left eye can now read restaurant menus, hooray!  And if I need to figure out where the car is parked after the meal is over, left eye just laughs and laughs and says Not My Department, Crabby.  Those blurry things over there could be vehicles or they could be water buffalo wearing colorful sweaters. If you want to know what the hell is in the parking lot, check with smarty pants Right Eye over there.

I figure if you muster up enough "all around" skill or competence to avoid injury or catastrophe, you can often find ways to spend most of your time doing things you enjoy and are good at.  If you're a workaholic, sure, you need to take some time to drag your butt away from your computer and play and hang with loved ones. But you don't need to take time to clean your toilets if you can afford to pay someone else to.

Does everyone need to be a triathlete?  I hate swimming, and yet there's a part of me that has sometimes felt vaguely guilty that I never do it. Should I spend a bunch miserable hours in a pool proving to myself that I could swim a mile if I really wanted to someday? Or can I just be fine with the knowledge  that if I should someday trip over my own feet and tumble into a swimming pool, I can paddle to the sides and climb out, humiliated but alive?

(And by the way, for those of you who do venture into the deep end occasionally, check out this very amusing  "unbiased review" of the various swim strokes that an extremely helpful anonymous commenter alerted me to).

There is so much self help advice out there, whether it be health and fitness or career-optimizing or life-hacking or social-media conquering or family-raising or budgeting or finding inner peace. It can start to feel like we're supposed to be reasonably good at all that stuff.

But as I get older I'm getting more and more content to just be Left Eye, and let some of that stuff be out in the distance and pleasantly blurry.

What about you guys, are you all-around accomplished or are you specialists or a bit of both? (And I haven't forgotten about our ongoing New Year's giveaway; that post is coming on Wednesday!)


Photo:  Eyeball cake: Don Buciak

42 comments:

  1. At my fitness center people hang all sorts of things on their locker to they can find the one they used, lol!

    I do an eye exercise where I hold one finger off in front of my face and focus on it as I move it towards my nose. It will strengthen your focusing eye muscles. Try it maybe a couple of times a day, a dozen times. Nothing to lose.

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    1. Thanks Dr J! Half of me says: cool, a potential cure! The other half says: Oh crap, there's yet another EXERCISE I should be doing? :)

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  2. I'm all-around accomplished in that I am bad at virtually everything exercise-y.
    Meanwhile, I had Lasik 12+ years ago. My right eye couldn't be fixed to quite 20/20. Over the years my vision has resolved itself to left eye for distance and right eye for close up stuff. I don't know if I'd want to get that done deliberately, but whatever works for a person.

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    1. I admire those of you brave enough to do Lasik! And many folks intentionally get undercorrected to cope with aging eyes; you were just ahead of the game!

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  3. This was so interesting and insightful! I'm going to think about what might be good things to shift to experts rather than continuing to try to do a more than half-assed job (3/5's ass?)

    Since you raised the issue, I have to say that I went through a procedure where I had holes drilled into my eyeballs with lasers to treat acute angle glausomething or other. I really wasn't listening past the holes in eyeballs with lasers part. My husband said I was being a baby and to stop complaining unless the lasers were being wielded by sharks.

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    1. Acck, Trabb's Boy, holes drilled in your eyeballs!?!? I think complaining is entirely appropriate. How on earth did you get through it?

      And that's cool that you're thinking about off-loading stuff to others that might give you more chance to focus on what you love and rock at!

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  4. I was too scared to go under the knife for Lasik too, so I remain a wear of glasses. Since I don't do any water-based stuff, most of the time it isn't a big deal (or I should say I just don't know any better since I've always worn glasses and exercised, so I don't know how great it is to not have to worry about it).

    Right now, with the marathon looming in less than 3 weeks, I definitely feel like a distance specialist. But I'll be honest, even without such a long distance, it's not like I ever work on speedwork! So in that arena, I specialize in long & slow! But I also dabble in other fitness-y type of things so who knows?

    In general though (in exercise and in life) I do find myself being the kind of person that goes for the things I know I'm good at. A lot of times that's the right thing (choosing a career in numbers, while not soul-fulfilling, has certainly been something I've done well at) but then sometimes (see that whole "not soul-fulfilling" thing) I wonder if I rely on the easy way too often!

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    1. So OTF, you're a Lasik phobic like me? Just can't get my mind around it.

      Interesting though, sounds like you might be ready to explore something that stretches you a bit that could be fun? Comfort zones are great if they're still fun and fulfilling, but sounds like you might be coming up on a more adventurous period in your life. Cool!

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  5. I learned a long time ago that I can't be great at everything, so you are totally correct. I focus on what I do best, and bring in other people who do the other things well, like doing the books, handling customer service, etc. and it just so happens some people really like that kind of thing....wierd, I know. I would be cranky too if I had to handle it all, and if you're not happy and having fun, what's the point? :)

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    1. Well good for you Dr. Mark that you're actually good at delegating stuff that doesn't appeal to you instead of blowing it off, as I do all too often!

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  6. I actually have that vision "correction" going on naturally - one eye was so much worse that the other that I still can read without my glasses. I ended up having to get tri(!)focals because with my single vision glasses, I was always having to whip them off in order to read things, and I started to feel old. I know, doesn't make sense, but somehow in my psyche, THAT was the kicker. Love your trick...whatever works, right???

    And I'm giving you a standing ovation on this whole triathlete/balance/guilt thing. Why can't I just be a runner - why do so many people tell me that I "need" to try a triathlon? Why can't we be satisfied with what we're doing - why does it always have to go to the next level?

    I swear, one of these days, I'm going to lose it on some poor, unsuspecting person who just happens to be the proverbial straw in asking that same question to me for the millionth time...

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    1. Trifocals do indeed sound like a huge pain in the ass. I have some progressive glasses I wear before I put my contacts in the morning, and they're so damn picky about where I can look in order to see things clearly. Can't imagine what trifocals would be like.

      And sheesh, you're doing so great with the running, I can't imagine someone telling you you "need" to try a tri! Water=cold, for one thing. Brrrr.

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  7. Seeing your glasses in theremade me cringe. I've had a pair break falling to the tile gym floor...
    I agree about the vision thing - I am now able to go sans glasses (even legally) after working with my eyes a fair bit without my glasses (altho to be fair they were mostly just a stigmatism issue to begin with). My husband (who used to be almost legally blind) had lasik done a few years ago and now has perfect vision. Based on his experience I would recommend it to anyone...we went with the pricier most experienced lasik surgeon and were not dissapointed. I've always cringed at the whole discount eye surgery thing...I mean, its your eyes. :)
    In most things tho, it's challenging to try new things that aren't what I'm good at. After trying to get healed up from falling down the stairs over christmas (wouldn't recommend it) I'm having to try new exercises. It's challenging...

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    1. I should add that he has a phobia of all things medical so for him to go in was...well...probably the hardest thing he's ever done. But even he says that the few minutes of abject terror was worth it in the end.

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    2. Wow, your husband is inspiring! If I weren't such a coward I'd investigate.

      How cool is it that you were able to work up to no glasses? That's awesome!

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  8. Lasik surgery would be wonderful if they would also correct my presbyopia. Since they can't, why bother - that and no money. :) I seriously hate my bifocals though and may see about going back to contacts, so thanks for the tip about the different correction values.

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    1. Actually Reb, I think they actually may have some surgical solutions for presbyopia now but I don't think it's cheap. And it's still too freakin' creepy for me!

      Good luck if you decide on contacts! The disposable dailywear kind have gotten relatively cheap if you shop on the internet... I love tossing them out every night and starting fresh the next day.

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  9. Yes, we should play to our strengths. We will only get marginally better at the other stuff, so majoring on trying to fix those things can be a waste of time. A bit of it, yes. But most people make their lives by majoring on what they are good at.

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    1. Thanks messymimi, I'll take that as permission to never learn how to iron properly. Especially living with someone who loves to iron!

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  10. My gym has a lot of people experiencing the new middle age on the sliding scale that only goes up. The problem with the glasses is that wherever you leave them even with a note that says "Don't Touch" some kind soul will turn them into lost and found. Now your stuck naked or in your bathing suit trying to figure out what to do.

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    1. Oh shoot Cindy! I'm lucky that didn't happen to me, probably because the folks in my gym are get down to business types who aren't nearly as likely to try to be helpful. Thank goodness. :)

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  11. I had Lasik about 6 years ago - great decision - wish I would have done it years sooner!!! However, now that I am a little older (middle aged) I really need reading glasses. I just yell for one of my boys when I'm at home - they can read the fine print for me!!!

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    1. Dang, forgot to have kids, that would have been handy, Kim.

      Good for you for being brave enough to have Lasik!

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  12. While I absolutely cringe in horror at the thought of scalpels, needles or anything like that going into my eyes - apparently, I have no trouble poking my own damned fingers in an eyeball :(

    I am back to trying A contact lens again after years away from trying them before. That's right - only one contact lens this time: for distance. Cheaters for upclose stuff (as in reading). Generally, this has been working out since I can slide the cheaters down my nose so that I can read AND look out the window (or watch TV).

    But - one day - I find that I can't tell if the lens came out or not. Look, look, look - EVERYwhere. EVERY surface. Nothing. Except it feels like it's still in there somewhere.

    Stay up until midnight trying to dig it out, sweating, looking for it with a flashlight (in and outside of the eye in question) and obsessing (is that odd little lump on the white part of my eye the lens - or something else? Did I already manage to self-inflict a little adhoc eyeball surgery on my own??). Called the nurse hot line for my med plan(could it have rolled up INSIDE my head???? "not possible").

    Next morning - see the eye doctor. No lens, but gee "your eyeball looks irritated!". Then I get a lesson in remedial contact lens insertion. Which I need and still have not mastered since it seems that at least once a week it ends up inside out or takes for freakin' ever to plop in or I realize I already have hand lotion on, or, or...

    Why oh why are there no DISTANCE cheaters?? Wait! There are - and I think they're called binoculars :(..........................



    I'm in bi-focal land and 'this close' to tri-s. So, glasses are almost as expensive as any surgery would be. Except less scary.

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    1. Oh dear, anon, I hate the lost contact in the back of the head thing! A couple times I've dislodged one so far back in my eye it's taken hours to finally find it and extricate it. So it CAN happen.

      I can't figure out if mine are inside out half the time either; I don't thing it's your fault, it's the dang contacts.

      And yeah, good question: why aren't there distance cheaters??

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  13. I had lasik & to correct my eye issues now would make it that I would have to wear glasses all the time at night OR reading glasses all the time so I just go with my reading glasses when I need them.

    As for the other part, I am past trying to be good at all these things & taking up competitions because everyone else is doing them or doing a 5 minute plank cause it is all over Instagram or lifting a 1 rep max cause others are writing about it. I do what I know is best for me at this age & if I really want to try something like a triathlon I will do it because I want to & not due to others pressures! :)

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    1. Another brave Lasik survivor!

      And yeah Jody, I wouldn't take you as a flavor-of-the-month athlete but still all-around skilled in all kinds of things. And obviously weight lifting is a rather a strength of yours!

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  14. I just do what I enjoy! Especially yoga!

    Kimberley

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  15. I've needed "vision help" since 5th grade (33 years ago) but am adamantly anti-Lasik for myself. Although everyone I know of who's had it raves about it, and several ophthalmologists have said I am a perfect candidate for it, the thought absolutely freaks me out. I had to have laser repair of a torn retina several years ago and it was EXCRUCIATING. Eye stuff is freaky.

    But, on to your real question: I am a jack-of-all-trades exercise type (well, *most* trades; there are some things -- team sports being one -- that are not for me). My natural talent seems to lie in strength training, but that is supported by my interest in and practice of HIIT and anaerobic cardio-combo type stuff like mixed martial arts. I have great endurance, great "wind," respectable strength, and pitbull spirit. I like having a variety of things I like (or at least don't hate) so that on the day I don't feel like running, I have a full body compound move program to go to; if it's shoulders day and I just don't feel like I want to go balls out lifting, I can do a Tabata circuit with different types of push-ups, some overhead dumbbell presses, etc. and still get some shoulders work in.

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    1. So sorry about the torn retina Norma, what a miserable thing to have to go through!

      And wow, I sure admire your athletic prowess and envy your pitbull spirit. My pitbull often seems to have wandered off for a nap!

      So smart, too, to have so many go-to options so you never get bored!

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  16. IM SOOOOO LEFT EYE TOO.
    and I be sooo ok with that :-)

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    1. I thought you might be a left eye Miz; love the way you roll with the no-regrets acknowledgement that some pursuits just aren't your thang.

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  17. I wish I could afford to get surgery to get rid of the glasses! I hate em. I wear bifocals and got my first pair less than 20 years ago. Being a wuss at the thought of having the surgery though, negates the money aspect of it all.

    I don't know what I am....I know what I am not. I just barely know anything about any exercise, other than it was something to be avoided all those years BC. (BC=Before Change)

    I have dabbled in Yoga, weight training, walking, running, Zumba, Tai Chi, water aerobics, lap swimming, and thought about lots of other types of exercise. I found I hate Zumba, love Yoga, don't get Tai Chi, and although I love water, since I lost the major weighI I had to lose, I don't have to go in the pool to exercise. I save pool time for injury time or for when I just really feel like getting wet.

    I have found that I enjoy changing my regime up every four to six months. I am still amazed that I PLAN for exercise and LIKE exercising! Who'd a thunk it?

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    1. Isn't it amazing what can open up after a huge lifestyle change? Reading your blog Sherri, it's so hard for me to imagine that there was a time when you shunned exercise! Great that you've tried so many things and found your favorites.

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    2. Thanks Crabby and thanks for visiting my blog. I am always extra tickled when I see a comment that says you've stopped by. :) Of course I am very easy to please, so don't let your head swell up too much. (hehehehe)
      One thing I am perplexed about is why so LITTLE exercise makes such a HUGE difference? In my former life I lived on a hobby farm. I road horses, cleaned stalls, tossed bales of hay around, etc. I was active then and I was also obese then. I guess it must be true, it is 80-90% the foods you eat, not just the exercise you do. I used to eat a lot of bread, pasta, cheese, and fast foods. I still have some of those things once in a great while. I prefer the healthier foods I am eating now.

      I am not arguing with it though! I like the new me. It will take a long time (if ever) to get used to this slimmer version of me. It's kinda kewl! :D Sorry to have rambled on!

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  18. I too am doing the one contact eye thing for distance and nothing in the other eye for reading. It's been about 10 years now. My head doesn't notice the issue anymore. I do notice my left eye (reading eye) has slowly grown to see distances now, as my doctor said it would when I aged.

    I will be 50 at the end of January and the older I get, the more I realize, I am okay doing what I am doing. If I ride my bike for 15 minutes and do 10 sit ups, okay. At least I am doing something and not sitting around griping about the increasing belly or just watching TV. I do aim to do more than the 15/10 thing and most days I do. We need to just accept ourselves. A lesson I am struggling with right now as menopause approaches and my once tiny belly is no more.

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    1. Hi Anon!

      That's interesting that the reading eye gets better at distance, but can you still read with it? That would be awesome.

      So cool that you are staying active and yet making self-acceptance a priority. And yeah, I hear you on the menopause/belly thing; I've had to change things up myself and am still trying to figure out how to keep that under control without undue sacrifice or misery.

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  19. I would love to get corrective surgery but it is costly. As for the near sightedness, I wear glasses, these days. Not bi-focals. When the print is too small, as it often is, I just take the glasses off. I either sit at arms length from the computer with glasses on or have my nose pressed up to the monitor with them off. As for the rest of my life, sometimes it just helps to walk around with my eyes closed. Or just one of them closed... ;)

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    1. Well you must be doing something right with your eyes Hilary, as you take such beautiful photos!

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  20. I had LASIK surgery some years back because my vision was 20/600+. It left me with MUCH improved vision although not exactly the same in both eyes. One is 20/20 and the other 20/30. Still, that works out okay in most situations. The only problem is that of reading. Presbyopia was explained to me as a hardening of the eyes where they just are not elastic enough to get that sharp vision anymore. That is certainly my case as I still need glasses to read or work on the computer. They had offered me the choice of having the eyes purposely fixed with one for distance and one for reading but I had tried that "monovision" with contact lenses adjusted that way and could not get used to it so chose not to have my eyes surgically stuck that way.

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    1. Very brave of you to do lasik and glad it worked out fairly well! And eww, just the phrase "surgically stuck that way" gives me the heebie jeebies; sounds like you made the right decision!

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