Being athletic for as long as I can remember, I’ve had my share of setbacks, it just comes with the territory. Sports, especially running, brought me tremendous joy. They were my medicine.

My first major setback came in my junior year of high school. I was on the cross-country team, basketball team, and both the indoor and outdoor track teams. High school for me was all about sports, until it all came to a grinding halt when I blew out my knee playing basketball. I was devastated.

Back in the ’70s, arthroscopic surgery wasn’t yet a thing, and recovery could take six months or more. In my 15-year-old mind, I was done. Finished. Auf Wiedersehen to sports. My life was over!

So, I decided to redirect my energy. You know the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? I had a different plan. Lemons seemed boring, so I made lemon meringue pie. Not just one… but two or three. And I ate them. All of them. Within six months, I had gained ten pounds, and sugary treats became my new “medicine” for coping with my sport-less life.

Time passed, and I eventually returned to running and all kinds of sports. Life was good again. In my 20s, 30s, and 40s, there were still ups and downs, but with patience and a shift in mindset, I resisted the temptation to slip back into my “lemon meringue” way of thinking.

Fast forward to my 50s, life threw another curveball that tested all the resilience I’d been building. First came the car accident. It set in motion a tsunami of events that literally brought me to my knees.

It was December 2012. My fitness business was thriving, I’d just signed several new clients, and I was a month away from celebrating my 50th birthday. Life was exciting. Then the tsunami hit. During one training session, I ended up in the emergency room with four herniated discs and a nerve fragment, leaving me in unimaginable pain and unable to walk.

Recovery took a full year. I lost all my clients, and getting back into any kind of fitness routine felt like an endless climb. My running days were over, yes. Did I want to revisit my “lemon meringue” coping strategy? Absolutely. But I didn’t. I leaned into what I could do instead of focusing on what I couldn’t.

I turned to rowing, cycling, walking, and weight training. There were moments I wanted to quit, it would have been easier. But I recruited family and friends to hold me accountable because I knew there would be a better version of me on the other side.

Here’s what I’ve learned from moments like these: the bottom line is, we choose where we want to be. We choose what we’re willing to do when we fall down, fall off, or fall away from our path.

Bouncing back might not be perfect. It might not look pretty. It might be damn hard. And that’s okay. Finding mentors, trainers, books, videos, or podcasts can help you build a life free from “lemon meringue” moments, and give you the tools and the medicine for a longer, more fulfilling life.