Protect Your Achilles Heel in These Key Areas

Your "Achilles heel" can lead to a fall.

The term "Achilles' heel" comes from Greek mythology and tells the story of Achilles, the mighty warrior. His mother who wanted to protect him from harm dipped him in the River Styx to make him invulnerable. But unfortunately, when she did, she held him by his heel which became the one area where he stayed vulnerable.

Achilles was eventually shot by an arrow in his heel that ended his life. It was his one critical weakness.

What are those areas where we are vulnerable and how to we protect ourselves from getting taken out in the battle we call life? I want to suggest three areas where we need protection and if neglected can become a critical weakness and knock you off your feet.

Three Areas Worth Protecting When Dealing With What Life Brings

1. Guard Your Thinking

If your thinking is off base from what it needs to be, you can spiral out of control. How your think makes a difference.

In one particular area of my thinking, I ran squarely into some flawed thinking I had to change is I was going to get back on my feet. My attitude told me that I was in control of what could happen while riding a motorcycle. Unfortunately, I was very wrong when the car pulled out in front of me on April 23, 2011.

I didn’t control the other driver and couldn’t control what happened next — the crash.

That accident changed everything. One thing that changed as I spent weeks, months and years recovering was my thinking. I changed my thinking to a much more resiliency mindset that realized that bad things happen and my main goal needed to learn how to choose my response to life and not try to control what happens to me.

That thinking I believe helped protect me when in 2020 my wife Vicky was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My feelings and deep sadness didn’t change but I had thinking that help carry me through the dark night of grief.

One of the reasons I wrote Unlocking the Mystery of Grief was to help people with their thinking.

Sound thinking can change your life and keep you from getting hit in the “Achilles heel” of stinkin’ thinking.

2. Guard Your Habits

Another area that can become an “Achilles heel” is our habits. Too many bad habits and not enough good habits can lead to a fall.

I go back to an earlier time in my life when I was 39. I was on the cliff edge of burnout because I hadn’t built into my life the kinds of habits that would keep me healthy and vital. I didn’t exercise, my thinking was off, and my emotional health was suffering.

Over the course of six months and a dedicated time to rest, I changed a few things — namely some of my habits. One habit I started was regular running. It not only changed my fitness but helped me deal with stress which I continue to practice to this day. I don’t run any more but I cycle regularly.

Healthy habits change your life and keep you from getting hit in the “Achilles heel” of bad habits.

3. Guard Your Relationships

Who you hang out with matters. As it’s been said, “You become like the five people you spend the most time with.” The people you and I listen to influence us and can move us forward or pull us back.

If the people you hang out with on a regular basis are toxic, negative, not growing, and pull you down from the best version of ourselves — you become vulnerable to a fall.

Another relational critical weakness can be isolation.

A study done on loneliness found that people who live with prolonged loneliness and isolation see their chances of an early death rise by 45%. You are more vulnerable to an early death than excessive drinking which increases your chances by 30%.

Healthy, positive, and empathetic friends can change your life. Without them we are exposed to a fall.

Final Thoughts and Reflection Questions

Paying attention to your thinking, your habits and your relationships can make a powerful difference. If you would like to learn more about how to think, what to do, and how to nurture healthy relationships while grieving, my new book is written with you in mind.

Consider these questions as you move these ideas into action.