Since I have been dealing with this for 40 years, I learned many of these disciplines slowly over time. Some were hard lessons to learn because I had nobody to help me understand what was happening. In 1987, I had two full anesthesia surgeries in one year. They left me with an intense need to slow down. There is a term chemo brain. Usually it is from chemotherapy for cancer. For some of us, it is reacting to the chemicals in anesthesia. It hit me hard. I had to slow down with my movements or I would fall over. Those slower movement skills carried long past the chemo brain.

I found that the more I tried to be in a hurry, the more likely I was to mess up. I learned to think before making a move. No more reactive movement. Those little pauses did not slow me down. They allowed me to be more deliberate and accurate in my work. My error rate at work dropped drastically. I actually got faster at my job because I was more methodical.

We tend to get lazy with our movements and even decision making. Slowing down just a bit to be more deliberate with our actions makes a big difference. The extra time spent slowing down is easily made up in accuracy.

People would watch me work as I did work in their homes and be amazed at my smoothness of execution. It was hard for them to understand why I do not drive. Driving requires instant decisions and judgements. Those are my weak points. I learned to overcome them. These same skills have greatly reduced my risk of impacting my head. As a result, I don't have to worry about hitting my head.

The key part to this whole discussion is quite simple. We must change the way we move. Our concussions have left us with less ability to avoid risks. Learning to be deliberate rather than impulsive or reactive will improve our lives. It will lower our stress levels. And, it only takes a second or two.