Five years ago this week, we moved from Southern California to South Florida.
Which is interesting… because Florida wasn’t even under consideration.
Not “low on the list.” Not “maybe someday.”
More like… “we might visit, but let’s not do anything drastic.”
This whole process actually started about 15 years ago.
At one point we were convinced we were moving to Austin, Texas. Took a trip, liked it, but it felt too landlocked. At some point, we realized we like being near water more than we like being near barbecue.
Then Boise, Idaho.
Beautiful. We visited in November. Within a few days, our skin was cracking so fast we felt like we aged 10 years. Turns out we are not built for climates that require survival strategies.
We were sure Scottsdale was it. Had family nearby. Great place to live and practice.
Only problem, couldn’t find a house. Couldn’t find a practice location. Couldn’t find anything that made us say, “This is it.”
Then some friends of ours moved to Florida and said, “You should check out Florida.”
We said, “We’ll go look… but we are NOT moving there. It’s on the other side of the country, for goodness sake.”
Two days later, we’re basically best friends with our real estate agent and touring houses like we’ve been paying property taxes here since 1998.
Found a practice. Found a house. Went back to California and made it official.
Packed up decades of life, got on a plane, and five years ago this week, we started over.
Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Not even close. The move was quick. The transition was not.
For the first year or two, there was this low-level, constant feeling of,
“This is great, but also, what just happened?”
We missed family. Missed familiarity.
Missed knowing where anything was without asking Google for permission first.
At some point we realized we weren’t confused, we were adjusting.
And here’s something that I realize when I look back at it now.
At one point we were convinced we were moving to Austin. Then Boise. Then Arizona.
All of these were good options which all made sense on paper, but they were all wrong for us.
And I see the same thing with health all the time.
People do what seems logical:
They stretch.
They rest.
They take something for it.
They wait it out.
And to be fair, those aren’t bad decisions. They’re just not always the right decision for what’s actually going on.
It’s a lot like our move.
Arizona wasn’t a bad place; it just wasn’t the right fit.
Same with your body.
You can do things that “should work “and still not get better.
Not because you’re doing something wrong, but because you haven’t found the right approach yet.
That’s why I tell patients, just because something didn’t work… doesn’t mean nothing will.
It usually just means you haven’t found the right solution yet.
Most people don’t run out of options… they run out of patience.
Looking back, I’m grateful we didn’t stop in Arizona.
And I’m just as grateful for the patients who don’t stop after trying the first thing that didn’t work.
Because when you find the right approach…
Things don’t just change; they start working the way they were supposed to all along.
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!
Dr. Derek “Glad We Kept Going” Taylor
