I am at the point in my life where I am grateful for my stoicism, an orientation to life that I built as a young officer candidate in the Canadian Army several decades back. It was a grind...no other way to describe it...designed to make you quit or to realize you didn't really need to...only wanted to. That's the difference. You can do anything you set your mind to. It only requires the minimum motivation that the task needs for you to overcome your reticence and your fears. Or laziness....which I have in abundance.

I enjoy routine and comfort (I know, I know...who doesn't). So, when things are obviously beginning to slide, I sit up and deal with it. Right now. I have learned long since that letting things slide means a lot more work, expense, and inconvenience later when the need is much more acute. With heart problems, you want them done right away....the right way. Whatever it takes, git 'er done. And endure, and grit yer teeth, and ensure you do your part, which is going to be made very clear to you in pre and post-op instructions. This means pain, suffering, maybe some second-guessing. But, eventually you smell the ocean, eventually the sun begins to peek out from a break in the greyness, and you'll sense that you're on your way back to normalcy, to that routine and comfort you long for. It may never be quite the same (after all, you HAVE aged another four-six months), and other stuff happens over time that cannot wait. But you can put this misery behind you and look forward to years of happy and productive life.

Qui non proficit deficit. 'Who does not advance falls behind.'