Illness took a lot away from me, but it’s also given me much. The first couple of years after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia were the hardest for me, I came close to giving up completely and I certainly understand why some people do. I can only say it was a certain level of stubbornness that I was born with that kept me from checking out completely, and a certain set of beliefs that I’ve spent my life preaching to others and had to choose to practice for myself.
I don’t know if I believe these thoughts because I’m stubborn, or if stubbornness makes me hold these beliefs. While at times I need a bit a reminder (which is why I’m writing this) I still choose to hold these beliefs and share them with others. Whatever the case, I feel these beliefs have made me a stronger person
1. Just do something!
The first step is never going to be easy. The further you’ve sunk the harder it is to climb out but until you reach up that first time you’ll never start climbing. I’ve talked to so many people in my life that have found themselves in tough situations. They felt lost and like they had no choices left. But, there is always a choice.
When I hit rock bottom I felt like I was out of choices. I had given up and it was only in realizing that even at rock bottom there is a choice to be made -the choice between checking out completely or checking in for help – that pushed me to do just that and from there to realize I still had other choices as well. No matter what we do we make a choice, we are doing something, let’s make it a positive something.
No matter what we do we make a choice, we are doing something, let's make it a positive something. Share on X2. You can’t control everything.
I might be a control freak – at least I’ve been accused of it a time or two. It’s something I’m always working on. It’s funny that I can KNOW there’s no such thing as control and yet have such a hard time remembering it. Chronic illness is a great reminder that we are never really in control, and yet I think for many of us that knowledge and the feeling that goes with it is what makes us hang on tighter to any bit of control we feel we do have. We can’t control our health (or we think we can’t) so we try to control everything else.
The truth is that we will never has as much control over life as we’d like, so we need to choose to focus on and control only the things that we can. We can control many choices that affect our health, including what we eat, and how we choose to live (lifestyle choices), who we choose to spend our time around, and how we choose to spend it. We can NOT control the actions or thoughts of others. We can not fully control our health, we can’t control when the bad days will come, but we can control how we respond to those bad days – whether we fight them for control, or just relax and know they will pass.
Stop trying to control the things that are out of your control. Letting go is the faster path to feeling better Share on X3. Nothing is guaranteed.
With great risk often comes great reward. We have to decide if the possibility of the reward is worth the risk. Often it is. I think back to when I decided to do an elimination diet that included a week-long juice fast, and eliminating several major foods from my diet. It was a lot of effort and there was a huge risk that it might not do anything to help me. But, I was in such bad shape at the time that it was worth it to me to give it a try. The risk was worth the reward. The worst case was that I’d end up right where I was, the best case was that I’d improve my situation. I had no idea just how much it would improve my situation. I had no guarantees, but I knew the risk was worthwhile before I took it and I had nothing to lose.
Are you willing to take a risk if it might give you your life back? Share on X4. Stop thinking and start living.
One of my greatest pet peeves in the world is people who get hung up by their own thoughts. Again they are worried about the risks, they are worried about not knowing enough, or about doing it wrong, so they put off trying. They put off trying so long that they never take action.
I tend to go to the extreme opposite extreme; I’ll leap before I look almost every time. Not knowing enough is never a reason for not trying, my attitude is I can learn it along the way. There should probably be a balance but the truth is that there are times I wish I’d thought things through a little more as it might have saved me a little time in the short-run, in the long-run I’ve never regretted that I took the leap.
We can sit around forever thinking about what we might do later, when we know more, when we have more experience, when we meet the right people, when we’ve tried everything else, but the truth is that the longer we think about doing something the less likely we are to do it. So, (as Nike reminds us) Just do it!
Are you ready to stop thinking about it and start living? Share on X
5. You don’t need the approval of others.
Your decisions are your own, you know better than anyone else what is best for you. There are a lot of amazing things that we can do that others will likely not approve of. Often it’s jealousy that drives their attitudes, often it’s worry for you that you might not “win”, or worry that you might. Your friends may worry that if you change in some way it will be fundamental and it will change your relationship with them. It doesn’t matter what they think. All that matters is that you are doing what is right for you.
You don't need the approval of others to do what's best for you. Share on XIn the end it doesn’t matter how strongly I believe these five things, what matters more is that I act like I believe them, that I act on these beliefs. That I take action regardless of what others think, and despite the fact that there are no guarantees or that I’ve not researched the idea to death. What matters most is that I live.
How about you? Do you believe you are good enough? Do you believe you can take action right now? Do you believe that it doesn’t matter what others think? Despite the fact that nothing is guaranteed, are you ready to stop thinking and start living?
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