When living with chronic illnesses it can sometimes be hard to stay motivated and have a positive mindset. It can be easy to lose hope or give up on your life goals, but I want to tell you that those dreams and the life you want are still achievable! These tips help me to stay positive and get me in the right mindset to still go after my dreams no matter what my illnesses throw at me. I had a really low point three years ago when I was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease; it was a struggle to even get out of bed. Once I got a little healthier, I knew I couldn't spend another year in bed. I then made the decision to take action and go for what I want in life. My personal goals are to continue working towards getting my degree, bettering my health, and to travel. I hope this post can help you stay motivated and encourage you to reach your goals and do what you want in life!
Tips:
1) Gratitude
When you are constantly feeling sick or always dealing with symptoms of an illness, it can sometimes be easy to forget to be thankful. I noticed that being grateful for what life has given me and appreciating the little things that bring me happiness has definitely kept me focused on the bright side. I have a journal I specifically use for this and I write down what I am thankful for each day. I like to do this before I go to bed because it puts me in such a good mindset and it is really relaxing to me as well. Thinking about what you are grateful for sort of forces you to think positively about the day you've had. Somedays, I fill out a whole page and other days I only write down a few things. It brings a feeling of hope and encouragement when you take time and look back at your journal and see all the good that you have in your life.
2) Self-Care
Self-care is so important in having a positive mindset. I can say that I am 100% happier when I take time to do something special for myself than when I don't (even if it is something small that I do). I like to have a little bit of self-care in every one of my days. This is usually spending time in the morning preparing and enjoying my morning cup of coffee or taking time in the evening to do a facemask. I also like to have daily routines such as skincare. I think that having routines helps to motivate yourself because it creates a schedule in your day and you won't feel so lost. It is also enjoyable because you will find yourself looking forward to your days and routine that you love!
- Self-Care Sunday
What I like to do is have a day dedicated to self-care. I like to do mine on Sunday because it is such a relaxed day for me and it is also the day before the start of a new week.
- Self-Care Ideas/Some of my Favs:
- Facemask
- Painting your Nails
- Taking a Bath
- Watching a favorite Movie or TV Show
- Doing a Hair Mask
- Making a Favorite Meal or Enjoying a Favorite Snack
- Meditation or doing Yoga before Bed
- Self-Care also included Taking Care of Yourself (Healthwise)
- Eating healthy the majority of the time
- Drinking enough water
- Taking your supplements/meds
- I know it can be super easy to forget to take your morning or nighttime supplements sometimes. An easy reminder can be to keep your pill bottles on your bathroom countertop or your nightstand. It helps me a lot to remember to take them since it is right by my toothbrush.
- Another helpful way to remember is to set a reminder on your phone or download an app that will send you reminders when to take your medicine. When I am on a lot of supplements I use the app called Medisafe, which is extremely helpful because you can enter all of the information about your medication and even schedule alarms to be sent to you daily, weekly, and even monthly. This is super helpful so that you only have to enter the reminder in one time and you are all set!
3) Exercise
I know it can be extremely hard to exercise or be motivated to exercise when dealing with illness. I know working out can seem like a questionable thing when you have EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) because joints pop out and it can be very frustrating to deal with itself let alone when trying to work out. It is really important though to build muscle so that you can help strengthen and increase stability in your body. I notice I feel a lot better and happier when I am exercising and over time I feel less pain! When you start feeling a difference or at least know you are working towards that, it can be very motivating.
4) Taking Action
The final tip I have is to take action and go after your dreams! Nothing is going to happen if you keep wishing and thinking about what you want to accomplish until you really take action and take the steps required to achieve your dreams. For me, this was going to school and traveling. The only way I was able to do this was by researching and finding out what I needed to do to achieve those goals and then do those actions. I realized you can do whatever you put your mind to and your dreams can come true. Sometimes it can be as simple as just going for it. Some things might take hard work and a lot of time, but I am letting you know it is worth it. You'll be so happy once you get to where you want and reach your goals. Achieving your goals will also help motivate you to set more goals for yourself and you'll realize you can achieve anything you want. I noticed that reaching your goals also helps you to feel really good about yourself and makes you proud of what you have accomplished.
- You may find your goals may change due to circumstances that are out of your control. In my case, I was at Clemson University (my dream school), but due to my health, I had to withdraw and move back home to continue treatment for my Lyme Disease. This was not my ideal situation or what I wanted to do. I found a solution to still work towards getting my degree by doing online classes.
I hope these tips have helped and have given you some ideas on how to help yourself have a positive mindset and help you to be motivated to go after your dreams. You are still you no matter what you have going on in life; you still have wishes and dreams that you can reach!