May. 18, 2009 - One Thing
Living with a chronic illness gives us a fresh look at priorities. It causes us to examine our priorities from a new perspective. We folks who are chronically ill don't have the ability to live life the way we once did. We may not have the energy we used to have. Our bodies may not work like they used to. We may need more help doing things we once did alone. When illness becomes our new reality, whether suddenly or over time, things that we once held with great importance may not seem quite as important any more. We may find that events we once attended without fail may not be as necessary as they once were. Our once spotless homes may be a little more cluttered (okay, maybe spotless isn't the right word). The bottom line here is that life is different than it used to be. Okay, so what do we do about it?
I read something recently that has stuck with me. It's a very simple idea really. Here it is - pick one thing each day that you want to accomplish. How much simpler could it be? Your one thing might be mopping the kitchen floor or scrubbing the shower. OR if it's one of those days that you're just able to drag yourself to the bathroom, maybe you could plan to wipe down the sink while you're there. (Make sure to keep cleaning wipes handy.) The point is that you plan to accomplish something everyday, and you follow through. Having a plan is a good start to any endeavor, and the easier the plan, the easier it is to get done.
There's no good reason to beat ourselves up because we can't manage to get much done. That doesn't get us anywhere but into a deep pit of guilt and depression. Let's instead plan to get one thing done - and do it! And at the end of the day, we have accomplished our "to do" list. Tomorrow we can start a new "to do" list. Let's see. . . I think I might vacuum my bedroom tomorrow. If it's a good day, I may feel up to doing even more; but unless I'm on my death bed I should be at least be able to push a vacuum cleaner around my bedroom.
