Someone told me recently that being afraid of the consequences is what motivates us to take care of what we have and YES we need fear to recognize threats but yet I need to point out that living with fear isn’t living.
Being afraid of diabetes is pointless unless you can do something about it, isn’t it? Diabetes is a different way to live, in the way that people with it can enjoy a more healthy life when we talk about having a balanced diet, making exercise a habit and having the responsibility of our daily care.
Still, we can’t never forget that Diabetes IS a disease, one that can shorten and worsen our life IF WE DON’T TAKE CARE and we can’t change that, what we can change is the perception we have of it but at the end is up to one of us how to think of it, for me the difference is thinking in a different and positive way.
Today I accept those things I can’t change; to change the things I can, to learn how to recognize the difference.
Being afraid of the consequences is one part I think, but the other is being hopeful. Also we do it because of those arounds us like our families. My family is what keeps me going on my bad days. I figure I need to be around to make sure my kid actually learns something good. I think for me there is something that wont let me quit. I tried to quit things before and I just could not. I feel like a need to prove that I am still the same person as I was before but better. It is me 2.0 with a better way of living and a different understanding of life. take care
Yes fear is a great motivator but more than that it doesnt have to be the only motivator when it comes to the diabetic life, I would say my son, I wanna be at his wedding and hold my grand kids one day, yes once you become a parent it is simply not about you anymore. I want to be there for those events and for that to happen, I have to fight this disease and so I will.
I have always tried to take care of myself, I started doing this long before I was diagnosed with diabetes. When some of my friends found out that I developed T2 diabetes they commented that they were surprised because I ate better than anyone they knew. I have changed my diet and lost about 20 pounds but I wasn’t that much over weight anyway. I inherited diabetes from my mother’s side of the family. It is almost an epidemic with them and I have seen the complications if you don’t take care of yourself.
Even with saying that, I want to live a full active life. I don’t want fear to control what I do. The better I take care of myself the better I will feel and the more I can do. I am 64 years old and still play softball and basketball with people the age of my children or younger. I still enjoy hiking downhill skiing and other outdoor activities. I want a zest for life to control what I do, not fear.
Good topic! and I agree that living in fear is not really living… …for one it can take up a lot of energy because I think it’s a heightened state of mind…always being watchful… and I have personally found that it can also be a demotivator/paralysing… too much fear and you’re overwhelmed and don’t want to deal with it
Personally what motivates me the most to take of myself…is focusing on having the best possible day (i.e. no highs/lows since they can really make a day bad) but also having long term goals I want to meet that “require” good care …like the poor diabetic mentioned wanting to be at son’s wedding…
For me it’s kind of similar…to exercising (though way more work)…I want to be one of those 60-70+ year olds…who can still walk up several flights of stairs or run in long distance races…but to be able to do that in the future I need to do things in the present (ie. run/exercise)
When I was first dianosged as a type 2 six months ago I felt pretty down I have beat the odds with heart disease for the past 13 yrs and I thought was else can happen? Then this came to me.
A person experiences life as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. Our task must be to free ourselves from this self-imposed prison, and through compassion, to find the reality of Oneness."
