The First Step To Living Chronically Well
What Is The First Step Towards Living Chronically Well?
It is more simple than you might think.
I remember exactly what started me down the path to striving for chronic wellness. I read a magazine article written by a life coach. She asked something like:
“If you could change anything in your life, even if it seems impossible, what would you change?”
The first thought that jumped in my head was that I wanted to be healthy. Honestly, I would have settled for healthier - just anything better than what I was experiencing.
At the time, I was in tough shape. I was experiencing ongoing chemo side effects that made daily functioning really difficult - the worst being reduced lung function and difficulty standing up for more than 30 seconds at a time due to a version of POTS (positional orthostatic hypotension). In the middle of all this, I was trying to go back to part-time work AND I was the mother of an energetic preschooler.
So, healthier seemed like an obvious choice for me to wish for. It sounded AMAZING! But, it seemed unrealistic, and actually impossible, given my circumstances. I could barely keep up with my day-to-day, so how could I make healthy happen?
I think a lot of us fall into this demoralizing thought pattern - especially, when all we see are significant roadblocks.
Yet, this magazine article made a small crack in my mindset. I started to think about what I would have to do to be healthier - and try to work backwards from there. While my vision of healthier seemed far away, I started to work incrementally to get there.
Why Start With A Vision?
When someone asks me why the coaching process starts with setting a vision for what you want your life/health to look like, I can answer from both the health coach perspective and a personal perspective.
A Coaching Perspective
From a coaching perspective, the answer is based in neuroscience. When we are motivated to work toward a goal, we can draw on that to keep going. By envisioning how you feel, what you are doing, who you are with, what is possible in your life - you paint yourself a vivid picture of what you want.
This is of critical importance because change can be slow and difficult. In my case, the true change took years (and is still evolving). Reminding yourself of your vision for why you are making the effort - especially when things aren't going well - is key to making sustainable change.
My Personal Perspective
From a personal perspective, starting with a vision is important because when you look at where you are versus where you want to be, it can become easier to see how misaligned those two can be. When I was able to recognize how much I was expecting of myself and how unrealistic that was given my health challenges, it led me to make some important decisions and changes. I had to prioritize, simplify and delegate certain aspects of my life in order to give myself some room to take care of myself.
Of course, it is easier said than done. I needed to make some big life changes over time. I made the tough decision to stop working and focus on my health and my family. I ended up leaving behind my law career that I had devoted time, energy and a lot of resources to pursue. I also embarked on the long journey of finding what I could do to support my underlying health.
But, without creating my vision of living healthier, and a general plan to get there, I may have continued to expect the impossible of myself. I might not have noticed that I was choosing doing “all the things” over my health. And, I have no doubt that my health and wellbeing would have suffered.
There have been plenty of roadblocks and years of painfully slow growth and change. But, my step one - my vision of what being healthier could look like - was a spark that led to me prioritizing my health and wellbeing.
My vision has become so much more ambitious and realistic than it was initially. My vision has progressed as I have. I am grateful that I read the article and that it flipped the switch in my mind to open me up to trying to work toward becoming healthy - one baby step at a time.
Achieving Your Vision Is Possible For You
It all starts with thinking through what you want most for your life and health.
Since there is not a one-size-fits all answer to this question, I invite you to get out your journal and ask yourself the following questions in order to gain a clear vision.
When you imagine yourself in good health and living the life you want, what does that look like?
Allow yourself to imagine what life could look like without your current limitations, or what life could look like if your chronic illness or disability fit into your life with more ease.
This is an opportunity to imagine possibilities and your deepest wishes. Some things to consider are:
How do you feel?
How do you look?
Who are you with?
What are you doing/are you able to do?
What does achieving your vision make possible for you?
How is your vision different from what you are currently experiencing?
I ask this question because it can be helpful (and sometimes a little scary) to see that there might be a disparity between where you are and where you want to be. While this might be a little uncomfortable, it is an important consideration because you will gain clarity on what you want and what might need to be reworked to help you reach your vision.
Now that you have considered your first step to reaching your version of living Chronically Well, you might be feeling like your vision is impossible. I felt the same way. But, I now know that we each have the power to make some changes in our life and health that can lead to transformation over time.
It might not mean a cure. It might not mean perfect. It might not even lead you to exactly where you thought you were going. But, you CAN empower yourself to play an active role in your life and health. And, you can find your unique path to living Chronically Well.
Clarifying Your Vision
For more information on clarifying your Chronically Well vision, accept my free, 7-day Chronic Wellness Challenge.
What Now?
Once you have a vision, how do you make it happen?
Just like there is no one-size-fits-all vision, there are no pre-packaged action steps that will work for all of us. The general approach is to think about your vision and set up steps that work backwards to where you are right now. Then you just start, one baby step at a time.
For more specific guidance, I have multiple ways to support you in finding your unique steps and to support you on your journey.
I invite you to check out the following resources:
* Accept My Free 7-Day Chronic Wellness Challenge
* Read This Blog Post On How To Set Realistic Wellness Goals
* Check Out My Chronically Well Coaching Program
* Explore My THRIVE Coaching Package
What Would Reaching Your Vision Make Possible In Your Life?
What Kind Of Support Do you Need To make it happen?
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