Positives....in Chronic Illness??!? (part 1)

                                                         
                                                          Why, yes! 

                                              In a nutshell, so to speak.  ;) 

     Obviously, my first choice would have been to remain healthy and active but it was not meant to be.  Fighting against it was counter-productive and while I'd researched a lot, worked as diligently as I could to improve my health and improved as much as I could, I've needed to accept I will never be the version of me I once was.

      While this has meant losing a lot of "me" and I am sad at losing those things, I've come to the realization focusing on those things, just makes it worse.  Worse is not where I wanted to be so a new perspective is what I needed.

     With baby steps, I began to look for anything at all that would be positive.  I must confess, at first try I could not find anything even remotely positive.  As I kept at it though, a few things began to emerge.
     

• I'd learned to give up my "talent" of worrying.  So freeing!! 
• I no longer sweated the small stuff
• Perfectionism -- gone!
• I'm more easy going
• I didn't stress about the small stuff (and even some of the bigger stuff!)
• learned the art of saying, "no" (and not feel guilty about it)
• improved ability to advocate for myself
• Improved diet meant improvement in other previous medical issues

  
       (This is a list in progress which I consciously add to as I go)
 
     In many areas, I am in a much better place than I was before chronic illness.    For one (and a big one at that), the unnecessary, self-induced stress I used to endure would have surely taken its toll on me had I not learned to deal with it in a more effective way.  

     I am truly thankful for that.  

     So today, I choose to focus on the positives in order to keep

                  Balance....despite the chaos!

​    (......to be continued!  Stay tuned for part 2! )