~ February ~ A time for Valentine's and a Leap Year, too!
A worthy quote:
"The five most important words in the English language are, 'I am proud of you'." Dale Carnegie
MY PERSONAL CHANGE
Although I have a chronic disease, I am healthier today than I was 6 yrs. ago when diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. My health is measured by what I do and have done, not by the lab reports and pounds I've dropped. Though there is always room for improvement, I've made very significant and specific changes to my daily life with this diabetes. I walk for half an hour most days, I eat fewer processed carbs, and I cook healthier meals that result in far fewer restaurant meals and much less processed foods. I eat less fat and I consume more whole grains and fresh vegetables. These changes have resulted in "permanent" lifestyle changes and I still have some changes I can make or revisit, but the small changes already in place in my life have become awesome!
Learning to view my health-management issues as challenges helps me to successfully overcome issues with the right approach. "Personal change" is about strategy to improve yourself, not about guilt over little failures along the way. "Personal change" is about respecting your body's needs and finding healthy ways to meet those needs. "Personal change" is about nurturing my health and my spirit!
Diabetes is unlike any other chronic condition because you have to manage it yourself with specific goals in mind. Personal change is about commitment - always moving forward. Oh, slip ups will occur but that is not a collapse of your goal, it is just a small relapse. Start again and Move Forward!
Here are the Stages of Change:
* Pre-contemplation - a person is unaware that a change is needed or has no intention of changing.
* Contemplation - a person intends to change in the next few months and is aware of the benefits and
costs of change.
* Preparation - a person is ready to change or is already taking steps for change in their life.
* Action - a person has been making changes over the past few months.
* Maintenance - a person has successfully made changes for more than 6 months and is making every
effort to avoid slipping into past behaviors.
So, Nurture Commitment and Help yourself to Better Health along the way.
Happy Valentine's Day to All my viewers. See a small article by me in the Feb. issue of Reader's Digest, too!
