The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Mark Twain

 

The vacation is over, and the year is properly beginning! It is time to roll up the sleeves and start working on new things!

 

With so much going on, between my lupus condition, my boys growing up, the new Covid variant, the economic crisis, and so on, I started thinking a couple of things:

 

1. What is in my control?
2. Is it really possible for an old dog to learn new tricks?
3. Who do I want to be one year from now?
4. What are my strengths, and how can I repurpose them in my new lifestyle?

 

Having Lupus has forced me to look for new opportunities and build a new identity. That is hard, to say the least.

 

Psychologists say when we write our goals and visualize how to achieve them, it increases our chances of success. So, with that in mind, I decided to put down my new objectives and hold myself accountable for working on them.

 

I have learned that this is much easier said than done. I have always been pretty assertive and able to ask tough questions, but asking them of myself was a painful process.

 

I felt stuck for weeks, going in circles, so I decided to step back and start with the basic, simple questions. Each one of them helps me to define different goals:

 

1. What could give me a sense of purpose from now on, and how can I focus on that?
2. What type of person do I want to be in 2022, and how can I get there?
3. How can I leverage my strengths and talents to build a new lifestyle?

 

In a nutshell, I want to take good care of myself. I want to feel good about who I am, have no shame, no regrets, and embrace my vulnerability.

 

With that in mind, my commitment to myself is:

 

• Surround me with positive people who care about me, and make me feel stronger, loved, and valued!
• Eat healthily; I am what I eat.
• Exercise, starting small while adjusting to my body’s new limitations, and remembering that a bit of exercise can go a long way.

 

As people say, different actions are needed to get different results.

 

When we change our mindset, we change our actions; when we change our actions, we change our habits; and with new and positive habits, we build a better life.

 

What will you do this year? Share your thoughts in the comments area. I would love to hear them!

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