Have You Ever Thought About What You Say Yes To?

When we think about something, embrace a specific emotion, or take action, consciously or not, we are making a choice. That means, when we say Yes to something, we are saying No to other options.

Today I was thinking about how many things I say Yes in my day, as I take better care of my health. The choices I have been making about food, exercise, sleep are directly aligned with my intent of feeling better in the long run.

What is in the Menu?

My family and I had dinner recently in one of our favorite places in the mountains. The restaurant is casual, cozy, with delicious comfort food.

We have been going there for almost 10 years, way before I knew what lupus was, and that I had it.

I had not started my journey to adjust my eating and working habits, as well as my lifestyle. That Italian Trattoria has one of the best desserts I have ever had. It is light, creamy, and the filling is right on the money. I could always skip the entire meal and just eat the desserts.

Saying No

I had to start saying no to several things I enjoy eating, per my doctor’s orders. Stop eating inflammatory food, which included gluten, dairy, and sugar. Oh well, I miss it all.

Saying Yes to my wellbeing, saying Yes to a better quality of life with fewer flares, today and tomorrow mean Saying No to these things.

The same way, choosing to avoid extreme hiking adventures and spending summer days outdoors, translates to saying No to getting back to bed and having long flares. I say No to lupus every single day.

Start button

Getting out of bed can be troublesome sometimes. An activity that can be simple for so many people can be hard when we are under a flare. Saying Yes and accepting this reality is painful and harsh.

Nevertheless, ignoring my condition and these symptoms won’t help, and it will worsen my health.

Yesses

Decisions I am making today will have a direct impact on my quality of life. All tactical choices I make must be in sync with my strategic priority, which is to live long and be healthy as much as possible.

Saying No can be difficult. Many of the things I have enjoyed in my life are options I cannot say Yes to anymore. Even though the word No only has two letters, it is not simple to live by. No requires a lot of self-discipline and self-control, willpower that sometimes seems unreachable for me.

Being Kind

While being kind to myself can be translated into taking care of myself – body and soul; it also means understanding the difficulty in making choices I don’t want to, but I must.

It means forgiving myself for making the same mistakes over and over again, embracing my flaws, and accepting myself for who I am today. Loving myself is saying Yes to a better quality of life, with less judgment and more care.

I wrote this blog to remind myself why I choose to live the way I do today, limiting so many things that used to give me pleasure.

I guess the power of WHY explains it all.

What about you, what do you say Yes to?

Yours truly,

Hope

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