My “Secret Subject” is:
This year has just begun. What do you plan on doing and what do you plan on avoiding to make this one of your best years?
It was submitted by: http://sparklyjenn.blogspot.com/
**Thank you for such a fabulous subject!!**
A new year, a new you! Isn't that how the saying goes? It seems that during this time of year, everyone is on a mission to becoming a better person. For some it is a successful mission, for others it is a not so successful mission. Some stick with it and others give up. Some set far too many goals, and only accomplish a few. Others set not nearly enough. At least, even if only for a brief time, we can all admit that we are not perfect.
Many people tend to have the "I'm perfect/I'm better than you/I don't make mistakes" attitudes. For some it is a permanent thing, and for some it is an every once in a while thing. I try very hard to always admit my faults. To own up to my imperfections. I view them, not as things that make me a failure or less than perfect, but as things that make me who I am. Things that build my character and reveal that I am merely a human.
Being imperfect is not a bad thing. It is a "normal" thing. No person is perfect. I know, shocking information. Not even Matt Damon is perfect. I know, I know. I should have given warning before dropping such a shocking piece of information out there.
I am personally far from perfect. A fact, that as the years have passed, I have become much more appreciative of. Not being perfect adds to my individual uniqueness, and it gives me something to aspire to. I can always change and grow as a person. I can always become better, and learn new lessons.
I quit making resolutions a few years ago. I tend to make goals. I think about what things I would like to change and/or accomplish in the near future, and I do my best to make that happen. Some of my goals take multiple years to achieve. Some never happen. Some change before they happen. Some I sit back and laugh at. Others I revisit and renew my desire to make them happen. Some happen and do not bring about the change I thought it would... sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. No matter what the outcome, I do my best to turn each situation into growth.
We should always learn from our successes and our failures. Everything that happens in our lives, should impact us. Nothing should ever be in vain. I know... much easier said than done, but it is entirely possible.
I recently found out that I have Lupus. I think I am still in shock. I really am not sure how I feel about it, other than scared. With the fear also comes relief. Weird, I know, though I never claimed to be even remotely normal. The relief comes from the answers the diagnosis provides. At least now I know why I have blood clots, why my memory is failing, why I am suffering from several physical ailments, and why I have all the chronic pain. There is definite relief in knowing the why.
I have discovered that there is also disappointment in the why. As odd as it may seem, I am actually a very optimistic person. Now knowing why, and knowing it is permanent, I realize that I had been optimistically hopeful, that I would be healed. Now, I know that healing is not possible. That is okay, because endurance is possible. Acceptance is possible. Coping is possible.
I tend to start thinking about the new year in November. I start contemplating what goals I will make for the upcoming years. Which goals I will carry over, which I will quit working on, and what new ones I need to make. I had come up with several for this year, but now that I know about the Lupus, I have completely changed my 2015 goal plan.
I want to accept that I have Lupus. Not just acknowledge that I have it, but actually make peace with the fact that I have it. I want to learn everything I can about it. I want to work closely with my doctors and come up with a successful treatment plan. I want to come up with a plan of action, to make living a good life despite the Lupus possible. I am sure this will be a goal for the next few years.
I want to make needed changes in my life, to make my life better. I want to completely organize our home. This way I can relax and just live. I want to come up with a system that works. One that helps me remember all I need to remember, and stay organized. Over the last couple of years, I have forgotten many things, which is not characteristic of me at all. I figured it was "pregnancy brain" and then "mom of a newborn brain". I now know that it is actual Lupus brain.
I plan on continuing my weight loss, until I achieve my absolute goal. I am almost there. Much closer than I was when I started. I plan on getting all my vitamin and mineral levels to an acceptable place. Currently, I am deficient in several. The healthier I am, the better I can live.
I plan on not letting myself get overwhelmed or discouraged. I plan on not letting myself give up. I plan on not letting myself make excuses. I plan on not letting myself give up on the things I want to do, just because they may be more difficult than originally anticipated.
I really want to take this blog up. Does that make sense? Haha. I want to make this blog better. It has been my goal for a few months now. I still want to continue with that goal.
What about you... do you have any goals? Do you make them yearly? I'd love to hear what you want to do in 2015!
Happy New Year! I hope it is an awesome year! Thank you for reading!
Here are links to all the fabulous sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup (preferably of coffee), and check them all out. See you there:
Many people tend to have the "I'm perfect/I'm better than you/I don't make mistakes" attitudes. For some it is a permanent thing, and for some it is an every once in a while thing. I try very hard to always admit my faults. To own up to my imperfections. I view them, not as things that make me a failure or less than perfect, but as things that make me who I am. Things that build my character and reveal that I am merely a human.
Being imperfect is not a bad thing. It is a "normal" thing. No person is perfect. I know, shocking information. Not even Matt Damon is perfect. I know, I know. I should have given warning before dropping such a shocking piece of information out there.
I am personally far from perfect. A fact, that as the years have passed, I have become much more appreciative of. Not being perfect adds to my individual uniqueness, and it gives me something to aspire to. I can always change and grow as a person. I can always become better, and learn new lessons.
I quit making resolutions a few years ago. I tend to make goals. I think about what things I would like to change and/or accomplish in the near future, and I do my best to make that happen. Some of my goals take multiple years to achieve. Some never happen. Some change before they happen. Some I sit back and laugh at. Others I revisit and renew my desire to make them happen. Some happen and do not bring about the change I thought it would... sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. No matter what the outcome, I do my best to turn each situation into growth.
We should always learn from our successes and our failures. Everything that happens in our lives, should impact us. Nothing should ever be in vain. I know... much easier said than done, but it is entirely possible.
I recently found out that I have Lupus. I think I am still in shock. I really am not sure how I feel about it, other than scared. With the fear also comes relief. Weird, I know, though I never claimed to be even remotely normal. The relief comes from the answers the diagnosis provides. At least now I know why I have blood clots, why my memory is failing, why I am suffering from several physical ailments, and why I have all the chronic pain. There is definite relief in knowing the why.
I have discovered that there is also disappointment in the why. As odd as it may seem, I am actually a very optimistic person. Now knowing why, and knowing it is permanent, I realize that I had been optimistically hopeful, that I would be healed. Now, I know that healing is not possible. That is okay, because endurance is possible. Acceptance is possible. Coping is possible.
I tend to start thinking about the new year in November. I start contemplating what goals I will make for the upcoming years. Which goals I will carry over, which I will quit working on, and what new ones I need to make. I had come up with several for this year, but now that I know about the Lupus, I have completely changed my 2015 goal plan.
I want to accept that I have Lupus. Not just acknowledge that I have it, but actually make peace with the fact that I have it. I want to learn everything I can about it. I want to work closely with my doctors and come up with a successful treatment plan. I want to come up with a plan of action, to make living a good life despite the Lupus possible. I am sure this will be a goal for the next few years.
I want to make needed changes in my life, to make my life better. I want to completely organize our home. This way I can relax and just live. I want to come up with a system that works. One that helps me remember all I need to remember, and stay organized. Over the last couple of years, I have forgotten many things, which is not characteristic of me at all. I figured it was "pregnancy brain" and then "mom of a newborn brain". I now know that it is actual Lupus brain.
I plan on continuing my weight loss, until I achieve my absolute goal. I am almost there. Much closer than I was when I started. I plan on getting all my vitamin and mineral levels to an acceptable place. Currently, I am deficient in several. The healthier I am, the better I can live.
I plan on not letting myself get overwhelmed or discouraged. I plan on not letting myself give up. I plan on not letting myself make excuses. I plan on not letting myself give up on the things I want to do, just because they may be more difficult than originally anticipated.
I really want to take this blog up. Does that make sense? Haha. I want to make this blog better. It has been my goal for a few months now. I still want to continue with that goal.
What about you... do you have any goals? Do you make them yearly? I'd love to hear what you want to do in 2015!
Happy New Year! I hope it is an awesome year! Thank you for reading!
Here are links to all the fabulous sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup (preferably of coffee), and check them all out. See you there:
You've got a great attitude which will help you achieving your goals!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I try to always stay positive! I know, no matter how hard life gets, there are other people that have it far worse. Just knowing that simple fact, really helps me to stay positive!
DeleteWishing you lots of luck to hit all of your goals!!!!
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean about the relief of a diagnosis. That's how I felt after finding out that I have fibromyalgia. At least now I know why now. Then there's the other side of that. The part where there is no cure and the treatments don't work for most people. It's definitely a doubled edged sword.
HUGS HUGS HUGS!!!!
You most definitely understand me! The knowing really does help. With the knowing also comes the disappointment. I also now know that there is no cure, and I am unable to utilize most of the treatments. Of the treatments I am able to utilize, they aren't the best. They have yucky side effects. I will (most likely) never be cured. It is definitely a double edged sword!!! I am so sad to hear you have fibromyalgia. I have up close experience with that, and I know how awful it is. I will pray for you extra lots. Hopefully, we will get cures for all these awful illnesses one day!!! HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS!!!
DeleteI don't set resolutions either. I know what I want to accomplish and starting at the beginning of the year instead of when I decide to do it doesn't work for me. I hope you and your doctors can get kick Lupus's butt and you can lead a normal life.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have always been decent at kicking butt. LOL So, hopefully this is no different. The one thing that brings me down, is that Weewee will never have a normal mom. A mom that can function 100% at all/most times. That makes me sad for her. I feel she deserves so much better. I plan on being the absolute best abnormal mom that I can be.
Deleteoh no...(HUGS) and sending positive and healthy vibes your way. I agree with you, nobody is perfect...I prefer being weird, odd, and "me". Being perfect is way too boring and whoever sets the rules for perfection would not like me so why waste my time.
ReplyDeleteI so agree. I am perfectly fine with not being perfect! Would I like to be a bit better than I am? Certainly. There is always room for improvement! Thank you! I can use all the good vibes I can get! Hugs!
DeleteAs sorry as I am that you have Lupus, I'm so glad to see you strive to make peace with it. I know you'll do everything you can to be as happy and healthy as you can be.
ReplyDeleteOddly... the answers the diagnosis granted me, allowed me to be quite at peace with it. I am still struggling a little bit with knowing that there is no cure. In my optimistic mind, all these years, I thought a day would come that I would be all better. My only other struggle is Weewee. She will never know what it is to have a completely healthy mom. I feel she deserves so much better than what she is getting! Who knows.... maybe she will grow up and be inspired to discover the cure for Lupus! Thank you!
DeleteJules love how you approached this prompt!
ReplyDeleteFirst, love and light to you ❤
Embracing all of ourselves including our flaws is a beautiful thing. It allows us to learn and be a better person. I feel you about 'taking up the blog a notch'. One of my goals is to post more of what I write and get a little deeper.
Thank you so much!!! Love and light right back to you!!!
DeleteI do so much writing, that will probably NEVER be shared with anyone else. I also do some, that doesn't get shared, but there is no real reason it couldn't be shared. My goal is to share more of it. I also want to create more, and go into more detail on the challenge posts. Once I get my life 100% in order, and I create a space for myself to write it, I feel all of that should just fall into place. My fingers are crossed!!! I am looking for to your future (deeper) blog posts!!!
As someone said to me, if anything about you changed, it would change the essence of you and you wouldn't be you. So flaws and all, well I can live with that.
ReplyDeleteSending healthy thoughts your way.
And when you get organized, share it with me! Need it badly these days
Thank you so much!!!
DeleteI am normally SUPER organized. I drive some folks nuts. Now, I am what I guess is considered normal. I have battled with health issues the past few years, and it has really made me unable to maintain my normal levels of organization. Normally, I have everything in my house in order, and I maintain that order. I do everything. I don't mind, because then I know it is all done the way I like. I am grateful and very lucky, to be able to say, Chad has taken the responsibility of most things over. He does fabulous. Better than most men I know. Just not quite the way I like it. My goal is to suck it up, ignore the pain, and just get it back the way I want and need it to be. Then, maintaining it should be a lot easier.
I'm not a resolutions person either. At the end of the year I tend to reflect on how I've grown and where I need work and strive to improve, but that's not really a resolution that I set and give up on within a month. Goals are far more admirable. Good luck with kicking lupus' ass. I knew a few people with it when I worked in pharmacies and they tended to be some of the strongest people I've met :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely think goals are the way to go. I think simply because people tend to stick to goals, more than they stick to resolutions. I know I do. I am hoping I am strong. Super strong! I guess when you have to be, you have to be.
DeleteI have every faith in you - you can achieve all that and more! Finding out you have an incurable disease can be the end of the world, but it doesn't have to be. I would know!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely not going to let it end my word. I just also hope I don't let it hinder my world. I know it will, I just hope I am able to keep it to a minimum! Thank you so so so much! Yes, you definitely know! You are a very strong woman!
DeleteJules I"m sorry to hear that, I too have Lupus and it was a relief to find out WHY I was having all these issues, like memory loss. VERY frustrating. Vitamin deficient, weight loss are all on my radar. I understand.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and I hope this year you find a balance. Let's rock it girl.
If you would not mind, I would love to hear how you treat your Lupus. That is the stage I am at. Deciding on treatment. I would love to hear first hand experiences. I am sorry you have Lupus. Knowing why things are happening is definitely a good thing. I have extreme pain, deficiencies, hair loss, memory issues, blood clots, etc etc It is definitely an intense disease. I am so sorry you are dealing with it, but you definitely don't let it get you down! That is awesome! <3 Rock it, we shall!!!!
Delete