#362 Have a goal

As you may already have noticed in the previous 361 posts, I'm a big fan of goals. Setting them, working for them, forgetting about them and then discovering that I'm actually still moving towards them... I like goals.

When it comes to healing, I don't find typical goals very attractive. If my doctors say that it should be my goal to avoid any more back surgery for example, or they say it's a goal to gradually reduce my use of cortisone or to gradually attain a better level of joint functioning with less inflammation, those aren't really goals that inspire me or help me forward. They all feel kind of negative.

But when my third back surgeon told me I could drive a motorcycle again once the surgery had healed, THAT gave me an inspiring goal. I decided to do everything I could to get in great shape, so I could at some point in the future do something I really enjoy doing - driving a motorcycle.

Now I use goals all the time. Not large and fuzzy "I want to have a great life" or "I want to be healthy" goals, but quite specific goals for where I want to be and what I want to have in my life in say 3, 5 or 10 years time. When making decisions I analyze my alternatives according to how they are helping me move towards my goals.

One of the bigger goals that has helped me a lot is "I have a life where my health doesn't stop me from doing what I want". This goal inspires me on many levels, and obviously I can reach it both by changing what I want (I no longer want to be able to lift very heavy things), organizing my life so that I adapt my activities to my health, or by becoming 100% well. Somehow these things seem interrelated...

This time of year seems especially good for setting goals, reviewing and evaluating the year that has passed and thinking about where we want to be and in what kind of situation we want to be next year.

The trick is to dare to set a goal without knowing exactly how you are going to be able to reach it.
Set the goal, and start doing little things that take you in the right direction, and the road will become clearer as you go along. Or as Mr. King said:

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

#182 Reduce processed foods

So you may have noticed that my blogging on the "pain and diet" topic has taken off a bit lately... I blame that on my sisters, both of whom are health nuts;) One is a vegetarian and part raw foodist, one is a natural scientist who is extremely well informed about what's in our food (and she shares all this information with me).

One thing they have often talked about is that we should avoid processed foods. Both because the nutritional value of processed foods are much lower than natural foods, because the ingredients in processed foods in many cases are very cheap and low quality and because they contain lots of chemicals.

Now you may wonder: What Exactly Are Processed Foods Anyway? And the simplest answer is: If it's boxed, bagged, canned or jarred and has a list of ingredients on the label, it's processed. Processed foods have been altered from their natural state for "safety" and convenience reasons - to make them last longer, be cheaper, have different texture, color and taste.

Highly processed foods are thought to be especially bad for provoking inflammation in the body and thus intensifying many chronic pain conditions. So avoid them, start buying more fresh produce and learn how to cook without highly processed ingredients. Maybe you can't go all natural, but at least you can avoid the worst... check out these 13 food labels that may be fooling you.

#146 Say what you need

One of the key elements in good communication, and vitally important to maintain good relationships when you suffer from chronic disease... It actually feels like all the relationships in my life made a significant improvement when I learned this simple trick:

Say what you need!

Instead of waiting or hoping for people to guess what you need, and getting annoyed and irritated when they don't anticipate your needs (and then being upset with them without saying why). Just say it out loud! Ok, maybe you don't need a megaphone to do this, just be direct and open about it. Don't take it too seriously or make it into a "You don't give me what I need!" discussion, just try to say in plain language what your needs are without forcing any guilt issues on anyone else.

"I need help with lifting the groceries/doing the laundry"
"I need you to listen to me without doing other stuff for 20 minutes"
"I need more attention"
"I need a hug"

It makes such a big difference when you can communicate that clearly.... and the reduced stress, irritation and tension is bound to help your pain level, not to mention the help you'll get once you start asking for it!

#124 Pie chart your life

A handy little life assessment tool that gives you a really interesting perspective, this pie chart can change the way you look at your life.

The theory is simple, you draw a circle, and then divide it into different segments to visualize: "What is most important in my life?"

The segments may be named things like; work, career, love, friends, family, money, home, alone time, spiritual practice, health, training, hobbies, etc. Whatever comes up that feels important to you.

I just took a post-it and sketched one really fast, but had to redo it a couple times because the result was so surprising. I had a hard time fitting everything I wanted into the circle, and realized - again - that maybe I'm trying to do too much? I can't spend max time both on family, work, health and love and two-three hobbies.... It just doesn't work.

It's just interesting to see it visually like that, and realize that yes, I only have so much time and so much energy... what I'm spending it on ought to be a well-reflected decision...

#113 See beyond your diagnosis

When we are relatively new to our diagnosis or health problem, we have a tendency to identify strongly with the actual diagnosis, we want it treated, we want it cured, we want to go back to living our life the way it was before we got sick.


I hear people saying; "I have Arthritis.", "I have Migraine." "I have RSD." or "I have Fibromyalgia." thus defining themselves by their disease, which is a natural part in the process of accepting and coping with a new reality. The diagnosis becomes a part of your identity in your new life, and you identify with others who share the same diagnosis and limit yourself from healthy people and patients with other problems because "they don't understand what it's like..."
There are countless support groups, organizations and forums for each diagnosis, and sometimes it is easy to focus on the differences, instead of what brings us all together.

I believe that all of us who suffer chronic health problems of any kind have a natural interest in seeing beyond our different diagnoses and working to improve the understanding, scientifically and socially of human health and what it means to live with chronic health problems and disease.

After 15 yrs as a professional patient my experience is this: We have more in common than we think!

See beyond your own diagnosis, talk to other patients, focus on what you have in common, what you can learn from each other and how the other person's experience can help you and vice versa.

Because we are stronger together:)

#108 Collect Inspiration

One of my very favorite pain-free tips, and one that I share with many other pain survivors, is to collect inspirational quotes.

Thankfully, many wise and intelligent people have said and written wonderful things, and there is an enormous bounty of inspiration and wisdom out there to be collected and shared. My own inspirational quote collection is a work in progress... here are a few favorites:

”Imagination is more important than knowledge"
- Albert Einstein

"They succeed, because they think they can.”
-Virgil

”To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”
-Bertrand Russell

This video has a great collection:

#59 Treat yourself to looking your best

Ok, so you may have been inside watching TV and guzzling pain meds for a week trying to deal with a recent flare up. You're walking around in your track suit and feel about as miserable as you can possibly do. Why should you bother fixing your hair, putting on nice clothes and maybe some make-up? You're sick. Nobody's gonna see you anyway, right?

But... wait a second...

YOU are going to see you. Are you calling yourself a nobody?

Actually, all of today, you have a healing date with yourself. You are at home, doing your most important job, which is taking care of your health.

So why not dress up and make the most of it? Put on some NICE and COMFORTABLE clothes that make you feel good... why save that good dress or pair of slacks till you're going out? Today is much more important. Ladies, pamper yourself with a good skin care session and do your hair and make up. You're worth the effort, and by the way, it's your first day in your new job, remember?

PS: One of my Swedish friends has a super sweet blog where she posts a picture of a dress every day, it's such an inspiration!!!