Diabetes Doesn't Define You

…to tell me how my diabetes is doing.  I have a pretty good guess.  Just doing the minimum diabetes managemen troutine can tell you that.  Whether you checking three times a day or are overloaded by continuous glucose readings youcan get the picture.  I'm either incontrol, or not.  I'm either feeling good about myself or not.  Well I lied alittle.  Usually I am stuck somewhere in between being in control and not being in control.

                You know, that diabetes limbo.  That place where you think you can do better (and you can) and that place where you are just a tad too diabetes lazy and say to yourself "I'll do it later."  It's probably the wors tplace to be in I personally think.  Whyis it the worst place you ask?  Well because that’s the place where the ownership of diabetes management is all on you.  That's right, responsibly.  A tough pill to swallow even though you don't pick it up at the drug store.

                So how do you get yourself back on the right track, back in the grove, back to feeling like you have control of you diabetes? It's really easier than we all try to tell our self.   I'm sure you have forgotten to test your blood sugar before… and lived.  I know I have more times than I can count, but that isn't being in control that's being passive in your management.

                Being passive in anything is usually not a good thing.  It's depressing.  Do you know someone who is always passive?  Talk about a depressing bore.  Are you passive in your own life,I know I have been there before, it's the worst.  So how do you get back and get active?  It really just takes a little effort,  and that little effort can go a long way.

                Your doctor can't prescribe effort .  It might sound silly, but he or she can't.  You just have to think your diabetes management is less about effort and more about doing.  Effort gives people the jitters sometimes, it just sounds like work, effort. So let's just call it" doing" instead.

                 Doing the right thing is sometimes easier than doing the wrong thing.  If I told you, you could have better diabetes control in less than 3 minutes a day you might say I am crazy.  Heck if I heard an infomercial say I can get abs in 10 minutes a day I am skeptical.  But really 3 minutes out of your day to test your blood sugar is all it takes.  My meter tests my sugar in 5 seconds.  Plus the minimal time it takes for me to prick my finger and acknowledge my reading.  It really isn't much.  Is it? Is testing your blood sugar frequently keeping you back from getting in control of your diabetes?  Is the problem the person looking at you in the mirror?

                The mental effort or toll you take by "thinking" you are not doing the right thing is more stressful and time consuming than 3 minutes a day I can assure you that.  I mean how many time shave you thought, "I’ll do the right thing, I'll eat better, I should test…etc "  and that’s all negative energy.  Sure it's a hopeful  thought but it's not "doing."  Be active, not passive.  Passive is so boring. 

                So the next time you walk by your meter and give it a dirty look and walk away… think of yourself telling me your story of being passive about your diabetes, or your story about being active about your diabetes. Which one do you think I would listen to?  It's the story your body would listen to as well.

You can "do" it, it's not effort it'sdoing.