With the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems a mantra has emerged:

We’re living in uncertain times.

Though it seems true enough with all the disruption of what most of us call “normal” in our lives, thinking this thought makes me feel vulnerable and scarce.  😔

Isn’t this just as true?

We are always living in uncertain times.

We want to believe that we can predict what’s going to happen tomorrow and next year, but the truth is, none of us know with certainty what will happen.

And the truth is, most of us are living on default, in surrender to forces we deem outside of our control.

We barely give our future a thought.

And we are exhausted.

We are tired of fighting against ourselves, living a life that isn’t at all satisfying to who we are and what we really want out of life.

We stop thinking about our future and what we want to create.  We start defining ourselves by our past, looking backward for evidence of what we are capable of in our future.

Recall what it was like to be young with so many plans for the future: graduation, selecting a career, finding a home, maybe marriage and then children.

At some point, many of us think the good part is over.  We think the only thing left to look forward to is retirement.  Our dreams fade and we stop taking risks and thinking in possibility.

You know you are doing this when you have thoughts like:

This is just who I am.

I’ve had this problem my entire life.

It’s too late to change now.

Having a disease like Type 2 diabetes creates so much fear and worry about the future, that most people would rather not think about it.

Are you doing this?

Are you avoiding thinking about insulin, dialysis, heart attacks, and dependency on your family?

Is there an alternative?

There are always options.  Telling yourself you have none is a lie.

Watch your brain want to argue with me and ask yourself, what’s the upside to this line of thinking?  Stay with me here.

Your past is over and unchangeable.  This could be a blessing.  For some of us, we use it as a weapon.

We start limiting ourselves by it or even beating ourselves up with it.  Unconsciously.

Instead of doing that, answer this question: what are you thankful to your past self for?  Did your past self make sacrifices that are paying off right now?

I’m thankful to my past self for pushing through so many years of school to earn a doctorate and secure a stable career in pharmacy.

I’m thankful to my past self for enduring the physical burden of pregnancy and childbirth so that I can enjoy my 5 children for a lifetime.

And I’m thankful to my past self for believing in myself enough to continue to take risks when life was comfortable, starting a business with the dream of helping people struggling with Type 2 diabetes take back control of their health and future.

Now, let’s flip the coin.

How much time do you have left?  Really consider it.  Make a line on a paper and mark it 0 to 90.

Then find your age on that line.  Look at how much time you have left.  Living to the age of 90 years is not unrealistic in these times with so many technological advances to date and to come.

Consider: where are you going?  Do you easily have 10 years?  20 years? 40 years?

How are you going to get what you want if you don’t even know what it is you want to create?

Have you appreciated that you are better equipped than ever before to make your desires reality?

I am not 80 years old.  I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience.

What gift can you give to your future self?  What do you want to work on today to take care of your future self?

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

What do you really want?

I have always said I loved starting sentences with, “I want…”  😆

Although, I have had friends tell me they never do that because they haven’t let themselves go there.  They deny themselves in their lives so often that they can’t even mentally be in that space without feeling pain.

If this is you, be gentle with yourself.  It might take some time to find your answers.

This is an exercise that I want you to take the time to do because it is so valuable:

1. Write down the top 5 outcomes you want to create before your time is up.  It could be anything you think is important.  Spirituality, health, money, relationships, experiences, anything at all.
2. Then, write down how you spent your time yesterday.  Be as detailed as possible.
3. Compare the activities you devoted your time to with the list of what is most important to you.

Usually, we find we aren’t spending nearly enough time supporting what we value most.  This can be quite eye-opening.

What needs to shift?  What decisions need to be made?

Do you want to put it off?  What is the cost of putting it off?

Remember, not deciding is still a decision to stay the same.

Making a decision could be as simple as reaching out to me here.  I can help you decide if you are ready to focus on your health, reverse your diabetes, and claim a future where you have energy to do what you really want to do.

You can start feeling better right now.

Send me your message below, and let’s talk about what is possible for you.