Future planning is not on your plate right now, is it? Getting through the next 5 minutes may be the most important thing on your mind. Sunshine and happy summer days are not the norms.

You’ve never felt this way before, or maybe it’s always felt this way and you can’t see it ever-changing. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative mindset of living with a chronic condition. It’s even easier to lose hope and spiral.

However, this is a real game-changer, isn’t it? This is a time to reset, redress, and redefine yourself and your future. This is a chance to make and meet new goals. Finding optimism is your first goal, look forward and feel good about what you see. What strengths can you gain in the chronic illness battle and apply to other aspects of your life?

4 Ways Illness Lessons Can Be Applied to Life

Consider the things have you learned about yourself during your illness. It’s possibly more than you first realise.  You may have felt more vulnerable than you ever have done, but you have likely evolved in some way. Depending on the nature of your condition, you may have acquired new strengths and coping abilities. Managing medications, self-pacing, modifying activities and structuring your day are all examples. One wonders what your future could look like if you were able to apply these additional strengths elsewhere in your life. Let’s look at four areas to be considered:

1. Resilience

Coping with the physical and emotional challenges of chronic illness has probably made you a more resilient person. Consequently, you may have become more immune to the opinions of other people. It may also improve your ability to persevere through other personal challenges.

2. Organization

Chronic illness often necessitates managing life meticulously on a day to day basis. This may include scheduling when to take medication, regulating rest and activity, communicating with medical professionals, and educating yourself about your condition. Think about how this can be applied to any future career, business, or volunteering opportunity.

3. Leadership

The challenges of physical illness will often require you to think ahead. This means having your day planned out ahead of time, as well as setting short and long-term goals. You may have to think proactively and build a support team consisting of medical experts, close family, and friends. These are all leadership behaviours. If this sound describes your life at all, think about how this can translate to business goals, career goals, hobbies, volunteering, or your social life?

4. Values

Chronic illness is a life-altering event. It will often require you to remove yourself from the life you thought was normal and revaluate what matters. It’s during this pivotal period that you are most likely to experience a shift in core values. Think about ways in which you can bring your newly acquired values to life. Perhaps life balance can be achieved by working freelance and spending more time with loved ones. Maybe authenticity is leaving a job which no longer gives you purpose to study a subject that you’re passionate about. Perhaps your desire to be more altruistic is expressed through mentoring someone else. Maybe your need for more connection can be achieved by joining a support group or reaching out to a friend to who you have not spoken in a long time.

6 Ways to Look Forward with Optimism

Feeling optimistic is about maintaining a positive outlook regarding the future. Maintaining optimism is vital to help you remain motivated enough to manage your condition. Studies have linked optimism to increases in energy and self-esteem, as well as reductions in anxiety and depression. When you feel optimistic you are in a better position to remain consistent with your daily plans and obtain the short-term goals you set for yourself. This all adds up to achieving improvements in well-being outcomes.

Of course, it is not always easy to feel this way, especially if you are regularly experiencing pain and fatigue. However, there are ways to remedy this. Let’s look at six ways which could help you:

1. Reset

The worst thing you can do when first experiencing a crisis is to try to soldier on. This will compromise your ability to act effectively and make decisions with a clear head. We all have a breaking point. The best approach is to initially pause and retreat into a safe space, whether it be a bedroom, living room, garden, or local park. Allow yourself enough time to regroup and recuperate your energy. Let yourself work through the emotions you are experiencing. Once you have soundly collected your thoughts, you will be in a position where you are ready to move forward.

2. Avoid Catastrophic Thinking  

When you think in absolute terms, you become more susceptible to feelings of anxiety and pessimism. It may seem like your life is spiralling out of control at times and your condition limits you from doing very much, but the chances are that there are still positive aspects in o your life to take into consideration. Do your best to find where the grey area is regardless of how bad things may seem.

3. Gratitude

Maintaining awareness of the positive things that still exist in your life can help you to achieve some optimism. A good exercise for this is to make a list of things in your life that you still feel grateful for. It does not matter how small they seem to you. It may be someone saying hello to you, a song that came on the radio or enjoying the view from your bedroom window. These are all examples of how life is not completely hopeless.

4. Best Possible Self

This is an exercise which will help you visualize a better future and consequently enable you to feel more optimistic. Think about your life anywhere two from now. Imagine what it will look like if everything you wish to happen transpires. What would you be doing? Where will you be living? Who are the people you will be surrounded by?

5. Strengths Identification

Identifying strengths which you possess will help you realise your worth and feel more positive about your future. Think about those strengths which you may have acquired during your battle with chronic illness. You may not be able to lift as much or run as far, but you may be more emotionally resilient and a better self-manager.

6. Small Wins

Setting and achieving goals will boost confidence and reaffirm the feeling that you still have some control over your life. Eventually, these small wins add up and contribute to more significant, long term transformations. Small wins may include anything from educating yourself about your condition to taking up a hobby which you have always wanted to do.

9 Steps to Finding Future Fulfilment

Fulfilment means different things to each of us. It is subjective to the individual and refers to the satisfaction we derive from activities in which we choose to immerse ourselves. Living a fulfilled life is synonymous with having a happy one. This can also have a positive effect on your physical health.

It may seem as if fulfilment is off-limits when you are physically restricted by a chronic illness. However, fulfilment is achieved through a perception of the mind, rather than through activities of the body. Here are ten areas to think about, which may help you achieve fulfilment during chronic illness:

1. What Fulfilled You Before

Think about activities which you found fulfilling at the time. Examples of this could include playing a musical instrument, a physical activity, learning or helping others. This can provide a good template for what you could immerse yourself in again.

2. What You Feel Have You Been Missing Out On

Think about any pursuits you have always wanted to engage in, but never had the opportunity to try. This could refer to childhood dreams you were told were unrealistic, or past times when adult responsibilities pulled you away from pursuing.

3. What You Can Do Now

You are physically restricted as you may feel, think about those brief moments when you may feel more physically capable. What will those periods allow you to do? Alternatively, consider other sedentary pursuits you can enjoy parts like reading, writing, drawing or music. Think about how long our stamina will allow you to engage in them or if there are any modifications you might have to make.

4. Which Resources You Have Access To

Think about tools, equipment, facilities, or locations to engage in these pursuits. Consider how accessible they are to you.  For example, many endeavours require access to a computer or the internet?

5. People in Your Life Already

Think about how the people you are closest to can support you in finding fulfilment. Do you find interactions with them satisfying? Do any of them have similar interests and experiences, which align with the pursuits you wish to engage in?

6. People You Will Need

Consider the type of people whose presence is mostly like to lead to fulfilment. What would your ideal tribe look like? How would their interests align with yours and how would they support you?

7. Surrounding Environment

Is there a cultural environment you would be more likely to thrive in? Are your surroundings conducive to the type of growth you wish to achieve or is it restricting you in some way?

8. Personal Attributes

Think such things as how determined, organized, or confident are you as a person. Are you able to think your way around personal challenges or do you get easily dejected? What would need to change within you?

9. Action Steps

Think about the next steps you need to take to turn your vision into reality. What a short -term goals should you set yourself? Maybe it’s to simply gather information, watch a video, enrol on a course, set a timeline, or reach out to the right people. Any of these can take you one step closer.