New Year, New You!

Goals for 2021 that apply to diabetes, work, and life in general!

With the new year comes new goals and resolutions. I’m not one to set a lot of goals, but especially this year with all that happened in 2020, 2021 is seen by many as a bright future. Granted, thus far things haven’t been great, I still have high hopes for 2021.

Regardless of what’s happening in the United States and the world with Covid restrictions and political unrest, there is still a lot that can be done in our personal lives to have a better 2021. Here are some points that I’m personally focusing on this year. They apply to diabetes, work, and life in general.

1. Work on the things in your life you can control, and don’t worry too much about the things you can’t. Make a list of the things you are struggling with currently and divide them into things you can control and things you can’t control. Focus on the things you can, as worrying about others unnecessarily can cause stress and unneeded grief. For example, when I have a high blood sugar it’s easy to get frustrated and angry that it won’t come down (this is my current situation as I write this. 255 and no hint of it coming down). I have to remember that I’ve done all I can, and it will come down eventually.
2. Surround yourself with positivity. It’s easy with diabetes to get down on ourselves when blood sugars aren’t where we’d like them, we miscalculate carb counts, and we let emotions dictated by highs and lows get the best of us. I find it helpful to look for the positive and don’t judge myself for the small mistakes I make. Focusing on the positive helps me live a happy life and attract more positivity.
3. Simplify your life. Know what’s important and don’t worry about the rest. As life has gotten so hectic over the last few years for me, I’ve tried to simplify my things, my time and the decisions I make each day. When it comes to diabetes, I have one or two low treatments I always go to, I systematically know where my next pump site goes, I have my supplies on auto-order and I review my settings regularly. This helps me keep my diabetes simple and not spend more time or energy than needed dealing with it.
4. Make the most of what you have. Too often we focus on the next phase of our life, the next house we’ll own, or the next year (which admittedly goes slightly against my article, but what do you do?). The next new insulin, the next insulin pump, the new Dexcom, etc. People have successfully been managing diabetes effectively for years, and making the most of what you currently have can bring amazing results.
5. Use resources available to you. This can be in the form of other people, technology and information. None of us are in this alone, and from my experience, there are always people willing to help. You don’t have to do it all. On that note, don’t judge yourself for not having a great A1c, not reaching your time in range goals, or anything else related to your diabetes. The fact that you’re reading this newsletter tells me that you’re invested in your (or your loved one’s) diabetes and are working hard to reach your goals. Give yourself a break and know that you’re doing a great job!

May we all have an amazing year! As we focus on these points, I hope that we can all say that 2021 has been the best year yet! Remember that at IDS we’d love to help you reach your goals and are always happy to help you along your diabetes journey!