One Simple Tool Diabetics Can Use To Save Their Lives
I love a good action-adventure film. Throw in some sci-fi, and I’m totally hooked. My wife will tell you that while I’m watching, I’m pretty animated. I’ve been known to mouth the lines silently. Stare down the villain with steely glances and cringe a bit when things go wrong.
I think most of us believe that if we were in similar circumstances as the protagonist, we’d fight for our lives to the bitter end. We’d crush the aliens, fight off the bad guys, or outwit the evil corporate executive. Nothing could stop us.
Luckily, most of us never have to go through the horrifying realities that our action or horror movie characters experience.
However, for some of us, I find myself in this category — we are actually fighting for our lives. We have contracted, stumbled into, or foolishly allowed a threat to come into our lives. The question is, “Are you really giving it your all? Are you fighting for your life?”
My Battle
For me, my battle is against Type 2 diabetes.
Up until this point, I’ve treated it more like a nuisance. A pain. Something that I have but can sort of manage. That is if I’m in the mood that day. But I’ve slowly come to realize that I’m in an actual fight for my life. This is not some cheap horror movie that I can simply turn off.
Do I really want to be the idiot character who hides in the dark basement that looks like a torture chamber and thinks that he’s safe? It never works out for that guy. As the audience, we are screaming at him, saying, “Are you stupid? Obviously, the psycho killer is waiting for you there. Get out! Get out now!”
The Big Question
I’ve recently asked myself, “Why am I not truly fighting back with everything I have? Why haven’t I realized my life is on the line?”
That has been a powerful question that I’m using throughout each and every day. In fact, I’ve boiled it down to the acronym of FFML, which stands for Fight For My Life.
For example, yesterday, I was standing in front of the fridge with the door wide open and asked myself, “Would I eat this ________ (fill in the blank for yourself with an unhealthy food that tempts you) if I was fighting for my life?” The answer was so crystal clear. No! I would choose to fight for my life. Why would I die over something like that?
Even little things that I wouldn’t usually see as a threat get rejected when I remind myself of this simple phrase. I’m in a fight for my life, and it really does matter. It matters because all those little things pile up, and soon, you’re excusing bigger, more problematic choices.
What Happened?
How do we allow ourselves to disregard these small choices? What makes us think that they won’t accumulate and eventually cause problems?
It feels like the society we grew up in tells us that bad things happen to other people. That, like that action hero, you’ll always prevail.
Yet there’s a disconnect. Our heroes fight and battle. They give everything they have to win. I can’t honestly say I’ve been giving it my all. Yet my battle is real. Even now, as I write this, my hand is shaking a bit at the reality. Type 2 diabetes can lead to blindness, amputation of limbs, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, just to name a few.
Simple, But Powerful.
Yet this simple acronym FFML has proven a powerful reminder not to play small. Not to ignore my reality. It reminds me that I do want to win. I want not just to manage this disease, but I want to reverse it. I want to be here for my family. I want to live life here fully. Now. And in the future.
If I have to do that through medication, then so be it, but I believe the real heart of the matter is in…
- What I eat (nutrition)
- How I treat my body (exercise, yoga…)
- How I feed my mind (perspective, learning, meditation…)
This is how I can become the action hero that defeats my deadly villain. This is the storyboard that will bring me full circle back to health.
Your Story
What about you? What are you battling? And are you fully committed to repeating the phrase, “I’m Fighting For My Life”. Notice what happens to your emotions when you say this out loud.
Try it now. Out loud.
Really.
Not just in your head.
If you don’t believe it, say it repeatedly until it sinks in. Go ahead. I can wait. You’re worth it. Your life is worth it.
You have one life to live. Don’t foolishly let it slip away.
Fight for it!
