If someone invited you to play a hardcore game of rugby, where there was 100% chance you would experience pain and a 0% chance you would win, would you do it?  Not me!

Worth the Struggle

For most of us, that challenge is not enticing.   I’ll get hurt and lose?  No Thanks!  But for those who love playing the game it may be worth it.  The thrill of the competition is an adequate payment for the effort.  From an evolutionary perspective, we expect people to take care of basic needs such as shelter, food, water, before they deal with needs of passion or purpose.  But that is not the case when it comes to people’s purpose  and passions.  People forgo all sorts of basic needs to do what they love.  The starving artist is a familiar story of people who sacrifice basic comforts to pursue their passions. So many people sacrifice modern comforts to chase their dreams. When the pursuit has meaning to you, it may be worth the struggle or hardship.

No Benefit

But what if the struggle is not aligned with their passion?  What if you can’t win, you fail constantly, you suffer greatly, and you may damage relationships.  Would you compete in that game?   I would venture to state that almost no one would would play that game.  Studies show that people won’t compete if they feel they have no possibility of winning, or at least enjoying the competition.  What happens when you are forced into a game you don’t want to play and you can never win?  It’s not pretty.

Rebellion

Quite naturally your rise up in rage and rebel!  You didn’t ask for this!  You don’t want to play this game!  It is not fair!  All of these statements are 100% true when it comes to the game of diabetes.   Not only do we not get a choice, the rules are ever-changing, and the referees are blind!  Pushback, denial, and resistance are common as we cling to what we ARE passionate about.  Passions fuel much of our behavior.  Just as the starving artist will pursue their art over a comfortable apartment and steady income, we may pursue what has meaning to us at the expense of our diabetes control.

Personal Benefit

Here is the secret to playing a game you can’t win and don’t want to play.  Make a CHOICE to play the game.  Opt in to the competition and make a decision to be involved.  If the only goal is to remove your enemy (diabetes) from the field and win, you are doomed to lose. But if the goal is personal, then every competition is an opportunity to do better and learn more.  Success comes when you decide that “winning” means you persist and never give up.  That when the game changes, you rise to the challenge and accept the next level.  Winning is not the absence of competition, but the achievement of what you choose to do.

Unfair Game

Is Diabetes an unfair game?  Absolutely!  Everything about it is unfair. But if you are forced to play,  then find every advantage you can.  Congratulate yourself for playing everyday persistently, for making your desires happen even though it requires extra effort, and for not giving up on yourself, because you know your life is worth the effort.  Own your situation, refuse to play the defeated victim and victory is yours!

You are the CHAMPION as long as you keep playing!

Cheering you on,

Patricia