Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. -- Alan Cohen
Today is my 35th birthday and I have so much to be thankful for:
I'm alive, even though some days are so filled with physical pain and I don't know why or how I'm still alive
I have a full-time job and COVID-19 didn't ruin that for me
I have a loving and supportive partner
My parents are still alive and well
I'm surrounded by loved ones in the form of my furbaby, family and friends
I have a home, which I love
I have food to eat every single day
I have medical aid, even though they don't cover most of my expensive medication
I'm free to practice any religion - today is Resurrection Sunday and as a Christian, I celebrate that on this day, Christ is Risen
With my current condition, I'm able to work from home. Lord knows just how grateful I am for this
I could go on and on, counting my blessings, but I'll stop there. I think you get the point. There's a lot to be thankful for in my life. You might have a lot to be thankful for as well. Just take a moment to think about it.
I spend a lot of my days either lying in bed in pain, working or sleeping, so this felt like a good opportunity to just sit back for a bit, and look at the bright side of life.
Birthdays bring with them so many things - birthday wishes, presents, contact with people you haven't spoken to in such a long time, love, memories and goal setting/ planning. The latter is something that I've done in the privacy of my mind and journaling time, for as long as I can remember. The difference now is trying to plan my future with endometriosis at the back of my mind and in my life.
Planning can be a bit tricky when you're dealing with a chronic illness. It comes with certain limitations. I still do some occasional planning nonetheless. See, what makes it tricky are plans like career growth. I've been wanting to take the next step up in my career, but lately I have a couple of concerns in my mind, due to endo:
Will I be able to take on more work commitments?
What if the next step requires me to be in an office every single day again, form 9 to 5?
Will I remember all of my day-to-day responsibilities (brain fog is the reason for this concern)?
Am I capable?
Will I have the support that I need, in every area of my life? From my team to home; to physical, mental and emotional support?
Will my need for occasional downtime (sick leave for pain or surgeries) not ruin my career?
An article from the Southern Cross University reveals that "1 in 6 women have lost their jobs due to managing endometriosis". Can you believe that? I can, and it terrifies me a lot.
Researchers from Southern Cross University’s National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine and Western Sydney University’s NICM Health Research Institute have conducted a national survey of 389 women* with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis, finding that with one in three (31%) reported being passed over for promotion and one in six (15%) reported being fired, due to having to manage endometriosis symptoms.
Read the full article here.
With that said, my concerns and questions are really valid. What people forget to realise is that, we don't choose this condition. At the end of the day, we're human too and we do have dreams, and sometimes those dreams can very easily be crushed by this condition. It makes it quite hard to plan one's future. I mean, what does one expect if planning a lunch date with a friend in just a week's time, can also be met with challenges?
It's all so scary, but it shouldn't stop us from making any plans for our futures. So with this in mind, I'm bravely putting my plans on paper and I'm going to do whatever I can in my power, to make these happen. You can too. Just bear this in mind when you do your future planning:
Set realistic, achievable, time-based goals. You know your strengths and weaknesses and you know your limitations.
Have a support structure in place.
Write down these goals.
If you fail along the way, you can start over or you can just pick up where you left off before the failure.
If you fail, it's not the end of the world.
You don't lose anything by trying.
Get an accountability partner to help you through every step of the way. This person can also be your very own cheerleader.
You can refine your goals as you go along.
This goal-setting doesn't only have to happen on your birthday. Some set these out as New Years' Resolutions. And some, as monthly or random goal setting. You can do this after surgery even. There's no perfect or terrible time. I just happen to want to embrace my new beginnings as I enter this new chapter of my life.
So, what's stopping you from starting anew? Is there anything that you'd like to do, but have been afraid to commit or begin because of your current condition? Can I encourage you to be brave enough to begin today? The conditions may not be ideal but if you don't start now, then when will the perfect time ever be?
Just start now!! With endo not having a cure, you owe it to yourself to at least try because the perfect time could be right now. Happy future planning to you.
Signed
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