I'm Taking Many Small Steps Towards Tomorrow

Image by Swamibu via Flickr

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”

~ Old Chinese Proverb quotes

Today is Fulfillment Friday, my favorite day of the week. As the quote above suggests, today is about counting all the small steps I made this week toward my targets and goals. How did those Chinese ancestors know that, when you have chronic illness like I do, trying to get a lot done leads to flare-ups and setbacks? Maybe they are the ones I should credit with writing the Golden Rule of Chronic Illness: If I push, I will pay. If I pace, I can play.

Here are all the small steps I was able to take this past week:

1. Sent my activity and heart rate logs to Meg at The Workwell Foundation. Next step is to set up my follow-up consultation with her to discuss what reasonable and appropriate exercise looks like for me. You can look forward to a more detailed post about The Workwell Foundation and their philosophy for helping persons living with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome next week.
2. Met with my neurologist and discussed trying Savella for my fibromyalgia. I'm nervous about side-effects, but I think I am going to give it a try. Look for a post about starting Savella in the coming week or so ... I need to schedule some downtime (i.e., no appointment or commitments outside the home) before I get started.
   
3. My self-help skills paid off when, on Wednesday, I was able to recognize the signs that I was overdoing it and headed for a flare-up. I took action by scheduling extra rest and rescheduling my plans for Friday.
4. I pondered some more about the art of self-discipline and made the connection that employing self-help techniques to manage my fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue symptoms is all about applying self-discipline to my life.
5. I recognized that the weekends are disrupting my routine. I am also wondering if this contributed to the fibro-fog I experienced earlier in the week. My next step: observe what happens this weekend, look for a pattern and explore what I can do minimize the impact of going off schedule during the weekend.
   
6. Discovered that I am mentioned at the web site of the Worldwide Association for ME/CFS Awareness and Research under Resources: ME/CFS Bloggers. Cool!
   
7. Wrote a post to my blog every day.
   
8. My blog post Tomorrow I See a New Doctor was featured in the Grand Rounds Blog Carnival at InvisibleIllnessWeek.com.
9. I applied to be part of another blog carnival for this upcoming week. It will be published on Monday, August 24, so stay tuned (finger-crossed.)
   
10. I also networked with the Blood Cancer Examiner and learned about freelance writing positions at the Examiner.com web site. I applied to become a Los Angeles examiner, although after the tips I received from Cathy, I think I may be reapplying.

I think my mantra for tomorrow and the next week will be, "Small steps, small steps."