Have a Masterful Mind

My grandma would tell me all the time, "You sow what you reap so keep a masterful mind." Control what you think and consume not only physically, with food, but also mentally.

Around my second year of being a diabetic, I found out that maintaining my diabetes for me was mental. If I told myself that I couldn't eat right, I ATE BADLY. If I told myself that I was going to have a bad glucose day, then I HAD A BAD DAY!

The power of your thoughts

I’m not disputing those uncontrollable glucose days, but what I am saying is that having a positive mindset for type 2 diabetes management can help. There is a saying in media/film in reference to recording that we use, which is, "Bad In, Bad Out; Good In, Good Out."

Be open to a more positive mindset

We all know how incredibly easy it is to beat ourselves up. I did it to myself the first two years after my diagnosis. I have said this before on here with previous articles. If you think negatively, you will reinforce those negative thought patterns and tend to slow yourself down by doing so.

Your mindset can impact your diabetes

What I had to learn was that it was okay to move at my own pace and speed. When you clear the mind of negative thoughts you are able to reframe them with a bit more positivity. When there is more positivity, you tend to make more focused decisions. Applying that logic to my diabetes management REALLY helped.

When you have made up your mind about reaching small goals, then those goals start becoming easy to obtain to get to the big milestones. Then those large milestones become mentally reachable as if you had life settings set to "All-Madden Level." The key is to stay positive while focusing on your diabetes management. Any small achievement is STILL an achievement!

Create positive habits

Our lifestyles are often determined by our choices and routines. Healthy habits can take you far in life and unhealthy choices can hinder your progress. It has been said that the habits you form in the first half of your life become the chains you wear in the second half. And let me tell you, the chains I was wearing were like T-Pain's "Big A** Chain" pendant (lol).

No matter what stage of life you are currently at, you can always learn something new and create a positive change for yourself or others. You can help other struggling new diabetics with living with diabetes or simply share your story with others.

Change the way you fuel your mind

Don't look at type 2 diabetes as a hindrance; try to look at it as a way to change bad habits, and see a better YOU. When I decided to look at my life differently after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2017, I got to see a smaller version of myself that I thought never existed.

I have had the opportunity to experience new foods because of lifestyle changes to manage my diabetes. I changed the way I fueled my mind. It's not all bad, you just have to see that it is good in this new positive habit. Think like this, you are your habits, good or bad, so why not choose GOOD?

Your choices today have impacts on tomorrow

Every action you take today will have a lasting impact on your life tomorrow. It can be intimidating to think about this. You should allow this knowledge to inform the choices you make now, for the future.

Eating a healthy and balanced diet, and finding fun ways to move your body will impact how effectively you are able to maintain your blood sugar. Be your own advocate and your body's best friend. Choose to change!