A tough start

It was a rough end to the year and a tough start to the new year. But I know that it is a fact not a premonition. It doesn’t mean the rest of the year is going to be bust because it didn’t kick off on an awesome note.

I think we get ourselves wrapped up in the thought that for some reason if the day starts off wonky or the week doesn’t lend itself to a great start that the rest of the day or week must be unsuccessful and a struggle as well.

It just isn’t true. I am a strong believer in ‘it is what it is’ and ‘it is what you make it’. We get to choose to shake it off and move on or let it sit and take up valuable headspace.

I choose to get past the hurdles, work through the struggles and move on with the rest of the day, week, month and year.

A hand full of days in can’t make out the rest of the 360 some days, it just can’t. As the rough end to the previous year doesn’t dismiss the amazing year and all the accomplishments I was able to pull off in 2022. As we are all living our lives, surviving as I recently equated it to in a LinkedIn post. We are survivors, it’s in our nature to not give up. To keep going. We have the power to pick what mindset we are going to do that in.

Some folks say I have a special strength to always look on the brighter side, to keep positive and strong. Well be alerted that I do visit the negative and do the pros and cons of each situation but at the end of each day, it is what it is. Can I change it? Or should I change how I am dealing with it?

Usually changing how I am dealing with it is the best approach. I choose to learn from the hard times, lift and support others to help them through it and deal with my own feelings and thoughts as I go. Having Multiple Sclerosis (MS) sometimes makes this difficult as stress is a trigger to many of my MS symptoms. I struggle if I am having to stand strong for a long length of time especially with minimal sleep and under high amounts of stress. My own health gets in the way during these times. This year started off with a death in the family and me having to lift others, support efforts and drive long hours and far distances. This all triggered my MS fatigue and brain fog, my muscle shaking in my legs and numbness in my arms.

MS makes surviving life much harder and I tend to brush things off easily or accept things quicker than most but I have learned that I have to. I mentally have to defer the stress coming into my body in order to keep my MS at bay.

I will always work to be strong, brave and vulnerable all at the same time while I live my life with MS. I won’t ever not have MS. Daily I am forced to look through a lens that has an orange tint to it. I might be feeling great when I accept an invitation however if the week leads to a lot of stress, I may have to cancel due to just not being able to handle it all.

MS has taught me or is it forced me to look at everything I do and dismiss those activities and people that don’t lend to a stress-free experience or that I feel I can handle. A girl can only do so much.

I would love to hear how you handle stress, please comment with your own thoughts and any advice.