Halfway through the year it is time for the next update on my goals for 2010. How am I doing? Am I on track or not?
When I made this list with goals for 2010, I assumed my condition would remain stable or improve. After all, I lost my job so now I could focus completely on my health, finding a sustainable pace. Right? I was a man with a plan, but isn’t there a saying “Men plan, God laughs”?
Most of the goals I set for this year didn’t require me to get better, although it would help. Getting worse proves quite a challenge in keeping motivated to reach those goals, but it is still better to aim for the stars and hit the moon, than to aim for the trees and hit the dirt.
Legend:
- green: success or on track,
- yellow: planning or working on it but no results yet,
- white: not started yet,
- orange: possible failure,
- red: failure.
Goals for 2010
My goals for 2010 in random order:
| Goals for 2010 | |
|---|---|
| + | enjoy the summer |
| + | set up a third blog or website |
| ++ | write 1 article per week |
| ++ | practice yoga and meditation daily |
| 0 | spent a one week holiday abroad |
| ++ | become a better blogger and writer |
| ++ | keep up the volunteer work |
| ++ | lose 8 kg |
| + | restyle my blogs |
| ++ | seek professional help from doctors specialized in ME/CFS |
| 0 | earn a certificate |
| 0 | cycle 25 km |
| 0 | write at least 2 guest posts for someone else’s blog |
| 0 | invite at least 2 other bloggers to write a guest post for my blog |
| ++ | improve my English |
| 0 | find a balance between weight lifting and cardiovascular exercise |
| 0 | do half-a-day trips |
| – | do something crazy with sports |
| ++ | be nice to myself |
| ++ | never give up |
Let’s start with the physical goals. I had to stop all weight-lifting and cardiovascular exercises in the past 3 months. I can still do short, leisurely bike rides and walks up to twenty minutes, which I do daily, but that’s it. Other daily activities include yoga, meditation, and Wii Fit. Despite the decrease in physical activity I managed to lose 7 kg already this year. The greatest weight loss occurred in April, shortly after buying a Wii Fit Plus. Correlation doesn’t imply causation, but still …
Over to the cognitive goals. This is my 29th article in 28 weeks. I have registered a domain name for my third blog. I have made my first, small contributions to an open source project, correcting 2 errors on the Ubuntu Guide and the Kubuntu Guide. I study to improve my English, mainly reading and writing, but I also had several conversations using Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk, which is something I should do more often.
But it is very difficult to keep up. Creativity isn’t the problem for writing articles, but concentration, working out those ideas — doing the math, and short term memory are. In order to set up a third blog and write guest posts I must be able to write more than one article per week, say at least 6-7 per month.
Meanwhile I got the results from the tests at the Himmunitas Foundation by Prof. Dr. De Meirleir and started a 3-month treatment plan mid June. During this period, or even in the first 6 months I shouldn’t expect any improvements. Sorry, I know, I haven’t written about it yet.
Bonuses for 2010
| Bonuses for 2010 | |
|---|---|
| 0 | manage my own virtual private server online |
| 0 | go back to work, even if it’s just part-time, halftime or less |
| - | make a second trip abroad |
| 0 | start swimming again |
| 0 | start Nordic walking again |
| 0 | freshen up my French or learn another language |
| - | earn a second certificate |
| - | earn a third certificate |
| 0 | walk 12 km |
| + | contribute to an open source project |
I haven’t given much attention to the bonuses. What is the purposes of working towards a second trip abroad or certificate when I haven’t even planned the first one yet. Still, I have made a first contribution to an open source project and will start to study French in the following weeks.
Conclusion
Halfway through the year, but not halfway through my goals. Lesson learned, again, that ME/CFS is unpredictable … for better or for worse.
What bothers me even more than the fatigue are the cognitive problems I experience. Sugar and caffeine have proven over and over again to be counter productive, and stuff like a high dose of Ginkgo Biloba doesn’t work either. I’d welcome any suggestions to help me shift my brain into higher gear, to clear the fog, …
Resources
- My Goals For 2010
- Goals For 2010 – First Quarter
- First Visit to Himmunitas and Prof. Dr. De Meirleir
- Image: Target for shooter by hisks on stock.xchng
| You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures. |
| Charles C. Noble |
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Johan,
I know you can’t SEE the “Smile” on my face, but I’m enjoying your posts about this topic
esp after I’ve already been thru 23 yrs of this bugger……
You asked for a few suggestions, so IMHO here’s a few….
1) It’s fine to make Goals, but it’s best NOT to have Expectations…STAY focused “in the Present”
The ONE thing EVERYONE “can count on” is CHANGE.
day to day…and count the “little blessings” that each day unexpectedly provide.
Stay Flexible and Adaptable.
The BEST way I have seemed to find any success with cognitive issues is ALSO by AVOIDING Sugars (which give me nightmares LOL ~ literally) and Caffeine, also tried Ginko Biloba with not much suggest..
using for a 12 cup pot ~ 3 bags of Green Tea with Lemon Grass Tea and 2 bags of Lavender Tea. I let the pot cool after it’s brewed. You can then choose to drink it warm or cold and move the extra into a glass container into the fridge for the next day or two as needed.
( I think it’s MORE of a maintenance nutrient but will not be a stimulant)
IF I have a day where I REALLY need to be the most awake and clear headed w/o any ill after effects.. the ONLY think that works for me personally (AFTER a Quality Night’s sleep) is a brew I make with my coffee pot nowadays
I have also found out that “IT’s TRUE”… Stress causes us to get brain fog… so easier said than done, but
work on making “Being Relaxed” NOT work! I use breathing, music of choice, and if a button gets pushed
I have learned to switch gears to something else until I am in a relaxed mood and “choose” to deal with whatever the issue at hand was..
I have also found out that I personally seem to have a “time of day” that I am the most alert compared to other times of the day… I try to schedule appts and do my creative writing and phone calls then..See if you can “sense” YOUR Best time of day.. and try to schedule your day around it.. sometimes it’s possible and sometimes it’s not, but when it works… I almost FORGET that I am not OK.. and THAT feels Fantastic.
Focus on the 3 things each day that you are Grateful for, instead of the things that tick you off.
It helps with your mood, and that helps with NOT flaring your adrenaline and keeping us Calm ♥
…aka focus on the things on your lists that you HAVE accomplished,
if the others are “meant to be” they will occur..
maybe or maybe not on OUR schedule…maybe later..maybe not..what will be ~ will be.
Hope maybe at least one of those can serve you…
*cheers* and gratitude~
Hi Mac, some good advice.
They are goals, not expectations, not obligations. They are also indicators of what I can do. Achieving one is a success, not reaching some of them isn’t a failure. At least I will have tried.
Yes, staying clear from things that tick you off and focus on the things you really want to do. Is why I stay away from social media as much as possible these days.
PS: I meant… Stress makes the brain fog WORSE.
Mac – Those are great suggestions! I, too, have struggled with this illness for 20+ years as well.
I know you are doing less than you are accustom to but you do so much more than I could dream of doing. You truly are amazing! You are determined and you keep moving forward even when you aren’t seeing the results you had hoped.
As far as the brain fog goes, I haven’t found any herb that helps except possibly herbs for stress – like Stress Advantage by New Chapter as well as their Stress multi-vitamin. I find my body is calmer and so the fog isn’t quite as bad. Good sleep helps to but then you have to get good sleep.
For me, I have just learned to take today and do the best I can to get through it. To be honest, that is all the energy I have on most days anyway.
Again, I think you are doing an amazing job.
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