10 Tips to Stay Motivated While Managing Diabetes

While you can’t control the onset of diabetes, you can control your attitude about it and how well you manage it—and that makes all the difference in the world. I have 10 tips to share with you that will help you stay motivated to address the responsibilities of diabetes management day after day. Let’s get started!

Believe in yourself

When it comes to your diabetes, being able to acknowledge that you are in charge and can take control is an essential part of staying motivated. Not only that, but as with anything worth doing, you have to believe in yourself. Try making a list of your strengths or accomplishments and review them each morning when you wake up; it will help remind you of how capable you really are.

Positive thinking

Seeing yourself and your abilities in a positive light can be powerful. If you have diabetes, do you tell yourself I can’t eat that or I don’t have time for exercise? Instead, try changing your mindset. Tell yourself things like, I know how to control my blood sugar levels (or at least make it part of my routine) or I always find time for exercising. Changing negative thoughts into positive ones may seem simplistic, but studies show it works!

Set goals

It can be overwhelming to set goals for a single day, much less a whole year. But setting SMART goals—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound—is an important part of staying motivated. For example, instead of just saying you want to lose weight, say you’re going to start by walking 10,000 steps every day for one month. Or instead of saying that you’ll get out of debt in three years, set a goal where every month you pay off one more credit card balance or increase your savings by $100.

Worry less

The key is not to try and think about anything but your diabetes. Instead, do things that occupy your time and let you relax so you can avoid worrying. If a negative thought does pop into your head, take a few deep breaths and tell yourself it’s not worth wasting time worrying about. Easier said than done, but practice makes perfect!

Take it one day at a time

There’s no magic formula for staying motivated, but one important thing is to not look too far ahead. When you do that, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and think of all the things you have left to do. This can cause low motivation levels. Instead, stay focused on what you need or want to accomplish today and take each day as it comes.

Be kind to yourself

Beating yourself up for making a mistake, or giving up on a goal you set isn’t going to help you at all. Instead, try being kinder to yourself in these situations. For example, when you mess up (everyone does) say something positive like I tried my best and that’s what matters most. When you are feeling discouraged after missing a few days of managing your diabetes or weight loss goals remember that tomorrow is another day. You can do it!

Keep a sense of humor

For many, humor can go a long way toward helping us get through tough times. Having a sense of humor doesn’t mean you won’t feel anger, fear or sadness sometimes—but it does allow us to step back and enjoy life more, as well as focus on positive things that happen. If you know someone who has diabetes—and who could use some help staying motivated—send them my tips. We all need support from time to time!

Nobody is perfect

Learning from our mistakes is a critical component of diabetes management, but it can be difficult if we’re always beating ourselves up for missing targets. It’s important to remember that nobody is perfect; even with all of my training and experience, I often make mistakes—and I sure don’t expect perfection from myself or others!

Don’t compare yourself to others

You’re a unique individual and your diabetes management plan is unique to you. Don’t compare yourself to others and don’t let their comments discourage you from being proactive about your health. Having diabetes doesn’t mean that you won’t ever enjoy life again—it just means that certain adjustments need to be made for successful long-term diabetes management. Follow these tips for managing blood glucose levels and taking control of your health!

Never give up

There will be times when you’ll want to throw in the towel, but don’t. Diabetes may make life more challenging than it would be otherwise, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth fighting for. You can do anything you set your mind on, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is no exception.