Don't fear failure.
Diabetes has taught me not to fear failure. If you fear failure you will never manage your diabetes because failure in life is inevitable. “Survival of the fittest” is what Darwin discovered but many have misinterpreted it. It is not the others who are stronger and more successful that you need to fear but life itself. Nothing will hit you harder than life and it will bring you to your knees and break you if you let it. Life never rests, it never takes a day or even a minute off and it is always looking for a chink in your armour, which is why our will to survive is so strong. It is not the strong and victorious you need to fear but those that fail and try again, that keep getting up and trying again and again. Every time life brings them down they just keep getting back up, and every time they get back up they are wiser and stronger and more determined, like steel tempered in fire, every blow makes them stronger.
Victory will defeat you.
Having perfectly controlled sugars leads to complacency. When life is easy and all things are achievable you tend to get inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, and infallibility, also known as a god complex. The problem with this is that when the path becomes rocky you stumble and don't have coping mechanisms in place to deal with this so you fall, and fall hard. You are now laying on the very hard surface of reality and have discovered it is very unforgiving. There is no justice in life, there is no scale that swings back and forth dispensing equal portions of right and wrong. Justice is blind and our worth in life is not determined by how well we do what we do, but how well we rise from a fall. Victory teaches us nothing, but defeat teaches humility, self-reliance and determination.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Family, friends and even trained professionals will discourage you from setting high goals and pursuing control over your life. They will have your best interests at heart and can see the distress that high and low sugars are causing you. They feel that by lowering your goals you will achieve more success, but the only real failure in life is not to fail at something, but to aim too low. Better to fail attempting an incredible thing than to succeed at an insignificant one.
How to know when you are on the right path.
With those around you discouraging you and telling you to go their way how do you know when you’re on the right path for you? My personal compass is quality of life. When I am walking the right path not only does my quality of life improve but the quality of life for those around me. If you are succeeding due to the demise of others then your way is not the right way. And if the path you have chosen is easing the burden on others but causing you to suffer then that is also not the right way. For a lucky few the right path for them is cleared of all obstacles and there is room for themselves and those around them to reach nirvana. For the vast majority the path is steep and winding with many diversions. But remember it is not the end goal that is important here but what we experience on the way. We pass through life but once so enjoy the journey and discover the magic and mystery of the world around you. Don't be in a hurry to get to the final destination, there is much to learn along the way.
