To the Person With Chronic Illness Who Is Impatient to Get Better

“It would be nice to get better by the end of the year.” This is a thought that resurfaces within my mind quite a fair bit. While others may be making resolutions for the new year, those who are chronically ill can be bound to unpredictability and usually make plans on a daily basis instead.

“What can I do to get there?” Then it struck me that to get better this year meant getting better today.

Perhaps that little thing you did for yourself today — be it 10 minutes of light exercise, improving one aspect of your diet, getting an extra spot of shut eye, or just sitting down to regulate your thoughts — feels as if it made no overall impact.

I know how that feels because I often become frustrated, thinking that my present action is too insignificant to even cause a dent in the colossal problem before me. Or I get a little impatient, wondering what I have to do next, not now. I want to see immediate results, which doesn’t make any sense because everything takes time to manifest.

So this is a gentle reminder to be patient with myself — and that things done for the good of your own well-being never go to waste, whether it is a big, small or unseen contribution. Keep getting better today, my friend!

And because I think quotes are great little reminders when placed somewhere within sight, I’ve created a few visual quote cards. Feel free to click on the quotes below to download or print them out for your own use!

• “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” – Annie Dillard
• “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
• “Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today.” – Seneca
• “No yesterdays are ever wasted for those who give themselves to today.” – Brendan Francis
• “What is necessary, is never a waste.” – Sarek (Papa Spock)

Follow this journey on A Chronic Voice.

The Mighty is asking the following: What’s the hardest thing you deal with as someone with a chronic illness, and how do you face this? What advice and words of support would you offer someone facing the same thing? If you’d like to participate, please send a blog post to community@themighty.com. Please include a photo for the piece, a photo of yourself and 1-2 sentence bio. Check out our Submit a Story page for more about our submission guidelines.