Prevention | Support Strategies
Motivating Yourself for Diabetes Self-Management
Becoming an expert in your own diabetes, choosing personal management goals, getting help and identifying effective rewards can all make a big difference
One summer I planned a family vacation on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It took a lot of effort to find the right place, save all the money I needed, and get all my work done before the vacation. But I did it all because I was motivated. I really, really, really wanted the most perfect vacation imaginable. And I got it.
So what does my vacation have to do with the topic of today’s column? You can see the common theme of motivation, but what do vacations and diabetes self-management have in common? The answer, of course, is not much. And that’s just the problem. It’s easy to see why I worked so hard to make my dream vacation a reality: I was trying to make something wonderful happen. But the story is very different when it comes to motivating yourself for diabetes self-management. At best, you may think, you’re trying to keep something awful from happening. And you may doubt your ability to do even that. Still, you probably wish you were more motivated when it comes to diabetes self-care, so I’d like to help make that a little easier.
First, do you know why motivation is so important when it comes to diabetes? Recent studies make it crystal clear that good blood sugar control dramatically reduces the risk of developing any of the long-term complications of diabetes.
So good blood glucose control is a very good thing, but what determines a person’s diabetes control? The fact is, diabetes is different from almost any other medical condition. When it comes to diabetes, 99 percent of care is self-care. Your actions affect your health countless times every day, when you decide when, what and how much to eat, or whether to exercise, test your blood, adjust your medication or call your health care provider.
Now, what I’m saying probably only serves to remind you what a burden day-to-day diabetes management can be – and usually is. And that’s probably one big reason why motivation for diabetes self-management is often so hard to come by: it’s hard to get excited or motivated about sticking yourself, and most people feel the same about exercise and healthy eating.
So, motivation is terribly important and terribly hard to come by. Over my years of talking to some highly motivated and effective diabetes self-managers, I’ve learned that all of them have some things in common. First, all these highly motivated individuals are experts in their own diabetes. No one’s diabetes is exactly the same as any one else’s, because no one’s life is exactly the same as anyone else’s. People become experts in their own diabetes by practicing, experimenting and developing the skills they need to solve the myriad problems diabetes presents every single day.
How do they do it? They start by identifying their own personal diabetes goals. Whether their goal is losing 15 pounds in the next three months or adding an additional blood glucose test to the daily regimen, the goal is one the person chose, not the physician or spouse. Let’s face it, staying motivated to do most diabetes-related tasks is hard enough, even when the task is one you want to do; it becomes downright impossible to stick with an unpleasant task you haven’t bought into in the first place. Of course, that does put a burden on you: you have to identify your own personal diabetes goals.
What do you want to change when it comes to your diabetes self-care? Pick anything you like. But keep this in mind: You’re much more likely to succeed if you pick your goals carefully. First of all, the goal should be specific, and it should be ambitious yet realistic. For example, “reducing late night overeating from every night to four nights a week” is a more specific goal than “eating better.” When your goal is specific, it’s easier to tell when you succeed, and that’s motivating. This goal balances ambition and reality as well. If the goal had been to reduce nighttime overeating by one night a month, it wouldn’t have been ambitious enough to be motivating. If the goal had been never again to overeat at night, it would have been too ambitious, because the first time you did overeat, all motivation might be lost.
Everything I’ve said so far makes clear how much of diabetes management is up to you. But that doesn’t mean you are completely on your own. In fact, I’ve found that highly motivated people are very good at getting the help they need. They know when and how to ask for help from health care providers and family members. Do you know what help you want when it comes to your diabetes? Is it practical help, emotional support or both? Can you be specific about your needs, so that everyone involved will know when they have been met? Is what you need something the other person can provide? Clarifying all of this takes work, but it dramatically increases the likelihood you’ll get the diabetes-related help you need.
Another key to staying motivated is being clear about what you get for all the hard work you do. We’re talking about rewards here. What are your rewards for diabetes self-management? Over the years I’ve heard many different answers to this critically important question. Some people want to feel better day-to-day; others want to be alive to see a favorite grandchild graduate from high school. One woman wanted to lose 20 pounds so she could fit into a beautiful dress she couldn’t resist buying. Many people say their goal is to feel better about themselves, and that doing the right thing regarding diabetes management helps. A man I worked with years ago decided he would take a trip down the Amazon River when he reached his long-term diabetes management goals, and he sent me a picture to show he’d succeeded.
Different people, different rewards. But all these people have one thing in common: they found something they really wanted, something they were willing to work hard to get, something that motivated them.
All the things I’ve mentioned can help you stay motivated. Becoming an expert in your own diabetes, choosing personal management goals, getting help and identifying effective rewards can all make a big difference. But you’re still likely to find yourself slipping from time to time. When you are living with diabetes every day, that’s almost inevitable. That’s why people who manage to stay motivated all have a collapse prevention plan. Everyone slips or lapses because no one is perfect. The trick is keeping the inevitable lapse from becoming a full-blown collapse. The key to success here is asking yourself a few simple questions. Are you being too hard on yourself? Maybe unrealistic standards for success are draining your motivation. Are your diabetes management goals still the ones you choose to pursue? Maybe they need updating to keep you motivated. Are you getting the help you need to keep on keeping on? Are your rewards for diabetes self-management still truly rewarding?
