5-Step Resilience Plan – A Toolkit to Put Yourself Back Together After “Failure”
Karin W
September 19, 2023
Failure is inevitable. It comes with the territory of developing habits and routines that cultivate health and wellness. More directly, failure means you tried something and now have an experience you can learn from, which is the foundation of personal growth and development.
Our mantra at Invigorate is to take it one step at a time. The idea is that not if but when we misstep, we can brush it off without a big deal and get back on track with our next step or the one after that if we need a beat. Taking sufficient time is key to processing setbacks in a healthy way.
Here are Five Steps to help you Cope with and Process Uncomfortable Emotions after a learning experience.
Step 1: Reframe How You Think About Failure – Shift to a Growth Mindset
Failure is an inevitable part of life, especially when making changes and taking risks. Thinking of failure as an opportunity to learn something new can help you keep an open mind to new ideas and ways of doing things.
When we try something new, of course, it will be a disaster. We’ll trip ourselves up and get in our own way, but we’ll get through it and come out the other side better for it.
By focusing on our efforts vs. the outcome, we focus on our journey vs. the destination.
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
Ernest Hemingway
Our experiences are the primary way we learn and grow. They challenge and stretch us. It’s a fact of life: we’ll make mistakes along the way. That makes life grueling at times but more rewarding than ever imagined.
We must push ourselves out of our comfort zone and be prepared to fall. The more things we try and fail at, the more we’ll learn and grow.
Even though we know failure is inevitable and critical for our development, it doesn’t change the fact that failure doesn’t feel good when it happens. However, we can tap into a couple of tools to help us cope with the difficult emotions that often come with setbacks.
Step 2: Develop One or Two Anchor Thoughts to Help Ground Yourself
After particularly rough falls, a reminder that failure is the key ingredient to growth and progress can be invaluable to getting you back on your feet.
Anchor thoughts or affirmations reinforce our values and why we continue to challenge ourselves. They’re an act of self-care as they help us process anxiety and other uncomfortable emotions to regain perspective.
But when our energy is low, finding a silver lining is often a heavier lift than we’re willing to carry.
Writing down inspirational quotes or encouraging notes ahead of time can increase your likelihood of referring to positive messages when you’re disappointed or frustrated.
Here are some Affirmation Examples:
“I don’t know what will happen next, but I’ll learn something from this experience.”
“I don’t keep a scorecard.”
“I treat my body with love and respect.”
“I am committed to my health.”
Spending a minute or two reading them out loud and internalizing their messages can help shift your mindset. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but it should get easier with time.
Try different ones if they don’t or aren’t resonating with you. They should change with you and your experiences.
Steps to Grow Your Affirmation Stamina:
Read your affirmations silently.
Read them aloud.
Read them allowed looking in a mirror.
Memorize them and say them to yourself throughout your day.
“Together, with honest self-reflection and concrete action steps, positive affirmations can be a wonderful part of one’s behavioral change regimen.”
By getting yourself to a more positive state, you set yourself up to reflect openly. That’s where vital learning and growth happen.
Step 3: Give Yourself Some Space to Decompress
You dropped the ball, royally embarrassed yourself, and want to bury your head in the sand for whatever reason. After experiencing a tough setback, giving yourself time and space to decompress is critical to process emotions.
Allow yourself some time for self-care and engage in activities that help you relax and take your mind off things healthily. You can refer to 10 Tools to Nurture You Through Autoimmune Disease Flares for ideas on how to unwind mentally.
Give yourself time and space to process your emotions without feeling pressured or rushed into doing something else right away. Our general rule is to give yourself space for at least 24 hours. A good night’s sleep can help bring logic and clarity to what previously seemed to be a dramatic situation.
If you feel stuck in a loop of negative emotions, try breathing deeply and focusing on your breath for a few minutes. This will help lower blood pressure and release tension, allowing you to shift into a more relaxed state.
It’s important not to do this step until you’ve had ample time to decompress. If we start the process too early, we don’t have the clarity, nor can we gain true insights from the experience.
After you have time to decompress, perhaps for a few hours or days, reflect on the experience. It might sound counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to overcome disappointment is to think about it.
Sitting with our uncomfortable emotions is uncomfortable, but when we do, we heal and grow.
This is especially helpful if you feel like your emotions are getting in the way of clear thinking. It’s OK to start, stop, and revisit. In fact, it’s great because your perspective will change, and your insights will deepen.
Writing down our thoughts helps us process the situation.
Like doing a complicated math problem, breaking it down on paper helps our brains organize and make sense of the information to solve it.
There’s no need to get hung up on the details. Let your thoughts flow without judgment; the insights will present themselves if you’re open and honest.
Reflecting on failure involves asking questions like:
What happened?
Why did this happen?
What can I learn from this?
What do I need to change to improve my chances of success next time?
What can I do to best move forward?
Simply start writing in a journal or talking to a friend. Don’t get hung up on details. You may surprise yourself with what you uncover when you let your thoughts flow freely.
If reflection feels daunting, setting a timer for 5-10 minutes can be enough to get started and potentially through your process.
Reflection is a powerful tool for learning. It allows us to gain new insights, connect past and current experiences, and see things from different perspectives.
By reflecting on failure, we can learn from our mistakes and improve our chances of success in the future.
Step 5: 3-2-1-Go!
We shifted our perspective on failure, decompressed, and processed the situation, and now it’s time to get back on our feet and go again. But maybe you’d rather revisit the decompression state and throw on a couple more nostalgic shows…
As we stall, our motivation dwindles, and depression symptoms can creep in. It’s a continuous tug-of-war between temptation and doing the thing that will get you back on your feet.
“5-4-3-2-1, Go!”
That simple saying can help get you moving, and once you’re in motion, momentum builds rather quickly because taking action fuels motivation. The 5-second rule can be applied to anything, from getting out the door to starting a project.
When we’re in the moment, emotions influence our decisions. But when you take action, those emotions subside, leaving you with a clear mind to make better decisions.
Failure is a Requirement to Make Progress and Grow
Remember, failure is not the end but a stepping stone toward growth and personal development. When you have setbacks or missteps, a resilience plan can help you bounce back quicker by giving you a roadmap for handling setbacks.
By reframing how you think about failure, giving yourself space, developing anchor thoughts, reflecting on the experience, and taking action, you can put yourself back together to continue your journey more experienced and better off than before your “failure.”
Continuous failure is a vital part of a successful, fulfilling journey. We can make the most of our experiences by learning to navigate them with acceptance and curiosity. When we learn to accept failure, we can move forward with an open mind and heart, knowing it’s all part of the process.
Al Switzler, cofounder of VitalSmarts, researches methods for driving sustainable, measurable behavior change. Switzler is coauthor of four NYT bestsellers, including Change Anything.
Guiding Principles: A Realistic Approach to Autoimmune Disease Remission & Better Health
Karin W
September 8, 2023
Our guiding principles provide direction and support to empower your journey in navigating autoimmune disease and chronic illness.
We embrace an incremental approach to holistic health, disease management, and remission. Our programs are built on a foundation of small, simple lifestyle changes that anyone can do anywhere.
A common misconception about autoimmune diseases and chronic illnesses is that you have little control over your health trajectory. Plan for a life of chronic pain, medications, and appointments. In reality, while you may have a steeper hill than others, you do have the power to reduce disease activity and, ultimately, achieve remission.
“We have a totally different diet, with processed foods, additives and fast foods. We’re more sedentary. There’s an obesity epidemic. We have a different pattern of infectious agents, even pre-COVID-19, with more emerging yearly. The environment is noisier, and there are more stressors.”
-Frederick Miller, M.D., scientist emeritus with the Environmental Autoimmunity Group at the National Institutes of Health
While your remission is our mission, we’re not focused on the destination. We’re dialed in on the journey. We focus on systematic, incremental, achievable steps to improve your health and well-being.
We provide the resources to empower your journey that’ll be shaped by your experiences, specific situations, personalities, and preferences.
The ideal path to remission is sustainable. You don’t beat autoimmune disease in one day; you take it one step at a time, #oneaction at a time, until living a healthy, fulfilling life is second nature. And one day, you’ll realize how far you’ve come. We promise.
A Different Approach to Creating Sustainable Habits
We focus on one step at a time, but even that can sometimes feel daunting. The good news is that we can break it down even further.
Rather than making dramatic lifestyle changes all at once, we focus on small things you can do to change your behavior and habits. Take it one step at a time and find the small victories in everyday moments, even if they’re micro-movements toward your goal.
This approach allows you to build healthy habits that stick with you for the long haul.
Invigorate’s Guiding Principals are guidelines intended to help empower your journey but by no means dictate it. After all, we know a one-size-fits-all approach never works, so lean in and adjust, swap, modify, or do whatever you need to to make the most out of your Invigorate experience.
Invigorate Guardrails to Empower Your Journey:
1. Dial in on Your Journey, not the destination.
None of us know how long we’ll be here, and as much as we want to know where our paths will lead us, the only time guaranteed is now. This moment now is our life.
We strive to shift depressed thoughts of the past and anxious thoughts of the future to considerate thoughts of the present. We can take one step toward a more meaningful future by focusing on the present.
Are you on a path that empowers your journey or one that makes it more challenging? Every decision we make and every action we take slowly but surely shapes the course of our journey.
Sometimes, we unknowingly tread on rough terrains that make our voyage harder. But remember, you have the power to change the path you’re on. Ask yourself, am I taking steps to better my situation? Remember, we only have this moment. The right time isn’t tomorrow, next week, or in the new year – it’s right now. Make the choice to foster self-care, give yourself the compassion you tirelessly give to others, and you’ll find the strength to navigate even the toughest of journeys.
2. It’s Your Journey.
The first step to better health is understanding that you have the power to choose. There are many paths and routes to remission, but your journey is unique. No matter where you’re in life now, know it’s never too late to change for the better.
Each of us has our own experiences and challenges. Our perception of those experiences shapes our unique journeys. The power is in your hands to choose the direction you want to go.
Health is more than physical and emotional well-being—it’s also about understanding how we are connected to the world around us. Practicing healthy habits and self-care allows us to deepen our connection with nature, society, and our communities.
It’s not a race since we’re on different paths, but we can support one another in our winding journeys. It’s hard to make the determination and take the steps towards a healthier life. We can be our own obstacle, but be patient with yourself, focus on the next step, and lean into our community for support.
3. We’re in this together.
The complexity and intensity of autoimmune diseases can fuel depression and isolation. These systemic diseases are not fully understood, making them hard to explain. Survivors tend to withdraw when they don’t have a supportive network.
While our journeys are unique to us and our experiences, that doesn’t mean we must go through this alone. Our Invigorate community can relate and empathize with the challenges and uncertainties of navigating autoimmune diseases and chronic illnesses. We give each other the grace to fall, support to get back up, and encouragement to try again.
Engage with our supportive community. We share our experiences and tips and have some laughs along the way. Together, we can overcome the challenges of autoimmune diseases and thrive, living life on our own terms. We can do this, and we don’t have to do it alone.
4. Unleash your inner explorer and get curious.
As you embark on this journey of personal growth and self-discovery, it’s crucial to approach it with an open mind. Something may not resonate with you now, but it might resonate with you down the road.
Our perspectives change as we experience more, especially when managing the challenging health situations accompanying autoimmune diseases and chronic illnesses. An open mind can stretch us to think beyond our current thoughts.
Try to channel your inner explorer as you journey through the labyrinth of autoimmune diseases. Embracing a spirit of curiosity can be a powerful tool in this voyage. Ask questions, dig deeper, research, and seek out multiple perspectives. This isn’t about finding quick fixes but about gaining understanding. It’s about exploring the many pathways to wellness and identifying what works best for you.
Curiosity can also lead us to self-compassion, a trait often overlooked but critical in our journey. It involves being gentle with ourselves when we stumble and embracing our imperfections. In our Invigorate community, we encourage everyone to be kind to themselves, to recognize their efforts, and to applaud small victories. Remember, it’s progress, not perfection, that we seek.
Lastly, curiosity urges us to embrace change. Autoimmune diseases can be unpredictable, but we can adapt to new routines, treatments, and lifestyle changes with a flexible mindset. Change can be daunting, but it also brings opportunities for growth and reinvention.
So put on your explorer’s hat, stay curious, and open yourself to the remarkable journey of self-discovery.
5. Stick to one or two steps at a time.
This moment now is when we can drive change by dialing in our thought patterns and daily habits. Slow and steady wins the race. We recommend focusing on one or two steps at a time, even when you can take on more.
For example, if you want to incorporate diet and lifestyle changes, start with a few simple ones, like drinking more water or going to bed 30 minutes earlier. Once those habits become second nature, then add more. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do too much at once!
Or, if you want to take a couple of steps down the same path, ensure one is an easier step to take. For example, if you’re looking to double down on physical activity, one step could be incorporating a stretching routine, and another could be walking three times a week.
Remember that the goal is to find sustainable ways to create healthy habits. This means taking one step at a time and adjusting as you go. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
While incremental change feels tiny, it adds up to big results. Trust the process! You are capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for. We believe in you. Now, let’s start on this incredible journey together!
Tip: Having an accountability partner or supportive friend can be key to helping you get over hurdles. Join our Facebook community for support, encouragement, and grace in navigating your journey.
6. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s when change happens.
Systems make change possible. When navigating life’s complexities with an autoimmune disease, mindset is everything. It’s about leaning into the sweet spot between comfort and discomfort. That’s where growth and transformation happen.
It’s about challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone, one small step at a time. You’ll be uncomfortable sometimes, but embrace the discomfort of growth and learning as part of the journey.
While each step individually is critical, having a plan and structure is also critical to success. Using systems and processes to simplify your life can help you embrace change. It also helps create structure, making it easier to get through tough health days.
If you don’t plan how to do it, you’ll likely give up before you start. Willpower is not a thing; we’ll fail if we rely on it. Discover the 6 Sources that Influence Our Behavior and learn how to control them for a higher chance of success.
Everything affects everything. Five hundred crunches alone won’t get you a six-pack, but some crunches and a salad will, eventually. Everything is interconnected, so we take a multifaceted approach to health and well-being. Throughout the Invigorate experience, we note Ive+ habits, keystone habits that benefit beyond one action’s direct impact. Best-selling author Charles Duhigg discusses the benefits of leveraging keystone habits in his book The Power of Habit.
Systems fail, so turn tough times into tools for the future.
We can want with all our hearts to change, create the perfect plan, and muster up the courage to take a step or two, only to find our faces smashed into the ground without realizing what even happened!
This happens more often than not, especially when we’re just starting out. It’s okay. We can use this as an opportunity to grow and learn. Failures are only failures if we don’t learn from our experiences. If we reflect on why we failed, then we can course correct to try again.
Instead of blaming yourself or giving up, take stock of the situation and ask honest questions about why it happened. What did you do right? What could have been done differently? The answers will help you adjust your approach for the next step. By continuously reflecting, refining, and implementing, you’ll develop systems that work for you.
Remember, the more you fail, the more you learn and grow, and that’s how we blossom.
7. Embrace the season you’re in.
A realistic approach to this journey includes recognizing and accepting the season we’re in.
We’re used to planning things in hours, days, weeks, months, and years, yet our experiences go by in moments, scenes, and seasons. Those moments blend and melt together to form our memories.
Located in Minnesota, we get a full four seasons; yes, even summer. In the heart of winter, below-zero temperatures and plummeting windshields can make for a long several months.
While we sometimes need to hunker down to get through it, there are many times we brave the elements to enjoy the snow—sledding, skating, skiing, or having an outdoor fire. It can be bitterly cold sometimes, but we embrace the season as it is, knowing it will change again.
As we navigate through our own healing seasons, let’s remember the power of our mindset and the remarkable strength we harbor within ourselves. We can create wonderful memories during our darkest periods, knowing this season shall pass, too, but it didn’t pass us by.
8. Practice selfless self-care for tireless service and compassion.
To serve at the highest level, we first must serve ourselves. That starts by looking within. Self-care should involve a healthy dose of self-reflection and awareness. When we pick the weeds and dig out the soul, we unearth fresh soil to plant new seeds.
“Sugar, by nature, is sweet, and water, by nature, is liquid. When we perform an activity and function which is per nature and as how it has been designed, one experiences harmony. That harmony produces the greatest efficiency, and so the soul, by nature, is designed to serve when we engage in serving and pleasing. That effect of serving and pleasing produces the greatest joy from within.”
Selfless self-care—such as practicing mindful meditation, meaningful movement, and sustenance for the soul—will help us become more in tune with our external world. We can then share our own light and energy to impact those around us positively.
So the next time you feel guilty about taking care of yourself, pause and reflect on how caring for yourself will allow you to be a better parent, friend, coworker—human being.
9. Enjoy the music.
Autoimmune remission is a process. It’s not just about reaching remission but living a life that nurtures our health and well-being.
Life is hard. That’s the point. We’d be bored and complacent if we didn’t face our challenges, struggle, fall, and get back up. That’s a dangerously destructive place to be. Our hardships guide and teach us life lessons—nurturing us to deepen our roots, strengthen our stems, grow leaves, and eventually, blossom.
We’ll grow without noticing as we embrace our challenges and face our fears. When we do eventually notice, we’ll be further ahead than we ever thought possible. As you embrace the present challenge, remember that this moment now is all that matters.
So go ahead, sing out loud in the car, and dance in the kitchen with your kids—life is too short not to enjoy the music and dance along the way.
How to Turn Bad Habits into Healthy Habits by Addressing 6 Sources that Influence Our Behavior
Karin W
August 4, 2023
Change behavior expert and best-selling author Al Switzler shares how we can manage those sources and have more control over our actions.
Of course, we want to eat healthy, exercise, and go to bed early to effectively care for ourselves regardless of whether we have an autoimmune disease.
Despite knowing all the health benefits and harmful effects of our unhelpful behaviors, willpower goes out the window when a colleague brings in a box of donuts, or you opt for the couch instead of the treadmill after a long work day.
We think if we can summon enough willpower, we can change our habits overnight. The problem with this approach is that when we try to make too many changes at once, we feel overwhelmed and give up.
Instead of trying to achieve drastic transformations overnight, Switzler advocates for the “vital behaviors” approach, which focuses on identifying and mastering the few key behaviors that can bring about significant change in your life.
“If we can control the sources that control us, we’re more likely to control our own behavior.”
-Al Switzler, coauthor of four NYT bestsellers, including Change Anything.
Identify the Vital Moments Derailing Your Progress
Re-hashing your “bad” decisions isn’t fun, but pinpointing triggers is a necessary step. Recurring incidents can shed light on behavior trends and habits. By recognizing when we’re most vulnerable, we can proactively design strategies and interventions to support the hard decisions when temptation lurks.
Triggers aren’t always obvious, though. Triggers can be visuals, smells, body sensations, specific times, places, or memories challenging our motivation. There may be several, and one or two might be flying under the radar.
To help uncover hidden triggers, start with simply jotting down who, what, when, and where you were. Think about how they influenced your behavior in these moments. What were the thoughts and feelings that led up to acting? How does this moment differ from others? What factors make this moment different from all others? Get a notepad and pen, and take a few minutes to write down what you notice about the situation.
How to Manage the 6 Sources that Influence Our Behavior and Habits
Once we’ve identified these defining moments, we can develop a plan to address the six sources that influence our behavior to increase our success rate of making tough choices in our most vulnerable moments.
Structural Ability – How can I change my environment to make my good behavior easy and my lousy behavior hard?
Personal Motivation – Why am I doing this?
The first and most important source of influence is identifying *your why*. Whether you want to reduce pain, have more energy for your kids, or live healthier, ask yourself why. Significant, meaningful reasons will fuel your motivation and “willpower.”
Dig deep and get specific. Our reason for doing something challenging has to be MUCH bigger than whatever temptation is in the moment. Otherwise, we’ll dive into bagels, pizza, candy, whatever your vice, every single time, regardless of how much we try to talk ourselves out of it.
Write down your reasons to carry with you or record them in a notes app to remind yourself of your reasons in those pivotal moments. Re-reading them or, better yet, saying them out loud can get you past your trigger point.
The key is staying busy. Physical activity can help burn off anxious energy and help calm your nervous system. The more we practice healthy ways to get through cravings and make healthier choices, the easier it gets over time. Eventually, it’ll be habitual and second nature, so you hardly think about it.
Personal Ability – Can I do this? If not, can I learn a skill to do it?
Personal ability includes your skills, abilities, and experiences. We won’t always have the skills to make the good decisions we strive for. You can improve this source of influence by learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge. The more skills you have in your wheelhouse, e.g., those that come quickly to you, the more influence you will have in making good decisions.
For example, if you want to get a raise at work, you could read books or listen to podcasts on negotiating with managers so that when it comes time to ask for a raise, you’ll know the kind of information to have on hand to help your chances best. Or, if you want to start an online business but don’t know how to write code, reading about programming or taking a class can help you build the skills needed for your business.
Learning new skills also increases confidence and inspires motivation when working toward a goal. It can also help you develop patience, communication, and persistence. It builds self-esteem and makes you feel good about yourself — which can motivate you even more!
Invigorate Tip: Personal Growth and Professional Development steps offer resources to support your growth and development, including podcasts when you can only manage to listen, webinars when you can stay vertical for short periods, online courses when you’re up for it, and more.
Social Motivation – Do I have encouragement and support?
Building a support network is one of the most powerful ways to achieve your goals. You may achieve your goals faster and more efficiently by getting the people around you on board with your plans. Three and four sources of influence are peer and social pressures around us.
Humans are naturally social creatures, and the people around us heavily influence our decisions and behaviors – good and bad. We can leverage the power of social influences by getting the people around us on board with our goals.
Let them know what you’re up to and how they can help. These like-minded folks can help keep us on track or at least not derail our efforts.
Social motivation comes into play when trying to change bad habits because it gives us an external force that keeps us accountable for our actions. If everyone around you knows about your goal, they will be more likely to help keep you on track or encourage positive behavior than if they didn’t know what was happening with you.
Social Ability – Do I have someone to coach me, give me feedback to improve?
Coaches understand that making positive changes can be challenging, especially when dealing with autoimmune diseases. But they believe in your potential to overcome obstacles and refuse to let those conditions define you.
By providing additional tools and tips, coaches become your partners in your journey toward self-improvement. They don’t claim to have all the answers, but they possess a wealth of experience helping individuals overcome their bad habits and achieve their goals.
Through their guidance, coaches help you identify your unique strengths and weaknesses, unlocking your full potential. This newfound awareness translates into better results empowering you to excel despite the challenges posed by your autoimmune condition.
More than just advisors, coaches serve as crucial sources of support during tough times. When you feel discouraged or overwhelmed, they’ll lift you and restore your belief in yourself. Acting as your accountability partners, coaches help you maintain focus on what truly matters, ensuring that you stay on track toward your goals.
Their guidance goes beyond just motivation and encouragement. Coaches equip you with the practical tools necessary for success. Whether it’s devising personalized strategies or teaching you practical techniques, they provide you with the resources you need to thrive.
Coaches not only possess expertise in their field, but they also understand the unique challenges faced by individuals with autoimmune diseases. Their guidance is grounded in empathy and backed by professional knowledge, making them an invaluable ally in your journey.
Remember, you don’t have to navigate this path alone. Reach out to coaches who can support you, provide valuable insights, and help you make positive changes that will empower you to live your best life, regardless of your autoimmune condition.
Structural Motivation – What Rewards & Incentives will Help me Strive?
As people with autoimmune diseases, we often face daily challenges requiring us to make difficult health decisions. It can be challenging to stay motivated and make choices that align with our long-term goals.
That’s where structural motivation comes in. By utilizing incentives and rewards, we can give ourselves the extra boost we need to make those healthy decisions.
According to sources five and six, structural motivation can provide a sense of reinforcement that can go a long way in our wellness journey. Rewards trigger the release of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that helps regulate motivation and pleasure.
This is why receiving a special reward when we achieve a health goal can make us feel good and motivate us to continue making positive decisions.
There is no “one size fits all” approach to positive reinforcement. What works for one person may not work for another, and you may have to experiment with different approaches before finding the ones that work best for you!
The key here is to find something that works for you and your unique situation. If you have trouble motivating yourself, get creative and try different ideas! A reward doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive; it just needs to be meaningful enough for you. When it comes to positive reinforcement, it’s all about finding what works for you.
Structural motivation can be a powerful tool for building positive habits and achieving goals. Incorporating incentives and rewards into our wellness routine makes us more likely to sustain healthy behaviors and improve our health outcomes. It’s important to remember that these rewards do not have to be extravagant, but the satisfaction of receiving a little boost can do wonders for our motivation.
Structural motivation can help us stay focused and make smarter, healthier decisions. Whether it’s the thrill of receiving an incentive or the relief of achieving our goals, rewards can motivate us to stay on track and optimize our health.
Remember to be kind to yourself, celebrate small milestones, and take advantage of structural motivation’s benefits.
Structural Ability – How can I change my environment to make my good behavior easy and my bad behavior hard?
Living with an autoimmune disease can be overwhelming. Managing symptoms, sticking to treatment plans, and making lifestyle changes can seem daunting. But what if there was a way to make it easier to maintain good behaviors and even harder to engage in bad ones? That’s where structural ability comes in.
Structural ability is the idea that our environment can shape our behavior for better or worse. By intentionally designing our environments to encourage good habits and discourage bad ones, we can make healthy choices the default option.
Invigorate Tip:Prepare for Decision Fatigue. We make hundreds of decisions each day, and as the day goes on, decision fatigue sets in, which is why ordering pizza Friday night seems much easier than figuring out a meal to cook for dinner. Have a plan, so you don’t have to make the choice.
Eating healthier is a common goal among people with autoimmune diseases, and simple changes can have a lasting impact. For example, switching to smaller plates to help with portion control or signing up for a grocery delivery service to help ensure you have healthy food.
You can also use structural changes to make bad habits harder. Throw out the container of ice cream to remove the temptation altogether. Or, if you want to spend less time on Facebook, block the site on your computer and put an app blocker on your phone so that it’s impossible for you to access it.
If you don’t give yourself a choice, you don’t have to make the choice. When you want to change your life, consider what small changes can be made to your environment to help you achieve your goal.
Turn bad days into good data – Continuously Monitor and Adapt
No one gets it right the first time. We need time to analyze, adjust and try again until we get the system right.
Behavior change is not a one-time event but an ongoing process requiring constant assessment and adjustment. By regularly evaluating our progress and making necessary tweaks to our strategies, we can ensure that we stay on the path toward our desired outcomes.
Invigorate Tip:5 Ways to Cope through Cravings:
Go for a walk outside.
Take a shower or bath.
Put on a yoga, cardio, HIIT, or another workout video.
Roll up your sleeves and do some picking up and cleaning. Remember that it doesn’t matter how far you get; each step is progress.
Get groceries, return Amazon packages, or run other errands.
Learn from your missteps to identify where you took a wrong turn and adjust your course for next time. Customize and personalize your plan to align with your goals, strengths, weaknesses, and environment.
Changing bad habits into healthy ones is a process that takes time and effort, but the rewards are worth it.
Let’s figure it out together, my friends.
Dance on,
Karin
Sources
Al Switzler, cofounder of VitalSmarts, researches methods for driving sustainable, measurable behavior change. Switzler is coauthor of four NYT bestsellers, including Change Anything.
10 Tools to Nurture You Through Autoimmune Disease Flares & Other Tough Times Living With Chronic Illnesses
Karin W
May 22, 2023
It’s possible to be in remission for long periods, especially when living a healthy lifestyle, mostly eating nutritious food, staying physically active, managing stress, and maintaining meaningful relationships.
While living a healthy lifestyle is your best chance at keeping disease activity at bay, environmental triggers, life events, and overbooked schedules can each be enough to put our health into an unexpected tailspin.
One winter, I had been eating clean, managing stress, and plugging along just fine each day. Without warning, I was horizontal on my couch with what we thought was the flu. It’d been going around the office, so I wasn’t surprised I caught it. It’s difficult to avoid getting sick while taking immunosuppressants.
After three weeks of no improvement, I was admitted to the hospital, where they ran a gamut of tests. The worst part was my new “roommate,” constantly groaning in pain, sounding like a dying animal, making it impossible to get any sleep. Overly exhausted, undernourished, and missing my kids terribly, I felt every ounce of this autoimmune disease crushing my spirit.
In those moments of utter despair, it’s important to have tools to use anywhere at any time to help you cope with sensory overload and work through tough situations.
Go-To Tools to Help You Through Tough Times with Autoimmune Diseases and Chronic Illnesses
When your world feels like it’s crashing down, your focus should be comfort and self-care. That can be difficult when emotions are running high, so our community has compiled a list of tools to keep in your back pocket for the next time you unexpectedly need them.
1. Your Breathe
When we’re anxious, our bodies tense up, our breathing shallows, and an abundance of cortisone/stress releases into our systems. To reduce anxiety quickly, deep breathing is the surest, most effective way to reduce heart rate. Our bodies are very trainable; we must tell them what to do. The simplest way to do that is to breathe out longer than when you inhale.
Guided meditation videos and podcasts are a great way to learn various breathing methods. Training your mind and physiology through breath has been shown to reduce anxiety while increasing focus and concentration, which can also help with brain fog.
2. Change Views
Getting outside isn’t always feasible, especially if you’re stuck in a hospital room, but changing rooms, or even just chairs, can give you a quick boost in mood. Sometimes even the slightest shifts in perspective can spark a new and hopefully more positive chain of thoughts. Looking at positive images can influence your mood if you have limited mobility.
3. Get Thanking
There is always something to be grateful for. The simple act of noting or writing down a few things you’re thankful for helps squelch negative thinking and helps put things into perspective. It also creates an attitude shift that can positively impact everything from our relationships to our health.
Gratitude is an antidote to worry, stress, and anxiety. It also improves happiness by increasing positive emotions like joy, contentment, love, and pride. Gratitude helps people sleep better and increases energy levels and appreciation for others.
Two easy ways to practice gratitude:
1. Expressing gratitude verbally (to yourself or someone else). Thanking someone who has helped, been kind to you, or brightened your day goes a long way.
2. Note what you’re thankful for in a journal or mobile app. Any notebook will do, but journals and mobile apps like Gratitude offer prompts to help you get over any blocks.
4. Get Grounded
Have you heard of grounding or earthing? It’s the idea that connecting with the earth by walking barefoot or lying on the grass can positively affect the body. And it turns out; scienceis starting to back this theory up.
Research has shown that grounding can help reduce inflammation and pain and improve mood. Amazingly, something as simple as taking off your shoes and connecting with the earth can profoundly impact your health and well-being. So next time you have the chance, why not try it? Who knows, it might just make you feel a little better.
5. Watch Nostalgic Shows
We’re giving you permission to veg out! The familiarity of nostalgic shows can provide security and calmness, especially when life is chaotic. Mindless shows are also easy to turn on in the background to help decompress in the short term. Set a timer or show limit because too much screen time can exacerbate depression symptoms.
6. Listen to Music
Music has a way of affecting our mood like no other.
It’s amazing how a good beat and catchy lyrics can turn a bad day into a good one in minutes. Whether you’re into pop, rock, hip-hop, or classical, it’s all about finding what works for you. Sometimes, all it takes is a few tunes from your favorite artist to get you out of a funk. So pop in those earbuds, crank up the volume, and let the music take you to a better place.
7. Light Hobbies
You know those days when your body doesn’t want to cooperate? When even getting out of bed feels like a Herculean feat? Those are the moments when having a few go-to hobbies in your back pocket is essential. Maybe it’s knitting, puzzling, or coloring. Maybe it’s something else entirely. Having a favorite activity that doesn’t require a ton of physical stamina can be a game-changer. Not only do they help you pass the time, but they can also work wonders for your mental health.
When you’re feeling anxious or stressed, there’s something incredibly soothing about focusing on a creative project for a while. So next time you’re in need of a bit of zen, reach for your crafting supplies and get to work. Your body (and mind) will thank you.
8. Family and Friends
Relationships are the ultimate human experience. When nurturing and long-lasting, they can bring about a sense of belonging and purpose that is hard to come by otherwise.
The feeling of being seen and valued in a relationship is powerful, and it can boost our mood and self-worth in ways we may not realize.
When we have someone who listens, understands, and appreciates us for who we are, we feel more able to express ourselves and show our vulnerability. And, of course, having a supportive partner or friend can make all the difference in our daily life.
But did you know that chemicals in our brains are released when we form close and loving connections with others? Dopamine and endorphins are two of the many feel-good hormones that can make us feel happier and more fulfilled. Lean into your close relationships, especially during challenging times.
9. Faith and Spirituality
Faith can be tricky because it often intersects with religion, which people have strong opinions about. At our community, we believe that spirituality comes in different shapes and sizes, and you can lean into whatever resonates with you.
Whether it’s religion, the universe, or any other belief system, there’s power in positive thoughts and prayer that can help us find peace even in the midst of chaos. It’s amazing how letting go of the things we can’t control can strengthen our faith. So, take a deep breath and trust that your beliefs will guide you.
10. Develop a Flare Care Plan Before You’re in a Flare
Anyone with an autoimmune disease knows flare-ups and tough mental health days can be a real struggle. When you’re in the thick of it, it can feel like trying to climb a mountain with a backpack full of bricks. Everything seems difficult and exhausting. That’s why a plan is so important before you hit rock bottom.
When you’re feeling well, set up a support system and pick out activities you enjoy and find relaxing. That way, when things get tough, you’ll have a blueprint for caring for yourself during hard times. The simple act of having a plan can help us through.
Try the Tools Before You Need Them
You know what they say, practice makes perfect! The same goes for your toolkit. Don’t wait until you’re in a crisis to experiment with different tools. Take your time to try different tactics and see what works best for you.
The great thing about trying out new tools when you’re open-minded is that you may discover something you never thought would work for you. Plus, once you find what works, you’ll already be a pro when using it in a real situation. So don’t be afraid to get out there and try something new. Trust us – your future self will thank you.
Celebrating Self-Acceptance and Perseverance through Parenting with a Chronic Illness
Karin W
May 5, 2023
Surviving: chronic fatigue, hair loss, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, nausea, dizziness, bouts of confusion and inability to focus, insomnia, memory issues, headaches, joint pain, etc.
Striving: a diagnosis! and treatment
How long have you been on your journey with autoimmune issues? While I haven’t been diagnosed, I’ve dealt with autoimmune issues for about a decade. At the very least, I’ve been dealing with something chronic for at least that long.
What was your turning point in looking to improve your health? Basically, now. This is a new journey for me. I’ve put on significant weight and have noticed that even light physical activity that I used to do easily exhausts me within minutes. As the mother of an active 6-year-old, I need to be able to walk alongside her while she scooters around town, sit on her bedroom floor for an hour and play ponies, carry her to bed when she falls asleep on me on the couch.
But I also do it for me. I miss looking in the mirror and not hating myself. What I see isn’t even an echo of what others see because whatever it is I’m dealing with has warped my own perceptions of myself beyond recognition.
And I miss having the energy to actively participate in my life.
What’s something you’ve learned along the way?
Something that’s been a rude awakening, but also freeing, is that what I’m dealing with is (mostly) invisible. It’s hard to offer others the benefit of the doubt when they keep nudging me to do this or that when I’m out of spoons or offer inane advice like smoothies and jogging, but the flipside of that is that what I am frustrated with myself for right now they don’t see.
I shaved my head because my hair loss became depressing. Others see a badass, someone who doesn’t care what others think, an artistic temperament, a free spirit. (And to some extent, they’re not wrong, even if I’ve lost track of her.)
I see dark circles under my eyes, thirty extra pounds, stretch marks, and patches of scalp. I see my calendar and all the events I missed out on. I see my daughter’s eyes when I let her know we have to head back inside because I’m just too tired to continue again.
I know what got me here, and I can hate it all I want, but here’s the thing: most people just see another human living their life. They meet you for the first time wherever you are in your journey, and that’s who you are to them. You see every moment of your own life, the behind-the-scenes exclusive; they see snapshots.
If they judge based on that, eff them. And honestly? I don’t think most bother.
What advice would you give someone starting in their autoimmunity journey?
Meet yourself where you are. It’s okay to want more and to work towards it, and the desire to improve your situation is crucial to seek out the support you need–but on those days where you just can’t? Don’t, and don’t feel bad for it.
What are you currently striving for?
Above all, a diagnosis and treatment–whatever that looks like. I have difficulty making it to appointments, and severe medical anxiety, so I know it will be a long road. But at the end of the day, having a diagnosis will give me a basis for making more informed decisions about my health.
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Karin W 
September 19, 2023 
Karin W