I watched a youtube video with my family the other day. This red octopus worked his way through a tiny rectangular slit in the side of a boat and back out into the ocean. Slow and steady, he finally made it through.
6 Things an octopus can teach us about life with #chronicillness. #invisibleillness #spoonie
As I thought about this 2.08-minute video I realized this octopus had a thing or two to teach us about living with chronic illness.
-
- You have to be flexible. If he would have stiffened up he wouldn’t have made it. What’s stopping you from getting where you want to go? Really think about it. Is there an area where you might be able to move forward if you were just a bit more flexible? Go with it! Be flexible and learn to do life differently. A diagnosis of #chronicillness forces you to make changes. #invisibleillness
- You have to stay focused. Now, this might sound like it’s a contradiction from the first statement, but it’s not. Staying focused on his goal of getting back home is what kept this blob of a creature moving forward. He didn’t start sliding around on the deck of the ship looking for something to eat or checking out the weird two-legged creatures that were filming him. Can you identify your goals to the point that you aren’t going to be easily distracted by other things?
- You have to take one tentacle (step) at a time. If you haven’t seen the video, you might want to take a second and click here to check it out. It was pretty amazing. This animal was sliding one tentacle through the hole at a time. Life post-diagnosis needs to be taken one day at a time. The diets to try, meds and supplements to test, and lifestyle changes won’t help overnight. You won’t wake up one morning and “poof!” your dreams and goals have magically come to be and you’re perfectly healthy again. Nope, not happening. You have to take steps to reach your goals of better health. There’s a necessary process to get where you want to be.
- Don’t be so scared of the process that you give up. This octopus was red because he was angry, or scared, or maybe both. There were men on the boat saying he’d never make it. You may have people around you saying you’ll never make it either! Don’t let the process scare you away or make you so angry that you give up. If the end is worth having, it’s worth putting in the effort and dealing with some frustrations. There is pain in any good birth story!
- Once you’ve completed the steps, the body should slide through easier. That’s what happened. Once each of his tentacles was successfully through the hole, his body slid along right behind all those slinking limbs. When you complete the necessary steps to regain your health to the best it can be, life will work much smoother. Not necessarily the way it was before, but smoother.
- Finishing the task can change who you are. After the octopus was back in the water he turned white again. The fear and frustration were gone; he had completed his task and reached his goal. He relaxed into the cold, deep water and changed from what he looked like through the process. When you finally get to the end of your mission you will have changed as well; even if the only change is that you learned a bit more perseverance.
But what if it’s more? What if there is a paradigm shift that takes place and changes who you are at your core for the better? Isn’t that worth all the time and effort? What if it means being able to enjoy life a bit more despite your illness? What if it leads to the job of your dreams or positioning you to touch the lives of others in an impoverished country? You may never know the depth of the impact a certain process will have on your life or on the lives of those around you. But if you quit, there won’t be any impact at all. If the octopus had given up – he would have been dinner!
Where are you on your health journey? Where do you need to be flexible, focused, and brave? Take one day at a time, my friend! You may just like who you become during the process.
