It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut – especially when it comes to managing a chronic condition. I used to work with a lot of parents of kids with type 1 diabetes, and I remember many conversations that included, “that’s not the way we do it.” I know that I too have certain ways of doing things, and sometimes I have struggled to try a new idea or a new way of doing something.
The great thing about humans is that we can change. We don’t have to stay the same way or do the same things forever. We can choose to change, take a different viewpoint, adjust our attitude, try something new. And if we find out that the new way doesn’t fit so well, we can choose to go back to the old way.
In terms of diabetes, I’ve been slow to try some new things. And some of them are pretty laughable to people who are currently trying every new-fangled thing that comes out. It took me forever to inject quickly. I was a slow injecter for years. It wasn’t until I was pregnant and injecting all the time that I finally tried injecting quickly – and it really does hurt less. Everyone who had told me that over the years was right! Another example is short needles. I used longer (regular length) needles until about a year ago. Crazy, I know, but I truly believed they worked better for me. It took a skin thickness test at a conference exhibit to show me that short needles would get the job done.
Where have you gotten stuck in your life? What changes were you slow to make?