Believing in yourself is so important to your overall wellbeing.
What things are you doing to empower yourself?
Some people challenge themselves by learning new things or surround themselves with supportive, positive people who believe in them.
Please share your self-empowerment tools here!
I have just started volunteering at a hospice close to my home. Its not terribly physical and for my sanity i had to get out of the house. This will get me back in touch with people other than the grocery store and library. My family unfortunately is not very supportive of me or my health problems and my so called close friends have bailed. Hopefully this will get me moving and not so obsessed with my own health issues.
First. I have a cup of coffee. Then I stand up hands on hips legs slightly spread and look ahead thinking here is today. I maintain postive thoughts for about two minutes. This starts me off on a high note. Try it. You may be suprised.
That is an awesome thing to do Janis! I agree, getting out of the house is very empowering. I am sorry family and friends aren't supportive but you have the right attitude, get up and try to focus on other things. It absolutely helps me when I don't constantly think or worry about health issues / pain. Hugs.
janis said:
I have just started volunteering at a hospice close to my home. Its not terribly physical and for my sanity i had to get out of the house. This will get me back in touch with people other than the grocery store and library. My family unfortunately is not very supportive of me or my health problems and my so called close friends have bailed. Hopefully this will get me moving and not so obsessed with my own health issues.
Though I agree with; 'Believing in yourself is so important to your overall wellbeing.' and I do always try to have a positive outlook, I sometimes find it difficult to be motivated and thus 'self' empowered. I suppose we can all feel like that at times!
I have been going to physiotherapy for some weeks now and have found it very good for me in general and as a 'knock on' of this, I will sign up to a local gym soon and I know that will also be good for me. As well as the getting out of the house and the exercise benefits, the gym visits will afford me interaction with other people and that will be good too.
Not sure if they count as 'empowerment tools', but here are some of the things that I think are good for me;
- I always try to stay positive (even on bad days!).
- I try to visit my small circle of good friends often or have them visit me.
- IT / Computing are something of a life time love / hate affair for me! I occassionally construct small games or such with computer programming tools.
- My drawing skills are next to non existant but I sometimes use art and animation packages (PC) for small tasks such as graphics for the games mentioned above.
- I have recently got hold of a drawing package that allows construction of 'whole' images from 'parts' and thus makes animation much easier and I am slowly learning how to use it. I feel that just about any learning process is very good.
- Music soothes the savage beast! Sometimes music can be very relaxing but it can also invigorate and make me (or anyone) ready to face whatever the rest of the day brings.
- Getting out and about. I do not necessarily mean social 'nights out' though they can help! Any getting out such as a visit to the doctors, a trip to get the shopping in, a visit to a town other than where I live or just a simple ride around the streets ( I cannot walk far so use a mobility scooter) can do a lot to make me feel better.
Last on the list (though not bulleted), I always find this fibro forum and the ataxia forums I use very beneficial. Maybe I do not reply to all the threads I read but just the reading itself can be amazingly empowering and I cannot thank my fellows on these pages enough for that.
Kindest regards all; peace and long life.
Hi,
Not wanting to derail the thread but in reply as asked;
The drawing package I got for drawing 'whole images' in 'parts' is great for making computer graphics that are to be animated - such as a walking character or a wobbling logo. The package has many features and I have only just scratched the surface so to say. In examples made by other users or for tutorial needs, I have seen the package used for drawing a background but then only showing foreground images / components as needed. Also, component 'parts' or images or the 'whole' can be rotated, translated or scaled. Also, images can be joined with 'bones' for easy manipulation!
Though it may take time to learn how to use the package or how to get good results that are suitable for needs - such as the animated book idea, it may well be worth checking out the package.
The package is by Esoteric Software and is called 'Spine' and is available as 'Try Now' or 'Purchase' (varying package prices). http://esotericsoftware.com/
Back on subject;
Reading can be fun, educational and empowering. This was 'brought home to me' so to say recently when, on the same day as the anniversary of the death of my younger brother, my favourite author passed away! When I left school, way back in history (just after time began), I had an OK education - not great and not dismal. I had all but given up on reading back then. One day, I was given a tatty (well loved) copy of one of the first books by the author who later became my favourite. From that day on, I was inspired to read more by the author in question and more and more and more by many other authors too. Reading empowered me and inspired me and later in life I returned to education and managed to get to HND standard in 'Computing' - not the greatest yet good enough for me. I never would have returned to education if not for that one book! The author? Well ... I'm glad you asked. Sir Terry Pratchett will always be my favourite author because his wonderous tails made me interested in reading again and this started a chain of a type of empowerment that I reamain truly grateful for.