Look in the mirror

What do you see?

Ten years ago when I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, I did NOT see myself as strong, courageous or capable of handling a diagnosis of that magnitude.

I was paralyzed by fear. Big fears like getting colon cancer and fear of not being around to see my kids grow up. And, not so big fears as well; what it meant to have to take a drug for the rest of my life, how I was going to be able to afford the financial hardships of having a disease, fear of social mishaps (if you have IBD, you know what I mean), and fear of how this disease would affect those closest to me.

I sat with my fears for a little while and then slowly, a new version of myself emerged. I don’t know the exact moment but I just recall deciding one day that I wasn’t going to wait around for someone else to come along and “save me”. I wasn’t going to solely rely on a magic pill to do all the work.

I started researching, took action and just kept plugging along until I reached a point in my journey that I made a conscious decision that I was going to fully participate in my health and wellness like never before.

If I can do it, anybody can!

Now, when I look in the mirror, I see a very strong, determined and capable person that has exactly what it takes to successfully navigate the ups and downs of IBD.

So, what kind of person do you see in the mirror? I hope you see yourself as your own super hero!

What have you accomplished that you didn’t think you didn’t think you were capable of accomplishing?