Change happens. As this short poem implies, change happens even if we sit quietly and do nothing. Even if we actively try to keep things the same. Twenty-five hundred years ago, another wise man, Heraclites, said, “You cannot step in the same river twice.” The river, too, is constantly flowing, constantly changing.
This Well-being article is about dealing with change.
Cheryl reached a milestone: her 15th week on the Diabetes Control for Life™ Program. Thinking back, she remembered feeling intimidated by the thought of making lifestyle changes — even healthy changes. Cheryl liked routine; she found change unsettling. But she used all the resources and tips the program offered her, got off to a sound start, and kept moving on down the track.
What helped Cheryl most were her social support system, and especially her relationship with a coworker who became her exercise buddy. Cheryl and Cherise established their own routines and rituals. Every day at work they had lunch together at the same table, with the same view of the park, and drank their Glucerna SR™ Shakes. In the afternoon, they walked around the building during their 10-minute break. Three evenings a week, they worked out together at the fitness center at Cheryl’s apartment complex.
Needless to say, when Cherise announced that she was quitting her job and moving out of town, Cheryl was devastated. She wasn’t totally caught by surprise. Cherise’s mother was elderly and frail, and Cherise had talked a lot about moving home to care for her. But Cheryl hadn’t thought about how to handle the loss of her program buddy. She didn’t have a Plan B.
The first few days after Cherise left were tough for Cheryl. She didn’t have a hard time sticking to her meal plans. She sat with a couple of other coworkers at lunch and drank her Glucerna SR Shake without feeling tempted by the bland cafeteria food. But Cheryl found it easier and easier to skip physical activity. She stopped taking 10-minute walks during the afternoon. Then she started to find excuses to go home rather than to the gym after work.
Then she stopped losing weight. Then she gained a kilogram. And her glucose levels weren’t as healthy as they’d been.
Cheryl took stock of what had happened. She realized that she had been so inflexible that even though she saw a stumbling block ahead, she couldn’t switch tracks and got derailed. She had been so rigid in her routine that she couldn’t roll with the punches. Once she realized what inflexibility had cost her, she adjusted her routine — in fact, she planned several alternate routines. She also met several new workout buddies, and with their encouragement, she got back on track.
By now, you’ve probably created some new routines to help you control your diabetes. Maybe every Wednesday night you try a new soup or salad recipe. Maybe after lunch at work, you take a 20-minute walk, rather than linger at the table. Maybe you take long rides on a country bike trail on Saturday mornings. Developing routines is important to making healthy lifestyle changes.
But don’t forget that your life is always changing. Expect change and be ready for it whenever you can. Be flexible. Being flexible means to avoid being so rigid that you fall apart if your routine is disturbed. Have a Plan B in case you have an unexpected business dinner on Wednesday night. Or the weather is so crummy you can’t get out to walk at lunchtime. Or your daughter has a soccer game on Saturday morning and you can’t take the long bike ride you were planning. Don’t let her soccer game stop you from getting in some physical activity. Walk around while you watch the game. Plan to take your bike ride in the evening. Do extra yard work that weekend.
A few years ago, a simple little book about dealing with change became an international best seller. You may have heard about it, or even read it. It’s called Who Moved My Cheese?, written by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
The heroes of the story are two mice and two tiny humans who live in a maze. All four live on cheese, which appears at Cheese Stations at various points in the maze (the cheese represents something that’s important to an individual).
At one Cheese Station, the four heroes find a large piece of cheese, and settle in to enjoy it. But the hunk of cheese shrinks over the ensuing days, and soon the cheese is gone.
The mice respond quickly and intuitively, running off to look for more cheese. The little humans are reluctant to leave the Cheese Station, so they stick around, thinking and arguing about where the cheese went and when it would return. Finally, one of them decides the cheese isn’t going to come back to that Cheese Station, so he, too, goes off in search of more cheese, leaving his stubborn companion behind. Eventually, the little human who chose not to cling to the old, defunct Cheese Station finds a different Station with not only more cheese, but also a better selection of cheeses.
Here’s how Dr. Johnson summarizes the lesson of the cheese:
So embrace change. Don’t get stuck at an empty Cheese Station. You’ll find a lot of wonderful new options — some great new cheese — around the corner.
Consider each of the routines you have in place right now to control your diabetes. What you eat. When you eat. With whom you eat. How you exercise. With whom you exercise. Describe one of those routines.
Now think about and write what you would do if you were no longer able to follow this routine. In other words, describe your Plan B.
