My name is Chris, and I have been invited to write the last CFLF blog of 2014!  A bit about me – I’m 34 and happen to have CF.  I’m also married, able to work, and have placed physical fitness at the center of my self-care.

It might be the New Year, but I’m not a very big fan of resolutions.  I prefer sustainable lifestyle changes that maximize health and happiness, not forced crash diets that never work and leave people with a sense of self loathing.  Being optimistic and maintaining positive self esteem doesn’t just happen automatically, and is a teachable skill. In that spirit, I would like to share 15 tools, sources of positive reinforcement, and life choices that I used in 2014 and will continue to use in 2015 that help me motivate myself, maintain a positive attitude about life in general, and maximize my health and entire well being. Some of them are a bit silly, others pretty obvious, but they all combine into the things I do everyday to keep myself as healthy as possible, adherent to my CF regimen, and able to do and enjoy all of the things that give my life meaning. 

 

1)    I do Things I like to do

This sounds a bit silly, but anyone with CF knows that IVs aren’t fun, nebulizers aren’t fun, and polypectomies are definitely not fun.  Given all that unpleasantness, I do stuff that I like to do when I’m not doing those things.  I like to run, I like to ride my bike, and I like to ski.  Physical exercise is not more treatment, and I don’t do it because my respiratory therapist thinks it is a good idea.  I do it because I love it.  It is a break from the many not so fun things about CF, and provides an immediate, short term, tangible reason why I do my routine. 

 

2)    Amazing People Help

Surrounding myself with positive, supportive people who care about me makes life better.  My wonderful wife enables my athletic, academic and professional accomplishments while keeping me grounded in what matters most. Individual athletic pursuits don’t really matter all that much by themselves, but they contribute to a happier, healthier life for the both of us as we prepare to grow our family. 

My brother was one of the first people who truly pushed me to be my best.  As we’ve matured, the sibling rivalry that drove us both has grown into creating some amazing experiences together – ski weekends, extended bike trips, etc. As I was growing up, my parents never kept me out of any activity due to my CF diagnosis, and set the stage for my fearless approach to life with CF.

Over the last few years, I have looked for and found other active people with CF. Getting to know others with similar approaches to life with CF, feeling like I’m not the only person with CF out there trying to push the limits of the possible (instead of feeling like the exception at clinic), and sharing successes and difficulties is incredibly enriching and motivating. 

 

3)    Gear is Good!

There is nothing like a new pair of running pants to reinvigorate winter activity, or a new bike jersey to make me feel excited about riding.  While the monthly budget is important, occasionally splurging on items that make training more exciting is well worth the money!

 

4)    Healthy Goal Setting

I set short, medium, and long term goals that motivate me to adhere to my treatment regimen.  I know that the only way I will be able to run another marathon, have a fulfilling career, and be a true partner as a husband is if I connect my adherence to things I am passionate about.  Doing so lowers the “price” of adherence.  I’m not giving up anything to take the time to do my treatments, I’m making everything else possible by doing them. 

When I set athletic goals, I don’t just make a list of stuff I would one day like to do.  Healthy goal setting requires a few things:  the goal must be realistic.  I’m not going to climb Everest.  Due to health risks, expense, likelihood of death, and almost certain spousal abandonment, it is not reasonable for me.  Therefore, climbing Everest would be a bad goal. The goal must be challenging:  Marathons are hard, but in the range of possible, and carry only a slight risk of spousal abandonment; therefore, running a marathon (preferably faster than my first one) is a reasonable goal.  The goal must require sustained preparation.  If the goal is something I could do in a day, without trying very hard, it wouldn’t give me the benefit of working towards it and maintaining my routine in the process.  The “event” becomes a celebration of that sustained effort.

 

5)    Commit

Pay registration fees.  Tell friends what the plan is.  This creates accountability, and motivates me on the harder days.  Build momentum towards accomplishing the goal (athletic or otherwise), and increase the likelihood of success!  In 2015 I will ski the Lake Placid Loppet, do the Mt. Washington Hillclimb, and (maybe) run the Pittsburgh marathon.  There I said it…. Now it has to happen!   

 

6)    Define Success

I don’t expect to “win” the events I sign up for.  At this point in my athletic career, personal records are very nearly a thing of the past.  When I ran competitively, all I cared about was my result.  When I stopped running at that level, it took me several years to find any satisfaction in running.  I had to learn to recalibrate how I measured success. Today, I don’t measure my efforts by place, or even by time (though faster is still better).  Completion of long, difficult endurance events is usually enough, and its even better if it is an event I haven’t completed before.  I want to cross the finish line knowing I gave a full effort, maximizing my potential after preparing for the event.   

 

7)    Build on Past Success

Over the last 8 years, I have run a marathon, completed a half Ironman triathlon, hiked mountains, skied numerous cross country ski marathons, and ridden thousands of miles on my bike.  Having those accomplishments under my belt makes it much easier to sign up for other challenges, and the aerobic base fitness I have built over years of training makes many things possible for me.  I know I can do it. 

 

8)    New Challenges     

Don’t be afraid to try new things!  I try to keep things fresh by learning and trying new activities, expanding the scope of things that sound fun and exciting.  

 

9)    I have an Awesome Dog/ Training Partner

Hildegard loves to run.  When she doesn’t get enough exercise, she loves to destroy our house.  This is incredibly motivating, and as a result, I don’t miss many days of at least a 2 or 3 mile run, regardless of weather or other plans.  Our current record is 8 miles together!  She’s awesome.

 

10) Dream BIG!

I would rather over-reach and fall short than not try at all.  If my parents had asked my first CF physician at my diagnosis in 1984 “What are the chances that Chris will be an attorney, married, and running a marathon at age 33?” I don’t think they would have liked the answer, and as it turns out, the answer they would have heard would have been limiting.  Instead, they were told, “treat Chris like a normal child, and when he gets sick we’ll deal with it.” I have no desire to be “normal,” but I’m glad my physician gave my parents hope and didn’t allow them to see my potential lessened.    

 

11) Reward Yourself

When I achieve goals, I celebrate them.  I get the finisher photo and the marathon jacket.  Doing so reinforces the sense of accomplishment before moving on to whatever is next on the calendar.

 

12) Compete with Yourself

I get the most out of physical exercise when I’m trying to maximize my potential.  This has translated into my academic and professional career as well.  Maximizing my potential has nothing to do with comparing myself to others.  No one wins when they measure themselves by what others do… there is always someone faster.  The person with 35% FEV1 running a 5k is far more impressive than anything I’m doing anyway. 

 

13) Jump at Opportunities

Living with CF has taught me not to let opportunity pass by. Second chances are rare for everyone, CF or not, but the price of not trying or thinking that we will have the time to do things later is far greater for people with CF. Athletically, academically, professionally, and personally, I am a better person for having taken some risks and seized opportunity as they have presented themselves.  Make the most of them!

 

14) Acknowledge Luck

I am the first to acknowledge how lucky I am.  Individual CF mutations, yet unknown genetic modifiers, my body’s resilience to infection, my parents’ ability to cope with my diagnosis, consistent health insurance, understanding employers, coaches, and professors, my ability to develop coping mechanisms that have enabled my self-care, impeccable timing of critical drug developments that have given me treatment options… the list of good fortune goes on, and I am incredibly cognizant of it.  I know many people who have worked as hard as I have and are not able to do the things I can do, or who are no longer here.  I don’t really have a lot to say about that, but I think about it, and I think it matters.

 

15)  Be Thankful

Gratitude means a lot to me.  I’m incredibly thankful that I have the ability to do so many of the things I love, and I celebrate that. I’m also thankful for the support I receive from my wife, family and friends that makes so much of what I do possible. Every time I ride my bike over some ridiculous hill, and enjoy the descent, I acknowledge the gift.   Each year when my family gets together to participate in Cycle for Life, I’m thankful for their support.  Every day when I see my fitness carry over into maintaining my job, juggling many responsibilities, and making parenthood a possibility, I’m grateful for that opportunity.