A SUPER-powered WP Engine Atlas Test Site

Joe&#039;s Atlas Experimentation Site

I’m not a big believer in making New Year’s resolutions. There’s something that feels bad about setting a goal that’s lofty — learning a new language is one of my perennial favorites, for example — and then not accomplishing it. Plus, I keep a daily to-do list that includes some small self-improvement items, and I work regularly, and with mixed results, to attain those.
As a <a href="https://www.als.org/navigating-als/for-caregivers">caregiver</a> for my late husband, Jeff, I also came to learn over time (and often the hard way) to be kinder to myself, to show myself some grace in what I could and could not reasonably accomplish. Caring for a loved one with a terminal illness is an act of grace unto itself and while it’s the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done, I found it very hard both physically and emotionally.
For all of these reasons, I haven’t thought about New Year’s resolutions in a very long time. But this year I’ve decided to catalog some specific goals for myself as they relate to <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/what-is-als/">ALS</a>.
<h3>Build my network of ALS community through volunteering</h3>
Before Jeff was <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/als-diagnosis/">diagnosed with ALS,</a> I did not often volunteer my time. I’d occasionally donate blood or participate in an organized activity through work, but volunteering wasn’t part of my daily life. When Jeff became ill, I felt overwhelmed, isolated, and scared, and realized that I needed to connect with other caregivers and families living with ALS. That led me to the then-newly formed <a href="https://www.iamals.org/">I AM ALS</a>, where I have found a true home and the chance to get and give support through building and participating in community events.
One of the most rewarding for me is participating as a speaker or moderator on <a href="https://www.iamals.org/action/request-a-panel/">Tim Lowrey ALS Panels,</a> named for my friend Tim Lowrey, who created them. These events are complimentary speaking panels that our team delivers to colleges and community organizations to help them learn about the disease.
I AM ALS is the group I found, but there are literally dozens of <a href="https://www.youralsguide.com/resource-list.html">organizations</a> both small and large that rely on volunteer time and expertise to thrive. While I did not have time to volunteer much, if at all, while caregiving, I have found that doing so while grieving and healing is deeply meaningful.
[recommended-reading id=36240]
<h3>Strengthen my support for people living with ALS and caregiving</h3>
When Jeff was diagnosed, a few complete strangers reached out to me. They had lost a parent or spouse to ALS, and instinctively understood the shock and bewilderment Jeff and I were feeling. These new friends were a lifeline to me — from calling to check on me or stopping by to bring me a nice-smelling body scrub, to answering my scariest, most personal questions.
Now, more than three years after Jeff’s death, it feels natural to want to do this for others. <a href="https://www.als.org/navigating-als/living-with-als">Living with ALS</a> can be lonely, and I learned firsthand what a difference it makes when someone who understands reaches out with empathy and kindness to help. I am far from alone in this; so many of my friends in the ALS community are those who have lost a spouse, parent, sibling, or best friend and want to help others feel less alone. Volunteer groups, once again, are a valuable way to meet others to <a href="https://www.iamals.org/get-help/">get or give support</a>.
<h3>Raise money for a cure</h3>
I’m terrible at asking for money and would have made a horrible salesperson, although, recalling my teenage years, my parents would surely disagree. However, when it comes to raising money for ALS it’s much easier because it will take many millions of dollars to further the groundbreaking science currently underway to end it.
This year, I signed on to participate in the <a href="https://www.nyrr.org/races/2023/unitedairlinesnychalf/">United Airlines New York Half Marathon</a> to raise money for the <a href="https://www.als.net/">ALS Therapy Development Institute</a>. This was one of the most memorable aspects of my year. I raised a sum higher than I’d endeavored to do before, and met my goal. On a 28-degree morning in March, I joined a team of other participants in New York to traverse 13.1 miles through Brooklyn and Manhattan, ending in Central Park. I’m not a natural runner and I walked nearly the entire course, but I finished the race. Most importantly, our team raised a significant sum for ALS TDI, and it felt great.
I won’t make any other New Year’s resolutions this year. I’ll keep plugging away at my personal growth in areas like building my fitness, learning new skills and growing as a person. But it feels good to have some specific plans to help end ALS, and to support people living with it and their families.
Thank you for reading my column this year. I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and happy 2024.
<hr />
Note: <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/">ALS News Today</a> is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/approved-treatments-for-als/">treatment</a>. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of ALS News Today or its parent company, BioNews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to ALS.

Restarting New Year’s resolutions with 3 goals for the ALS community

Is anyone else bombarded by social media messages to set goals, make New Year’s resolutions, or create a bucket list for 2024? I sure have been. In my pre-<a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/what-is-als/">ALS</a> days, I heeded the reminders. I looked forward to breaking in a brand-new desk calendar and filling it with my activities and goals for the coming year. Heck, I even had three- and five-year goals. But now, like most other ALS patients, I plan my life one month at a time.
However, I have found success with a unique twist on goal-setting, a practice I began at the beginning of 2022. <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/my-2022-new-years-intention-simply-be/">I challenged myself to simply be</a>. To be in the present moment, to be aware of myself and the people and things around me. And to not get pulled into the distractions or negative vibes I might encounter.
A simple intention, and one that I soon discovered to be a darn difficult thing to accomplish.
[recommended-reading id=86132]
<h3>What happened?</h3>
Lest you think I spent the year of my personal challenge leisurely swinging in a hammock, or that my face held a perpetual Zen monk’s grin, distractions were constant and everywhere. But I was determined to keep at it another year, so I created several small strategies to help me get through 2023.
Recalling my days as a former yoga instructor, I incorporated the <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/life-with-als-is-about-balance-effort-ease/">concept of effort and ease</a>. If I felt frustrated by how much effort was needed to do even simple things, I’d find solutions to make them easy again. An electric toothbrush and Velcro closures on my shoes conserved the energy in my hands. This meant I could use my hands for my favorite activities, like knitting or typing <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/living-well-with-als-dagmar-munn/">this column</a>. The time spent doing enjoyable things was time I didn’t spend distracted thinking about my ALS.
When I began worrying that time was slipping away and I wasn’t keeping up with productive projects, I <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/how-ive-benefited-from-finding-flow-with-my-als/">explored the mental state of flow</a>. Whenever I noticed that I&#8217;d lost focus or wasn’t paying attention, I used personal flow awareness practices to bring my mind into the present moment.
Finally, because so many who <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/living-with-als-2/">live with ALS</a> expect things to go wrong and so focus on the negative, I decided to begin noticing <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/when-things-go-right-my-week-living-with-als/">when things went well</a>. In between the usual daily calamities and near calamities, I looked for moments of calm. There were so many more than I&#8217;d anticipated. What a gift not to miss these gems hiding all around me. 
<h3>End-of-year results</h3>
Was it worth it? You bet it was. I credit these strategies with helping me achieve more time being mindful and in the present moment. I felt less stressed, stopped unnecessary worry, and maintained a positive attitude about my life.
The funny thing was that I realized my simple intention transformed itself into a full-fledged goal and is now a permanent part of my day. That’s how just one small change, one small step of daily progress, can become a habit.
Try setting an intention to &#8220;simply be.&#8221; It’s one more strategy that will help you learn how to live well with ALS.
<hr />
Note: <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/">ALS News Today</a> is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/als-diagnosis/">diagnosis</a>, or <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/approved-treatments-for-als/">treatment</a>. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of ALS News Today or its parent company, BioNews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to ALS.

How setting an intention to ‘simply be’ became an ALS goal

As much as I&#8217;d love to be perceived as an I’ve-got-it-all-figured-out sort of <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/what-is-als/">ALS</a> patient, I’m not. I have to invent mental strategies all the time to help me navigate through my day. Lately, I’ve been easily distracted and not paying attention to what I’m doing. Only then will an episode of nearly tripping or almost choking pull me from my fuzzy thinking and back into the present moment.
Maybe it’s just the changing weather, my feeling that the world is moving faster, or the daily bombardment of ads and grim news that sets my thoughts swirling like a shaken snow globe. I needed a quick mental prompt. Something more than “just breathe,” more than “notice my surroundings,” and I found it by imagining that I have a mission.
Here’s how it works.
<h3>Traversing the moat</h3>
When I arrived at the salon the other day for my monthly haircut, I found a challenge waiting for me. The day was busy, with cars filling the parking lot. Customers were darting in and out of the single-door entrance and sidestepping rivets of water collecting on the brick patio out front, all because one staff member was watering the pots there with a long, serpentine hose.
[recommended-reading id=82022]
My husband parked our van near the entrance, but I still had to cross an area of gravel to reach the patio area, plus navigate the various obstacles awaiting me. That’s when a stern voice in my head said, “Dagmar, your mission is to make it from here to inside the building.”
If you’re old enough to remember the original &#8220;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060009/" rel="nofollow">Mission: Impossible</a>&#8221; TV series, feel free to insert the familiar theme music here. I then imagined I were a <a href="https://www.nsw.navy.mil/NSW/SEAL-Ethos/" rel="nofollow">Navy SEAL</a> with a laserlike focus on getting in, getting out, and accomplishing my mission.
So, wearing my <a href="https://www.rch.org.au/orthotic/info_for_parents/anklefoot_orthoses_afos/">ankle-foot orthoses</a> (AFOs), I pushed my <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/rollator-acceptance-independence/">rollator</a> over the uneven, bumpy gravel and made it to the patio. Avoiding the missing and broken bricks along my route, I rolled through the water and let the scurrying customers dodge me. 
No scattered thoughts, no anxiety. I told myself, “You can do this” — and when I did it, it felt good. My mental and physical energy had shifted to a sense of confidence.
<h3>My other missions</h3>
This strategy of identifying an imaginary mission has many times helped me deal with various frustrations, such as wrestling with the Velcro on my AFOs or using the handicapped stall in a public restroom and discovering the grab bars are wobbly and unreliable.
Whenever I need a quick way to focus my attention for a short time, I change the task to a mission, one that&#8217;s strategic and achievable.
That’s the thing about <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/living-with-als-2/">living with ALS</a>: There’s always a challenge. And boy, do I try to meet each challenge head-on. From imagining I’m in a <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/mental-exercise-game-stress/">driver’s ed training film</a> or an <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/als-life-requires-resilience-tap-into-your-inner-astronaut/">astronaut lost on Mars</a>, to <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/columns/how-shift-into-als-manual-mode/">shifting into manual mode</a>, these strategies help me, and I hope they can help you, too.
It’s all part of learning to live well while living with ALS.
<hr />
Note: <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/">ALS News Today</a> is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/als-diagnosis/">diagnosis</a>, or <a href="https://alsnewstoday.com/approved-treatments-for-als/">treatment</a>. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of ALS News Today or its parent company, BioNews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to ALS.

Tag: goals

Restarting New Year’s resolutions with 3 goals for the ALS community

How setting an intention to ‘simply be’ became an ALS goal

My new ALS management strategy is to give myself a mission