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Looking Ahead Can Result In a Better Today

I have Parkinson’s and I’m currently stage 2 or 3 depending on the day. If I don’t look at my life as being more than Parkinson’s, I can and sometimes do find myself in a day-to-day focus on my Parkinson’s symptoms.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a very serious chronic disease with no cure in sight. It is often viewed as an inevitable slow decline or as my friend likes to say: “A death of a thousand cuts”. 

Because of those views, many of us with Parkinson’s find looking forward too painful or even scary. Instead, we dwell on living day-to-day. This is not necessarily bad. But one can be mired in the minutiae of PD and it can negatively affect your quality of life.

Changing the focus

Last night, I watched a Gardener’s World clip about a family trying to deal with a seemingly endless medical tragedy revolving around the father and Covid. The wife and the rest of her family had found a way to get around the unrelenting daily bad news.

She called her coping mechanism, “investing today for a future payout”. Her family emphasized gardening as the father in the hospital loved gardening. Planning, buying seeds, planting, and tending to the garden became a daily activity with a happy future focus or payout.

They are anticipating their father seeing all the colors when he is released from the hospital. A very neat way to put some amount of every day towards looking forward to a future with a happy or satisfying result. It also avoids concentrating on the negative all day.

How I look forward

As I thought about what that family was doing and why they were doing it, I saw a direct connection with my Parkinson’s and the actions I take to look forward rather than focus on today’s Parkinson’s hurdles. Here are some examples:

Gardening- My wife and I are also into gardening. Planning additions and replacements in the winter months and then planting in the spring gives us a non-Parkinson’s focus. The blooms are the payoff.

Reading- Almost every day, I’m in the process of reading several books or starting a new one with the satisfaction of finishing out at least several days. A positive focus that’s non-Parkinson’s in fulfillment.

Exercising- I have committed to my friends that I’ll be with them in exercise for the future. Again, something positive with a future payout.

Planning a trip- We’re currently planning a trip to Santa Fe. Time spent now for future enjoyment.

Researching my ancestry- I spend time researching my ancestry almost every day. I’m not looking for ancestors who have Parkinson’s. Instead I’m now researching colorful ancestors to go into a book for my kids and grandkids.

I think there’s a pattern here. I spend as much of the day as I can on pursuits other than Parkinson’s. My activities are generally non-Parkinson’s in focus and represent today’s work for a future positive outcome. How about you?

Ways to think about the future

I’m willing to bet, even if you currently find yourself in a daily loop, you are already doing some things that are non-Parkinson’s in nature but they are at the bottom of your thoughts. Here are five things to try.

  • Add new projects that will give you future positive outcomes
  • Reverse your daily task list so non-Parkinson’s activities are more dominant in your thinking
  • Crowd out your Parkinson’s day-to-day worries as much as you can and stay safe in your activities
  • Commit to your friends and family to engage in new non-Parkinson’s activities
  • Continue to exercise and even add exercise to your schedule

Give the concept a try and let me know how it works for you.

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This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The ParkinsonsDisease.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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