I’ve always been a strongly motivated, driven, and ambitious woman. I deeply admire these same qualities in others.
However, I find myself thinking about whether being strongly motivated is truly beneficial, versus a liability, when you’re living with chronic illness.
Persistent health challenges demand that we alter just how much we are able to accomplish. In this respect, being strongly motivated may serve to make adjustment to ongoing limitations that much more difficult.
If you’re deeply motivated, you don’t go down without a fight when your own body restricts what you’re capable of accomplishing. On the other hand, the persistence that accompanies strong motivation can enhance coping with chronic illness.
It can motivate us to discover alternative ways to accomplish our same goals. In a sense, we shift our motivation from reaching our previous goals, toward achieving the highest degree of adjustment to our very limitations.
