Boost your confidence

Stop doubting yourself; you can do it!

Try these small steps to grow your confidence and foster self-trust.

Speak up

“You have to be an advocate for yourself,” says Sara Lasker, a certified diabetes educator who’s lived with type 1 for 35 years. If speaking up is a challenge, it can help to start small. At your next appointment, try asking your healthcare team to help you create one specific goal, such as eating a healthy breakfast each morning or checking your BGLs every day before lunch.

Celebrate small wins

Daily life with diabetes is filled with little moments of success – and you deserve to celebrate!

Give yourself credit for small victories: checking your BGLs twice in one day or choosing to cook at home instead of eating out. Think of a reward system to track small wins, such as putting stickers on a fridge calendar. Plan to have a larger celebration each time you hit 20 small achievements.

Make empowered choices

“You always have a choice,” says Lasker. You don’t always have to pick the healthiest option, but you should make sure you’re making choices for the right reasons. “You can have a brownie, but don’t make that choice out of rebelling against

Celebrate and reward

the little moments of

success

your disease,” she says. If you want dessert or feel like skipping a workout one day, make that part of your plan. Just remember to adjust your carbs and medication accordingly.

Learn to let go

Nobody’s perfect, but the way you talk to yourself during those imperfect moments can make all the difference. “You can beat yourself up for an off blood [glucose] reading or you can learn from it,” urges Lasker. When you catch yourself thinking negatively, stop, take a deep breath, reflect on what happened, and let it go.