This is my third New Year’s since the onset of Crohn’s Disease. Thinking about New Year’s resolutions can be depressing with a chronic illness. How can I resolve to do anything ahead of time when I don’t know I’ll be feeling?

I read something very freeing some years ago. It’s become even more helpful since Crohn’s. The fourth agreement in The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is

Always do your best – your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick..

I love this: instead of trying to set a fixed bar it gives me permission to have days when there’s very little I can do except try to sleep off a Crohn’s fever. While still challenging me to do whatever is within my reach on a given day.

If you make New Year’s resolutions, I hope you’ll aim for ‘challenging yet doable’. Failing is no fun whereas meeting goals that stretch us a little feels so rewarding.