The Delicate Art of: Living with Chronic pain as an Eager Creative

I started 2025 off overseas on a holiday I am so proud we were able to make happen. Having returned and (mostly!) physically recovered from the adventure, I sit here excited and focused on what I want to achieve for the year ahead. 

Battling chronic pain and fatigue, I definitely face very real limitations on a day to day basis, however my creative mind struggles to keep this in mind a lot of the time 🙃

I've constantly got ideas bubbling overtime whilst I scramble to remind myself what's actually achievable. And the latter is not me being a pessimist. If I go overboard with plans and commitments, my body suffers trying to keep up and, as a result I achieve even less and feel awful. 

Now that we've flipped over into a new year and I've had a bit of a reset, I'm motivated to really try to implement more planning and scheduling of things. Look at the facts- the actual amount of time in a day, month and year. How much time I realistically have to dedicate to the different areas of my life. And plan with my end goals in mind, considering my reality. 

To be honest with you, when anyone has mentioned the word "goals" to me over the past decade or so, I have shrivelled up inside. Thinking about the future has not always been my most favourite thing. 

But I've come to realise on my own terms that if I set goals, I can work backwards and space deadlines for mini "sub-goals" out realistically to avoid the overwhelm.  Break up the different parts of the puzzle and have a plan of attack for each week. The goal is to be really disciplined with this. Be strict with boundaries when I need to, so I don't overdo it- something that can be very tricky for me sometimes.

Stay tuned for how all this evolves... And let me know- what strategies do you use to keep life balanced? 

Liz xx