What Is Your MS – Living With MS

What is Your Major Struggle?

Rick Simon — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 00:19:35 +0000

What is your biggest struggle in life right now?

Most of us have more than one struggle in life and are frustrated when we don’t seem to be making progress. Figure out what your biggest struggle in life is right now and what to do about it. Walk through the steps to end your struggle.

My name is Rick Simon and I will be your guide through this perplexing problem.

Why do so many people fail to get past barriers in life to achieve their dreams?

Is it because they are not strong enough, they don’t recognize their barriers, or do they not believe they can overcome them, so they don’t even try?

If there was a way to overcome your biggest challenge, would you want to know it?

Well there is a way, but people seem to overlook it, and never get past their biggest struggles. It has two steps. First, know what your biggest struggle is. Second, keep focused on it until you overcome it. We let less important problems take all our time and wonder why we don’t make progress on the big things.

My Major Struggle (MS) was Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Yours probably isn’t! I have MS, but MS doesn’t have me. Learning some 35 years ago that I had MS was the biggest obstacle I have had to overcome. Learning that I had MS was a shocker. It was a life changing event. I didn’t know MS was going to present a series of other struggles as life went on. For each one, I could use the same strategy to get through.

So maybe you know what your Major Struggle (MS) is, but maybe you don’t.

Do you think it would be easier to overcome barriers if you could focus on one at a time?

Which barrier, challenge, or obstacle should you focus on first? Let’s start to figure it out. If you already know what it is, write it down along with what it is blocking you from doing, having, or becoming. Now move on to step 2.

If you have a bunch of challenges, then you need to figure out what your MS is. If that is your situation, take a piece of paper and make a big T on it, like a balance sheet. Down the left side list all the obstacles, barriers, and challenges you have in your life.

These are candidates for your MS. Having done this, one may pop out to you as being the biggest one. If that happens, write it down. Then write down what it is preventing you from doing, having, or becoming, and move on to step 2.

If you still don’t know, write what each challenge is preventing you from doing, having or becoming. Write them on the right side of your “T.” As you do, you might come across more challenges. Add them to the left side of the “T” with the other challenges.

Then you will have a list of obstacles, on the left, matched up with things they are blocking you from, on the right. Maybe your MS will jump out at you at this stage.

Look at the things your barriers are blocking you from, and put a check mark next to the most important one(s). If you can pick one, that is your MS.

If you end up with a few, look at those few and put another check mark next to the most urgent one(s). Pick the one you need to deal with first, or quickest. If you can pick one, that is your MS.

If you still don’t have it down to one, look at the ones that have two check marks next to them. Put another check mark next to the easiest one(s) to overcome. Picking the easiest will lead to the fastest results. You will see the process work, and can come back to the others once you overcome your MS. If you can pick one, that is your MS.

If after all this, you still can’t get down to one, then pick one, any one, that has three check marks next to it. These are the most important, most urgent, and easiest, so it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Pick one to focus on right now and come back to the others once you have solved that one or have it under control.

Once you know what your MS is, you can move to step 2, and focus on getting past that challenge. With your focus on that one thing, you will get past it. When you do, you can come back to solve the others, one at a time, as they bubble to the top and become your Major Struggle.

Step 2: Focus On It

Do you ask yourself “What should my priorities in life be?”

If you have struggles in life, and who doesn’t, overcoming your MS should be your first priority.

Once you know what your major struggle is, you know what your first priority should be. When you know what your first priority is, you can focus on it. How do you stay focused? How do you keep from getting distracted?

Some solutions I’ve used included:

Turn overcoming that struggle into a goal. Make it a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goal. This will go a long way to achieve it.
Put it on a goal card that you carry with you to remind yourself.
Put it in your paper or electronic organizer so you get reminded each day.
Find someone to be accountable to, and announce your intention.
Tell your parents, spouse, and kids about it. If possible link overcoming your MS to something that benefits them.
Put it on your screen saver or the homepage of your phone.
Put it on the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, and on the ceiling over your bed.
Figure out what you are NOT going to spend time on so you can spend time on overcoming your MS. Schedule some time for it.
Break it down into bite sized chunks so you can start to make progress. If you don’t know what steps to take, ask someone.
Figure out 2 things you can do in the next 7 to 10 days to get started.

So here are 10 things you can do to help keep yourself focused on overcoming your MS. There are many more. They might not all work for you. But they are a place for you to start. I have done each of them at one time or another, and they worked for me, so I know they can work for you.

So give some of these 10 ideas a try.

Maybe you feel you need more than one thing going on at once, but it is crucial for you to find the time to do the most important things. One way you may be able to use this approach with more than one major struggle is to have one in each area of your life. You might identify a physical MS, a mental MS, a spiritual MS, and a financial MS.

The key is to be very clear on what is most important in your life. Once you are clear on this, you can be sure to focus on achieving it. Don’t pay so much attention to the little things in life; focus on the big ones.

Get started. Get going. Get growing, and other ideas will come to you on how to stay focused and how to overcome your MS.

What is your MS – Step 2 – Focus On It

Rick Simon — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 23:29:11 +0000

Once you know what your major struggle is, what do you do about it? In three words the answer is “Focus on it.” That’s the answer, but it isn’t a particularly helpful answer. What does it mean to focus on it? How do you stay focused? How do you keep from getting distracted?

If you are interested in more information about Rick’s “9 Strategies to Break Through Obstacles and Live Your Dreams” fill in your email address on the right side of this page, and he will send you a free report!

Some solutions I’ve used included:

Turn overcoming that struggle into a goal. In doing so you will make it a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) which will go a long way to motivating you to achieve it (see “Set Your Goals, Live Your Dreams”).
Put it on a goal card that you carry with you to remind yourself.
Put it in your paper or electronic day timer so you get reminded each day.
Find someone to be accountable to, and announce your intention.
Tell your parents, spouse, and kids about it. If possible link achieving your goal (and overcoming your MS) to something that benefits them.
Put it on your screen saver.
Put it on the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator, and on the ceiling over your bed.
Figure out what you are NOT going to spend time on so you can spend time on overcoming your MS and reaching your goal and living your dreams. Schedule some time for it.
Break it down into bite sized chunks so you can start to make progress, If you don’t know what steps to take, ask someone.
Figure out 2 things you can do in the next 7 to 10 days to get started…

My Major Struggle (MS) was Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I have MS, but MS doesn’t have me. Recently I blogged on “What Is Your MS” where I encouraged you to figure out one Major Struggle (MS) to focus on with the idea that if you focus on one until you are over it, you will make more progress than if you just do a little bit on a bunch of struggles. I tackled the challenge of figuring out what your MS was.

So give some of these 10 ideas a try. Get started. Get going. Get growing, and other ideas will come to you on how to stay focused and how to overcome your MS.

What is Your MS – Step 1b

Rick Simon — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 22:28:46 +0000

In my last blog, I had you make a list of the challenges, obstacles, and barriers in your life and match them up with the things they were preventing you from doing, having, or becoming. Sometimes that is all you need to do, and your Major Struggle (MS) becomes obvious. It might just jump out at you, and if it does you will know which challenge you should focus on for part 2 of this strategy.

If you have the lists, but nothing is jumping out at you, look at the things your barriers are blocking you from, and put a check mark next to the most important one(s). If you can pick one, that is your MS.

If you end up with a few, look at just those few and put another check mark next to the most urgent one(s). Pick the one that needs to be dealt with first, or quickest. If you can pick one, that is your MS.

If you still don’t have it down to one, then look just at the ones that have two check mariks next to them, and put another check mark next to the easiest one(s) to overcome. Picking the easiest will lead to the fastest results. You will see the process work, and can come back to the others once your MS is solved. If you can pick one, that is your MS.

If after all this, you still can’t get down to one, then just pick one, any one, that has three check marks next to it. These are the things that are most important, most urgent, and easiest, so it doesn’t really matter which one you choose. Just pick one to focus on right now and come back to the others once that one is solved or under control.

Now that you know what your MS is, you can move to step 2, and focus on getting past that challenge. With your focus on that one thing, you will get past it, and be able to come back to solve the others, one at a time, as they bubble to the top and become your Major Struggle.

My Major Struggle (MS) was Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I have MS, but MS doesn’t have me.

What is Your MS – Step 1a

Rick Simon — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 02:48:15 +0000

Do you think it would be easier to overcome barriers if you could focus on one at a time?

My Major Struggle (MS) was Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Yours probably isn’t! I have MS, but MS doesn’t have me. Maybe you know what your Major Struggle is, but maybe you don’t. But which barrier, challenge, or obstacle should you focus on first? Let’s start to figure it out. If you know what it is, then I suggest you write it down and make sure you know what it is blocking you from doing, having, or becoming.

If you have a bunch of challenges, then you need to figure out what your MS is, so you can focus on that one till it is solved, or under control, and then move on to the next. So if that is your situation, I suggest you take a piece of paper and make a big T on it, like a balance sheet. Down the left side list all of the obstacles, barriers, and challenges you have in your life. These are candidates for your MS. Having done this, one may pop out to you as being the biggest one. If that happens, just write down what it is preventing you from doing, having, or becoming, and you are done with step one.

If you still don’t know, then I suggest you list on the right side of your T, next to each challenge, the thing or things that it is preventing you from doing, having or becoming. As you do that, you might come across more challenges. If that happens, feel free to add them. When you are done you will have a list of barriers, on the left, matched up with things they are blocking you from, on the right. Maybe your MS will jump out at you at this stage.

In my next blog, I will describe a method to filter your lists down till you finally know what your MS is.

What is your MS

Rick Simon — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 04:44:39 +0000

Why do so many people fail to get past barriers in life to achieve their dreams? Is it because they are not strong enough, they don’t recognize their barriers, or do they not believe they can overcome them, so they don’t even try? Does this remind you of someone you know? Is that person sitting in your chair? If there was one single strategy that would make a huge difference by helping you overcome your biggest challenge, would you want to know about it?

Well there is such a strategy, and it is so simple that anyone should be able to figure it out, but people seem to overlook it, and never get past their biggest struggles. It is in two easy steps: First, know what your biggest struggle is, and second, keeping focused on getting through it until it is overcome. Many times we let other, less important problems, take all our time and then wonder why we don’t make progress on the big things.

My Major Struggle (MS) was Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Yours probably isn’t! I have MS, but MS doesn’t have me. Learning some 30 years ago that I had MS was probably the biggest barrier I have had to overcome. Learning that I had MS was a shocker, but what I didn’t know at the time, was MS was going to present a series of other struggles as life went on. For each one, I had to use this same strategy to get through.

So maybe you know what your Major Struggle (MS) is, but maybe you don’t. If you don’t, my next blog will be about how to figure it out