Something I've Never Shared

Today I'm going to talk about something that I have never shared about on my blog, on social media or publicly for that matter.I'm type 1 diabetic.I was diagnosed my junior year of college, in my early 20's. I went from weighing 165 pounds down to about 140. I thought it was just the college food in the cafeteria. Turns out, my pancreas decided to take a permanent vacation. A few people who are close to me know this about me. Mostly family and close friends. The reason I don't talk often about it is because I have never wanted it to be a controlling factor in my life or an issue that defines who I am.I have been fortunate to have been able to manage it well for over a decade. I've worked to take care of my health. I've never had any major complications or issues related to being diabetic. From the outside, my guess is that I appear to be a pretty healthy individual. I run and bike. I'm active. I don't let a disease control my life.[quote align="center" color="#999999"]I don't let a disease control my life.[/quote]Even though I agree with the statement above, I have grown to learn that if you don't control it, it will control you. Seems like that applies to many areas of our lives. About every 3 months I go in for a check up where they do a blood draw and check my Hemoglobin A1c level. Simply put, this test shows where your blood glucose has averaged over the past few months.A person who is not diabetic would be somewhere between 4% and 6%. When I was diagnosed I was at 13%, which is the furthest the chart goes. Yesterday I went in and this is where I was at:Not horrible. But not great either. I want to continue to aim for progress not perfection.So why this post? Why go in to all this detail?Here it is. Between now and October when my next check up is, my goal is to move my A1c level from 7.9% to 6.8%. Sounds easy enough, right?When I shared this goal with my friend Josh yesterday he asked me "so HOW are you gonna do it?" He knows me well. Its one thing to set a goal, it is another thing to set a plan for action to accomplish the goal.[quote align="center" color="#999999"]Its one thing to set a goal, it is another thing to set a plan for action to accomplish the goal.[/quote]For me to hit my goal of 6.8% it is going to require checking my blood glucose more often (between 3 and 4 times per day), exercising consistently (at least 3 times a week) and eating right.So there it is. I'm sharing this goal because I want to hit it.What about you? What are some areas in your health, personal growth, spiritual development, family or relationships that you want to grow in? What is you goal?[quote align="center" color="#999999"]How are you going to accomplish it?[/quote]