Patient support
Setting goals despite illness
Goals keep a life pointed forward. With illness they need to be smaller, more flexible, and immune to a bad week.
PatientCaregiver
Why goals matter more, not less
Without goals, days become a sequence of appointments and symptoms. A goal — however modest — restores the sense that you are living a life rather than managing a disease.
How to set one that survives
- 1Choose something you actually want, not something you think you should want.
- 2Make it specific and small enough to do in a fortnight.
- 3Write a good-day version and a bad-day version of the same goal.
- 4Name the first step and put it in the calendar.
- 5Name one person who will know about it.
- 6Plan the setback: 'if I am admitted or too unwell, I will pause, not cancel.'
Examples that work
- Walk to the end of the road three times this week (bad-day version: stand outside for two minutes).
- Record one family story a week for my grandchildren.
- Cook one meal a week myself (bad-day version: choose the meal and sit with whoever cooks).
- Reply to one message a day rather than none.
- Sort the paperwork one folder at a time, ten minutes at a time.
Where to go next
Afya Companion offers education and self-help support. It does not diagnose, treat or replace care from your doctor, nurse, psychologist or dietitian. If something in your health changes, speak to your care team.