Setting Your Goals: Milestones and Objectives

By the time the family got there, no one was in the right frame of mind to enjoy the display - two family members had walked off and the poor wife was a complete nervous wreck. Your partner's determination to complete a task can, therefore, be a bonus, but only if it is channelled in the right direction. This seems more relevant for men with Asperger syndrome than women, as women tend to be more inclined to stay in the background and allow their partner to take the limelight; Reflect what made you react like this. Go into the moment and meditate regularly on an attitude that you find exemplary. Become your own ideal by constantly visualizing these characteristics - or the person you see as a role model - and identifying yourself with them. Consider the Present as a Gift and a Possibility We humans are sometimes far too concerned with what was, what will be, and what could have been. Get rid of these distractions and stay with your thoughts in the here and now! This way you are more mindful and receptive. Your everyday life gets more quality and you will notice how much it has to offer you if you do not only think about what else you have to do. Breathe Away the Stress More Often Use quiet moments and small-time slots to become fully aware of your breathing. Without victory there is no survival. Believed to have had Bipolar Disorder HOW DO WE BATTLE A mental illness that has the ability to take control of our thoughts and emotions and cause our minds to deceive and betray us? How do we overcome an illness that has the power to cause us to attempt suicide, become violent, and spend money recklessly, not to mention act in so many other destructive ways? How do we surmount the health issues attributed to bipolar disorder such as a shorter life span, obesity, diabetes, and abuse of drugs and alcohol? The best solution is to follow a lifelong battle plan that is based upon the expert recommendations of the medical community. The consensus is that successful treatment of bipolar disorder depends on diligently following a comprehensive treatment plan including medication, educating yourself about the illness, communicating with your psychiatrist and therapist, having a strong support system, and helping yourself by making healthy lifestyle choices (WebMD, 2020).

This article guides you through the process of creating your personal bipolar battle plan. It explains the planning process, how to establish your goals and objectives, enemy reconnaissance, selecting your weapons, warrior training, and becoming a bipolar warrior. I don't claim to be an expert. YOUR SCRIPT: HANDLING DISSENT COLLEAGUE: Look, you're just out of your mind if you think the consumer will pay $25 for this widget. The bait has been offered: Out of your mind is a provocative, offensive, and personal attack. You can take the bait and pitch the argument at an unproductive, even destructive, personal level, or you can shift the dispute productively to issues. YOU: So you think the price point is wrong for the market? No emotional, personal words here. Just business: price point, market. Note that the possessive pronoun my is also absent: not my price point, but the price point. COLLEAGUE: That's right. Your idea will never sell. Devote yourself to optimism. Look for the good in the world. I see plenty of it. Learn to bounce back from disappointments. Poet Maya Angelou articulates such optimism in this line: This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before. Looking back on my career and life, I can say I have been more consistent and proactive than most.

Consistency comes into play each day as I defeat procrastination and do what needs to be done. Being proactive means that if I have a goal, I do my best to put self-doubt and fear on the side to pursue it. If I fail, I still know that failing is better than not trying at all. Let's just say the Shark Tank people would not have invested in me. But I learned a lot in that year and a half: I became a better baker, I saw how much I came alive when I gathered people around food, and I learned to batch--first in cookies, then in life. THE LESSON FROM BAKING A THOUSAND COOKIES IN A SINGLE DAY On Sugar Box Day, everything had to be ready at once. And by everything, I mean several thousand individual desserts wrapped into several hundred bundles and lovingly tucked into forty to seventy boxes. They were brown paper packages tied up with string, and they were absolutely one of my favorite things. Getting those boxes ready all at once, month after month, turned out to be a master class in batching. My first lesson came on my very first Sugar Box Day. I had forty-five orders for the Friends box,*1 so I started packing them one by one. I got a stack of one kind of cookie, put it in a bag, cut a string, tied up the bag, and put it in the box. The deserter If, while entertaining, your partner wants to go to another room and look through their favourite magazines or go for a walk or to bed, does it really matter? They have not really deserted or abandoned you, and will have given as much time as they can manage. Maybe socialising is not their thing, and it was probably not their choice to be in this social situation in the first place. If friends know that your partner has Asperger syndrome, then they will understand that socialising is difficult for them and often time-limited. If they do not know, then they can be told that your partner is very tired or feeling unwell. One man described how he became aware that whenever they went to a social event or works do, his Asperger wife would disappear, for rather a long time, into the ladies toilet.

The first time this happened he became quite concerned when she had been missing for almost 15 minutes, and sent someone in to look for her. This was quite embarrassing for his wife and she was very annoyed with him. This was, however, before they were aware of Asperger syndrome; Close your eyes - if possible - and concentrate on your inner self, then breathe into your stomach until you reach the diaphragm. To make sure that you breathe deeply, you can put your hand on your stomach, so you automatically breathe more evenly. Feel the breath and how your abdominal wall rises and falls. Close your eyes and visualize the positive attitude or quality with which you want to fill yourself. Even this small technique can bring you more Mindfulness into your everyday life! You are no longer simply washed away by the stress, but consciously pause. Go on a (Sound) Journey We often wish for a way to escape from stressful everyday life. One wants to a lonely island, the other wants a hut in the middle of the forest. Unfortunately, this is not always practical - especially if you have a lot of obligations. I make decisions based on whether I am experiencing bipolar symptoms, the state of my mental and physical health, financial well-being, status of my relationships with my significant other, children, family, and friends, and level of satisfaction with my job and my career. If changes are needed, I make adjustments to my battle plan. Each of you will have different circumstances and challenges than I do, so you should tailor your battle plan accordingly. Bear in mind that you are the General of your own individual bipolar battle plan. You must become an expert at treating your own disease. Live by the motto, Bipolar Heal Thyself. The Planning Process

Planning ahead is how we deal with most challenges in life. Understanding the planning process will aid you in creating your battle plan. The planning process is shown in the figure below: The other fellow persists in keeping it personal: your idea. YOU: Let's forget about the price point for just a minute. What about the product? What's your take on that? Still refusing to take the bait, you look for some point of agreement. COLLEAGUE: The product is fine--great--but what good is it if we can't sell it at $25? With this point of agreement, you've got something to build on. YOU: Maybe we can lower the price point. What if we increase initial roll-out . The keys to handling dissent are: Take action and see your goals through to the end. If you come up short, don't let it be because you quit too soon. Continue to learn throughout your life. Even if it's through a hobby, keep your brain active, and you will stay young at heart. If you want to learn something, don't hesitate to seek out advice. Don't just drift through life; No need to conform to what others say you should do.