Even though I've already made a list of my new goals for 2017, which I'll share with you later; I've also decided to create a separate set of resolutions, specifically pertaining to my life as a chronic illness warrior. And today I've decided to share them with you!

As you know, things aren't exactly easy for anyone that struggles with chronic pain or chronic illnesses. Both mental and physical illnesses can be taxing on anyone and they don't make goal setting any easier either! Of course, I've never let that stop me! So this year, I've set five goals for myself, in hopes that I can live a better life despite my illnesses!

1. Be the best advocate that I can be.

I don't know about you, but if I have the option of calling a doctor's office to follow up on referrals or watching Netflix, I'm going to choose the latter. This year though, I really want to start getting better at choosing the first option! Not only that, but I want to stand up for myself a little more during my doctors appointments as well. I don't want to just be in and out with a new prescription. I want to be heard and I want to have my questions answered. So from now on, I'm going to put the brakes on at my appointments and leave the office, not because I feel like I have to go, but because I feel like I'm ready to go!

2. Force myself out of the house more.

I'm going to be real with you for a second, I rarely leave the house. When I do, it's almost always for a check up, blood work, or to pick up a new prescription. I can't tell you the last time I left the house to just go out and do something for myself! So, this year I'm challenging myself to go out and enjoy myself more!

3. Take all of my medications each and every day.

This is probably the worst thing that I can do as a spoonie, but I don't always take all of my medications. I know, it's bad! Sometimes I just don't feel like I need to take certain ones every day and other times I just don't plan it out properly. Either way, I really need to change my habits. So, I'm going to start properly organizing my medications and keep them near me at all times!

4. Schedule more time off, without guilt.

Bouncing off of an earlier point, I rarely do things for myself and even when I take a "me/rest day," I always feel guilty about it. I constantly think about the things that I should be doing instead of being in the present moment. So, I'm going to try to schedule more "rest days" and not feel guilty about enjoying them!

5. To stop being so hard on myself.

One of my chronic conditions is depression and unfortunately, my many other chronic illnesses don't help with that very much. Often when I can't do something, I get angry with myself which then transitions into me being upset with myself. No matter if I could do the task before or not, it's never easy realizing your own limitations. So in the new year, I'd like to get better at handling those limitations and my own emotions!

Now, I don't know how successful I'll be with these new goals of mine, but I'm hoping that I do pretty well! We're still in the trial and error phase with my medications and treatment plan, so I'm sure I'll get off track every now and then, but I'm confident that I'll get back to them! Here's to hoping that 2017 is going to be the best year yet!

What new goals have you set this year? Tell me in the comments!