HIV/AIDS Awareness. A father’s choice.

Posts Tagged ‘Information’

This morning I was reading the Huffington Post blog by Susan Smith Ellis, the CEO of (RED) – the HIV/AIDS organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver. (RED) is not a charity. It’s an economic initiative that has become its own brand, and it acts as an agency of sorts, forging partnerships with other brands (Apple, Converse, Motorola, Gap and Hallmark, just to name a few) that sell products/services directly to consumers.

Here is a link to the post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-smith-ellis/hivaids-medicine-is-only_b_674033.html

Susan makes a great point that HIV medicine is only one piece of the puzzle.  She notes that successful treatment for HIV/AIDS requires education, care, support, food and nutrition, as well as medication.  And she uses the example that with food and nutritional support, the antiretroviral drugs taken to treat HIV/AIDS are likely to be significantly more effective. And programs to provide treatment and care go hand in hand with prevention.

I couldn’t agree more.

Over the past several months, my team and I at MyHIVAIDSAwareness.com have been talking with others who are HIV positive and meeting with HIV community leaders. It has become increasingly clear that we have to know all the pieces of the HIV puzzle. It isn’t enough just to take your meds if you plan on living your life without limitations.

But knowing what those pieces are and fitting them into your life are significant challenges. There is just too much information to retain and too much involved with making it all happen in your life. This is leading to an incredible amount of frustration and unnecessary stress.

So my team has been hard at work focusing on the top ten challenges of living with HIV and doing something about making these pieces of the puzzle fit for you. The result of our work is a groundbreaking series of expert courses that are ten minutes long. That’s right, they are ten minutes – no more.

In the ten minute video course, we highlight key pieces of the puzzle for topics such as nutrition, exercise, and side effects. Then we turn the action over to you in a ten day action guide designed to help you fit what you have learned into your life. In my new online community, you will find support and guidance from others taking the course with you.

You become the expert at putting together your own puzzle. And you take control of your life with HIV.

Please make sure that you have signed up for our mailing list to get the first look at our Eating for HIV Expert Course and my new online community coming very soon.

And remember, there are no solutions without action.

“I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong” ~Benjamin Franklin

I started this series with the words we all get knocked down once in a while. Its part of what makes life interesting and it keeps us on our toes.

And I am going to end with a few simple words, “A good life doesn’t just happen. Get up and fight for it!”

Close and meaningful relationships, a fulfilling career, a healthy life, a sense of satisfaction and gratitude—nothing just happens.

Rather, everything in our life is in direct proportion to the attention, effort and importance we give. We’ve got to fight for it.

We all experience failure, setbacks, disappointments and obstacles. There is no denying that a punch hurts and it can knock us down. We are human. Bad tests, side effects and stigma hurt us. It’s part of the deal of being positive.

But in the same life, there are happy times, accomplishments, and a sense of belonging.

How will you fight for the good things?

It all comes down to this one thing—what you give your attention to becomes the reality of your world.

Give your attention to solely to the fear and uncertainty of HIV and that will shape your life and your world around you. If the blows from this disease are what you think about, dwell on, and live with each day, it will limit your life.

Instead, focus your attention on what’s good, amazing, abundant, wonderful and possible in the world. Focus your attention on ideas, information and knowledge that can help you grow, stay healthy, create and contribute to making a positive difference. Going down for the count doesn’t work here.  Turn OFF the count… it will change your world and your life!

Here a couple of suggestions for turning your focus around:

Get knowledgeable about HIV and understand what you can do to make a difference in living a healthy life. We have done a lot of research here at MyHIVAIDSAwareness.com and have found many ways that you can directly impact your disease progression. It is not out of your control.

Go SUPERSONIC and get past the naysayers. Don’t listen to the negative voices and stay on your path to wellness. To get past something you have to be moving forward.

Understand Karma and reaping what you sow. Doesn’t matter what your religion is or even if you are religious. It does matter that for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first. Step in and take control.

Use your personal power to help others. Giving feels good, but there’s more to it than that. When we direct our energy and focus on meeting others’ needs, we push aside our concerns and negative emotions. We open up our world.

Nothing is more challenging than facing a life long illness. There are no tomorrows where the battle with HIV will not be part of your life. But there are many more tomorrows that can be wonderful and fulfilling if you focus on finding them. We are here to help you do just that.

In the coming weeks, my team will be announcing the results of our work that focuses on your tomorrows.  We worked to find simple solutions to improve your daily living with HIV and make a positive difference in your life. Stay tuned!