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By Jonathan Jarashow

After learning that his wife, Sandra, had type 2 diabetes, Dr. Stephen Covey, author of the best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and an internationally respected leadership authority, started thinking about how his “habits” approach could help people with diabetes.

“I have spent my life teaching people how to set and accomplish goals in their personal and professional lives and am now applying my habits to help people better manage their diabetes,” Covey says. “I know diabetes can be challenging to live with and I have gained an even deeper understanding of that fact since my wife was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Together, with changes in behavior, we turned the diabetes ‘curve ball’ into an opportunity to learn, grow and deepen our lives.”

Practicing the advice her husband preaches in his “7 Habits” series of books, Sandra Covey doesn’t let diabetes bring her down. As Covey says, “diabetes can become a real strength for people, a strength that spreads to other parts of their lives.”

Sandra checks her blood glucose every morning and makes it a priority to exercise on her bike every day. Eating right has become a habit, as well.

Sandra’s diabetes has affected the whole Covey family in a positive way. “She didn’t become a victim. She embraced the reality of her situation,” Covey says. The mother of nine and grandmother of 48 has become a model for everyone, living by example and encouraging her family not to be overwhelmed.

The “7 Habits” are universal principles, so they can be applied to people with diabetes.

According to Covey, developing healthy habits is important for people with diabetes.

People with diabetes need to understand the power of intention. If things aren’t working, they should try something new. Develop new habits.

“You have to pour out the old wine first in order to pour in new wine,” Covey says.

The person with diabetes needs to take responsibility for his or her own life. Complaining about the difficulties won’t make the changes needed.

“We must become the creative force of our life,” Covey says. In other words, we decide how we will feel. We determine the temperature in our lives, the weather forecaster doesn’t. Events may come upon us, like diabetes, but we have a choice as to how to react to them.

Covey talks about the 90/10 rule: In life, 10% is what life “throws” at us that we cannot avoid. The 90%, the vast majority, is how we react to these unavoidable situations and possible difficulties. That 90% is our choice.

Covey encourages people with diabetes to develop a personal mission statement and to start small. Make promises you can keep, then keep them, and move on to bigger projects. Keeping to our commitments has a lot of power. Goals should be to test, eat better and exercise.

“Our honor is greater than our moods,” Covey says. We want to keep to our goals and keeping our promises establishes a chain that we don’t want to break, regardless of what our mood might be.

This helps us to be a “creative force,” in essence creating our lives, being proactive and not just reacting to whatever comes our way. Rather, we must go through life with an intention to stick to our commitments.

Type 2 Diabetes in Children

As for childhood obesity and the increase in type 2 diabetes, the reasons are simple, Covey says, “Younger kids are spending too much time watching TV screens and eating junk.” Parents need to work with their families to emphasize healthy living habits.

Build Team Spirit with Your Health Care Team

A great health care team is crucial to managing diabetes. “Synergies” must play a major role. Each team member will become your support network and use the group's collective wisdom to help you.

Advice for the Newly Diagnosed

Remember one of the “7 Habits”: Put first things first, Covey says. “Cultivate a relationship with a person whom you respect, who will listen to you and allow you to bare your soul. Then, start with small steps and keep to them. Eventually, you will feel your own power and become proactive,” he says.

Healthy Habits

Dr. Covey worked with Bayer Diabetes Care and the American Association of Diabetes Educators to develop a free booklet called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with Diabetes. It is designed to help people with diabetes adopt Covey’s “7 Habits” and apply them to achieve better disease management.

The booklet advises people to take small steps to manage their chronic illness and to incorporate each of the self-care behaviors within their lives.

For example, by applying Covey’s Habit 1: Be Proactive. People with diabetes are encouraged to take responsibility for managing their condition by following the AADE’s 7 Self-Care Behaviors, such as healthy eating, being active and monitoring blood glucose levels. For more information about The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with Diabetes or to receive a copy at no charge, please go to www.diabetes7.org.