I know that personally, Gary and I did our best to uncover the “gifts” his cancer experience opened up to us. But I do find myself correcting people at times when they say that going through this must have taught us about priorities and what’s important.
The reality is I already knew what was important and how fragile life can be. I understood the pain of losing someone of great significance in my life. I learned that lesson at seventeen when my mother died.
My essay, “The Other Side of Pink” recently published in the anthology, Tarnished: Tales of Innocence lost, currently available on Amazon.com, tells the story of my first wake up call.
Truly, I did not need a second to treasure the little things, understand what was important and appreciate everything Gary and I had together. Did we grow and learn from sharing the experience of his cancer together…absolutely, but you need not wait for a cancer diagnosis to step into living a meaningful life now.
I fully support the healthy perspective of being able to face the challenge of cancer and learn and grow as much as possible from it…but if you’re living right now with a clean bill of health, why not create your own wakeup call?
It isn’t just cancer survivors and caregivers who can get trapped in survival mode. It can happen to all of us. We get on the hamster wheel and once it starts spinning it can be difficult to stop. We may notice we’re not living in the direction of our dreams but facing feelings of overwhelm, confusion and needing to just get to ___________ (name the point where everything will be calm enough for you to change your life) keeps us blocked, stopped and, often, downright paralyzed.
Why not choose your wakeup call consciously? Choose to get educated about what’s holding you back. Choose to invest time and resources in uncovering what stops you and keeps you feeling stuck or like you’re not making the most of your life. Don’t wait for the rude awakening of learning to find the gifts out of health challenge like cancer.
Why not dive in right now while you have your health so you can invest your energy in creating the life you desire and deserve. Invite change by taking the Energy Leadership Index Assessment today.
