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To say that my journey with cancer has been filled with disappointments would be an understatement. During this journey I have learnt two things, disappointments are guaranteed, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Having to deal with these different disappointments has had an upside though, it has taught me how to deal with them :) When we are faced with a difficult time or disappointment the most important thing to do is remain positive. If we are able to remain positive we are always capable of finding the good side in our disappointments.
I was reflecting on life's greatest challenges when I realized that, although they can be terrible, they can also be the source of some of the most powerful inspirations we may know. Isak Dinesen spoke about finding these inspirations during the difficult times she faced.
"I think these difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way and that so many things one goes around worrying about are of no importance whatsoever."
She believes that all the difficult times in her life have helped her find true passion and perspective for her life; which just happen to be two of my 4 P's of Positivity. By staying positive through her difficult times she was able to transcend from disappointment to finding true happiness.
It is a near impossible exercise to try and outline a step by step process for getting through difficult times. This is because every disappointment is unique to the individual. All I can do is give an example of one of my biggest disappointments and hope you can take some learnings from that and apply it to your own individual situation.
By far the most difficult thing I have had to endure was my diagnosis with leukemia. Being told you have a life threatening illness is adevastating experience that you can never mentally prepare to receive. When I was initially diagnosed I felt like my world had been shattered. My journey from the feelings of devastation and depression to thinking positively was a long road. In order to make this transition I required the help from others and lots of personal reflection. The first step in my journey was advice that came from a Nurse Practitioner. She told Amy and I that they were not telling me to get my affairs in order but rather they were going to help us fight this. This small statement was monumental in helping change my attitude. It instantly changed the diagnosis from a death sentence to a battle I was going to have to fight. This allowed me to switch into a battle mentality where my leukemia became the enemy. Once I made this switch it was much easier to start building my positive outlook. To do this I looked to many sources for inspiration and perspective on my situation, and with each one my fighting mentality was emboldened.
Looking back a year later, I can understand what Isak was saying about how difficult times teach us how beautiful life is. My experience with leukemia has brought more beauty to my world than I could have ever imagined. It has enabled me to experience wonderful self reflection and personal growth that have changed the way I look at the world. This coupled with many of my new passions have shown me just how infintely rich and beautiful life really is.
So when you suffer a big disappointment in the future, make sure you take the proper steps to create a positive mindset. It might be a long road in which you will require the help of others, but stay determined and keep your fighting spirit. Only by doing so will you begin to see the good side of your disappointment, and begin to understand "how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way".
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