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According to a USA TODAY/Kaiser Foundation/Harvard study, 63 percent of cancer survivors say the disease changed their lives in some positive way. Some of the positive changes listed were such things as a renewed sense of confidence, a greater appreciation for their own endurance, a questioning of their priorities and an increase in their coping abilities.
As a motivational expert specializing in fast results, I think there are valuable lessons for all of us to learn from the terrible ordeal cancer survivors have gone though and how they changed.
The first lesson we can learn from this is to appreciate each day that is given us and live each day to the fullest, since none of know what tomorrow may bring.
Another lesson we can learn is that avoiding adversity is not always the best strategy in terms of our self development. Many times we only grow by going through the sometimes painful process of trying new things, and facing new challenges. Many times these things show us we can do things we thought we couldn't do, or give us new knowledge and skills that take us to a new level in life. The same can be said for coping skills. The more we successfully cope with, the more we know we can handle and therefore we have lower levels of anxiety and stress, as we know we can handle things.
Going through adversity also increases our self-confidence and our happiness with what we have. If you can look back on a struggle to get what you have, such as an educational achievement, or mastering a skill, that new skill means more to us and we have a sense of pride in what we did and a belief we can tackle more in our lives. Also we enjoy what we obtained through adversity more than something we have that seemed easily obtained. Some people, who are gifted in an area, do not enjoy their achievements in that area, because it seems so easy to them. It is said that Marlon Brando looked down on acting and actors, even though he was a gifted actor himself, because it came easy to him.
So begin to gradually increase the amount of adversity you have in your daily life, but focus that increased adversity in areas that match your goals in life. For instance if you seek higher income, gradually increase the training and work you put in on the steps needed to produce more income. As you reach one goal, keep the pressure and momentum going and move on to one or more new goals, but don't forget to acknowledge your progress and give yourself a small reward at each success.
Business and Life Coach Theresa Smith stresses that we need balance in our lives if we want to reduce stress and enjoy our lives. The sorting out of priorities the cancer survivors did, probably result in a change in the balance they had in their lives between work, family, relationships and so on. Make sure you do the same.
So take the lessons cancer survivors have shared with us and put them into use today. You will move towards having increased self-confidence, happiness and begin to move your life to a new level.