The Benefit of Viewing Challenges in a Positive Light

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it"

-Charles R. Swindoll

I want to share my thoughts on how viewing challenges in a positive light can help you deal with the pressures and stress of difficult experiences in a much better way. As a side note, as I generate more ideas for this blog, I'm realizing that most of what I've learned in the past 2 years has happened gradually and isn't necessarily tied to a specific event, so I'm getting away from the storytelling framework. If you'd like to hear stories about specific events, let me know.

For about a year and a half after my diagnosis, I had a very difficult time being positive. The uncertainty regarding how my life would play out, how long I had to live, and what I would be able to have in life left me in a constant state of worry, fear and depression. How soon would I be able to get back to work? When would I buy a house? Will I still be able to get married? Will I have kids someday? How much later will these things happen for me than for my friends, and how will I deal with the jealousy caused by falling behind?

Deep down, whether we want to admit it or not, we all measure ourselves against our peers, and we feel jealous and sometimes angry if we are not enjoying the same happiness's as they are. We're all playing this game called Life (and I don't mean the awesome boardgame), and I was being forced to sit out.

Despite the unhealthiness of this type of thinking, its just human nature, and even people with very few or minor problems feel it. So you can imagine how I, given the mountain of an obstacle in front of me, was feeling. These fears haunted me for a long time as I went through the various stages of my treatment, and I could not seem to escape.

Thankfully, the many positive influences in my life helped me out of this mode of thinking, and ever since then, I have stopped worrying about keeping up with those around me. After much reflection, I came to the decision that I was going to view my cancer diagnosis as an honor as oppose to a thorn in my side. By doing this, my mind would be at peace. Now you're probably saying to yourself, "this guy is crazy. How can he be honored to have cancer?"

God challenges everyone with unique circumstances. For some its losing a family member, for others its losing a job, and for others its health problems. Many people choose to view these challenges negatively and end up struggling to be happy. Others welcome these challenges and build on them. At some point over the past 2 years, I woke up one day and said to myself, "You know, this is an incredible challenge God has given to me and my family. He must think a lot of us to test us in this way. Instead of complaining about what's fair and not fair, I should feel proud. God believes I can handle this challenge, and I need to honor that challenge by walking through every door He opens for me and not giving up."

Please know that I'm not trying to demean or judge other people's problems, and I'm not saying it's easy to think like this (It took me FOREVER). I'm simply saying that if there's something going on in your life that's bothering you, if you can begin to view it as a honor as oppose to an unfair burden, I think it will help. Being religious, I turned it into an honor by thinking about God. If you're not religious, find another way. I know it helped me. Sitting here today, I'm still fighting the physical battle, but I believe I've got a handle on the mental battle, and it's making all the difference. Mind over body, right?

Be Well...