Positive Thinking Saved My Life

Reality and Control

There are things we can’t control.

We can’t control our genes. I can’t star in the NBA or be a super-model.

We can’t control how others feel. I loved my husband but he left me for someone who didn’t. Logically, this makes no sense, but logic has nothing to do with how people feel.

We can’t control the weather or random misfortune. The dinosaurs didn’t choose that meteor and I didn’t choose cancer.

Optimism is the Hard Choice

When I was 36, I was diagnosed with inflammatory breast disease, an aggressive form of cancer. My doctors expected me to die.

I chose to live. In order to survive, as I write about here, I adopted a positive attitude.

When my doctors were convinced I would die, I assumed I would live. When friends were negative, I remained positive. When my family was scared, I tried to be brave.

This took discipline and hard work. It would have been so much easier to accept death instead of fight for life.

Feeling my Emotions

This did not mean I acted cheerful all the time. In fact, I didn’t act at all. I didn’t have the energy to play games. I was fighting for survival.

Sometimes I felt angry or scared, sad or overwhelmed. I cried. I yelled. I complained.

But then… I made the decision to not give up.

Positive Thinking Motivated Me

When I felt discouraged, I acknowledged how I felt but did not wallow in it. I changed my focus. Instead of letting doubts and fears control me, I asked— what can I do?

Since my doctors believed their protocols were not enough, I researched additional therapies, but with care to make sure they were legitimate.

I looked for double-blind studies and peer reviewed articles. I made sure concepts made sense to me and asked for my husband’s opinion. I listened to my intuition.

I tried to make educated, rational choices as I came up with a healing program that I believe helped save my life.

Positive Thinking Gave Me Faith in Myself

I couldn’t wave a magic wand and remove my cancer but I could control my attitude. Positive thinking helped me not feel defeated by my disease. Instead, I felt empowered to focus on what I needed.

This included interactions with encouraging people. Taking long walks in nature. Watching “I Love Lucy” reruns because they made me laugh.

I believed in myself, my own resilience and capacity for joy. In this way, I saved my life.

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This post was previously published on a Few Words and is republished here with permission from the author.
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