Posted on Thursday, 3rd September 2009 by Catherine

CELEBRATE SMALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS ALONG THE WAY

There will probably come a time in all of our lives that we have to deal with something life changing.  It could be the loss of a job, illness, death, divorce, infertility or many other things along the spectrum.  Some people are blessed to only have to “deal” with everyday stresses that come with life.  Not to say those are not challenging because they are.

ATTITUDE IS KEY

When faced with adversity you must remain positive and have a good attitude.

I know, you have heard that before right.  Well it is true. Your brain controls your entire body and where you mind goes, your words, thoughts and actions will follow.

The thought of celebrating the small accomplishments becomes very important in your ability to “cope” with the challenge.  My 6 year old son Mason has cancer.  We have been in treatment for 4 ½ years.  We have had numerous set-backs and challenges.  I work each and every day to be positive and while it takes effort at times I can say that it has made a world of difference for our son and our family while dealing with his illness.

FOCUS ON SMALL VICTORIES

On the tough days I focus on how far he has come

These are some of the things I think about and focus on to help make accomplishing his nearly 5 years of treatment manageable –

• He has come SO far.  Only 28 weeks to go – we started at 104 weeks(after completing 2 ½ years before that)
• He has HAIR!
• So far he has been in school more days than he has been absent.
• He is getting stronger each day (even though he is much weaker than the average 6 year old)
• We have spent more time at home instead of at Children’s hospital than we did the prior 18 months.

Mason has a long road ahead of him but by celebrating the smaller milestones of his treatment and recognizing the positive things in his life we can better manage the magnitude of what lies ahead.

BREAK DOWN THE STRUGGLE

Uttering the words “I have a child with cancer” is over-whelming.  Dealing with his treatment, medicine, side-effects and schedule is overwhelming.  Breaking it down to the “good stuff” helps me see things from a different perspective.

Taking a “problem or challenge” and thinking of it in more manageable terms can be very helpful. It also forces a more  healthy perspective on the challenge.

For example, losing your job in this economy seems insurmountable.

Break it down

• Resume
• Application process
• Interview

Tackle one thing at a time and recognize that accomplishing each step is a small victory toward the end goal of getting a new job.

I am not telling you the process will be easy or fun (not much about childhood cancer is easy or fun) but I am telling you that if take the larger challenge and piece together a solution you will be less overwhelmed and in a better place mentally.  That = victory.

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