The Power of Choice

No one chooses to get breast cancer.  No one wants a mastectomy. 

You feel like you have no choice. 

But you do.

There is always a choice.  You can choose to deny it or accept it.  You can choose to love it or hate it. 

What choice can you make today?  What perspective can you shift?  There is always a new perspective and a new choice.  If you can’t find one, ask a friend. 

The mind can truly rule over the physical body. I talked to Mary**, who initially hated her surgery and implants. Her physical therapist told her a story about another woman whose body rejected her new implant and believed this self-hate manifested the problem. Because of this story, Mary quickly shifted her mindset to love her implant and avoided similar issues. 

I also talked to another woman, Brenda**, who felt an extreme sense of calm the morning of her mastectomy. The waiting was over.  She had nothing left but acceptance.  She chose to be calm in the face of such surgery and loss.  With that mindset, she gave herself a gift.  Brenda had a successful surgery, and her healing is on track. Now that’s powerful. 

What if you were grateful for your mastectomy?  I’ve learned the benefits of a duality.  A duality means that two things can exist at the same time.  You can be resentful for the mastectomy and grateful for the life-saving option. 

When I reframed my journey to the mastectomy I always wanted, everything shifted. This mindset did not reduce my fear or make me annoyingly optimistic.  The mastectomy became something to get through rather than something to destroy me. 

Change your words, change your world. 

** Names changed to protect privacy.