As readers know, just over two months ago I had a surprise cancer diagnosis, an early-stage colon cancer diagnosed through the proactive screening programme by the NHS in the UK.
I chose to focus on gratitude and to always return to that thought whenever I might feel down or in any other way not in the best of spirits. Choice is an important word for me, I (we) always have a choice as to how we respond to external stimuli (thank you Viktor Frankl for that anchor!). We can always choose.
With that, some people have used the word “try” with me throughout this journey. Meaning well, they might have said “try to be positive”. Yes, sometimes it has been tougher than at other times to be positive, yet I have always had that choice, I don’t have to only “try”.
As Yoda would have said (and Yoda both in the Star Wars sense, as well as the late Ed Percival, my greatest mentor in life):
Do, or do not. There is no try