extremely effective for a lifelong skeptic of therapy and meds for psychological issues.
- For the reasons previously discussed, exercise on a regular basis. Find out what activities you are capable of doing, and which of those you would enjoy doing. Example: When I ride the exercise bike in my basement, it is very boring to me. I try to read, but after a while, my eyes bother me. On the other hand, when I go to the gym, I enjoy the exercise bike. Why? I can watch TV and set the type of program (such as cardio) I use. It’s also nice to talk to other people. If you are like me, you will need to put exercise “dates” into your calendar so you don’t skip exercise days.
- Choose to be happy. Think positive thoughts and reflect back on past events you enjoyed . Set reasonable goals. It’s not always easy to be happy. But by setting this as a vital goal was (is) a must for me.
- A lot of today’s younger people have a better perspective on the work-life balance than my cohort of baby boomers. Until a few years before I got cancer, I was a true workaholic. I had so many things to achieve that I didn’t realize what I was missing. Work, work, work, work made Joel a “successful” person but often a sad person too. Only lately have I grasped that I want to work to live rather than live to work. Since we can’t change the past, I am now very committed to having more joy in my life. It’s been working.
- DO NOT go crazy on social media to find out about your ailment. Especially be selective with YouTube. Why? In my case, as a person with pancreatic cancer, there was virtually no positive information online. Yet I kept viewing and reading. It was like an
