Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Climb a Mountain for these 3 Reasons

Precipice Trail - Acadia National Park

What you see here is not exactly what you get. 

YES, I am on a Mountain.
YES, I am almost 1000 feet above the ground.
YES, there is no railing next to me.
NO, I am not calm.

What my lovely girlfriend has captured in this picture is everything but the anxiety and just plain fear I felt at that very moment.



 I don't know if you caught the last sentence on this side, but I believe they made reference to people dying. Now honestly, the anxiety started creeping in right about there. 

Some of you may have had similar experiences, while others find this type of activity as nothing but a walk in the park. 

I am here to tell you 3 reasons to climb a Mountain.


1. The Pendulum Effect

Ever hear of the theory that if you haven't experienced true sorrow, you can't really experience true happiness? Kind of the same principle here. It is not until you experience a true fear or anxiety to genuinely appreciate the opposite swing of the pendulum, courage and certainty.

What you end up witnessing is that the event that caused you fear, actually took courage to be a part of and eventually confront. 

And trust me, you will very much appreciate and recognize what tasks take true courage and bravery from there on out.


2. Breaking Down the Wall

When a runner claims they "hit a wall", they are (hopefully) just expressing a metaphor for how tired they are.

In the picture at the top of the blog I was about 75% percent up the face of the Mountain. When the anxiety and fear kicked in, I had a few choices.

       A) Stand there until the anxiety and fear went away.

           Realistically, it wouldn't have simply disappeared, at    
              least in no short period of time. So option A is out of 
              the question!

       B) Jump

            I love my life, didn't have a parachute, and probably 
              would have increased my anxiety by simply thinking   
              about this. So option B is out!

       C) Turn Around and Go Back Down

            Next to that warning sign at the beginning of the 
              Mountain was another sign that said you are at an      
              extremely high risk of injury if you attempt to retreat 
              down the trail. This sign plus the fact that I was 75% 
              complete = option C not being an option!

       D) Continue Forward

            At this moment on the Mountain I was confronted with 
              a simple decision mixed a ton of complex thoughts. I 
              was forced to break down the "wall" in front of me 
              and tackle my anxiety.

              I made it, I survived, and I would it all over! 


3. Breeding Ground

After I completed my decent and got back on level ground, a deep breath was to be had. 
After that deep breath I acknowledge an extremely important thing,
I WAS PROUD OF MYSELF! 

Even with all the fear, anxiety, and stress (physical and mental) of climbing that Mountain, in the end, I was proud of myself and that is a breeding ground for confidence.


Top of Precipice



Starting line for fear and anxiety!

Beautiful View from the Top







Wednesday, February 22, 2012

From Cancer to Confidence


 What would you consider a normal birthday celebration?

Wake up in the morning, check Facebook to see the 200 "Happy Birthday" wall posts (half of the posts come from people you haven't spoke to in at least 5 years). You follow checking Facebook up with going to work, school, or maybe like a lot of people neither because the economy sucks and you are stuck at home. Once the afternoon rolls in you may check Facebook again, open your mail to see if your grandma sent you a crisp $20, possibly receive some presents from family and friends, go out for a birthday dinner, grab a birthday cocktail, and finally wrap things up with some cancer.

Wait...what?

You heard me, cancer.



Take a second, close your eyes. I want you to envision the birthday celebration I carefully laid out for you in the above paragraph. Now try and predict how you would react if you opened the next birthday card after your sweet Grandma's and it read,

"Happy Birthday, You have cancer."
 
On April 20, 2009 Shaun turned 29. He also was diagnosed with cancer. 

Shaun was told by his Doctor that he had Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).

 This is how it works:

CLL causes a slow increase in white blood cells called B lymphocytes, or B cells. The cancerous cells spread from the blood marrow to the blood, and can also affect the lymph nodes or other organs such as the liver and spleen.

CLL eventually causes the bone marrow to fail.

The cause of CLL is unknown.

There is no link to radiation, cancer-causing chemicals, or viruses.

This cancer mostly affects adults, around age 70. It is rarely seen under age 40. The disease is more common in Jewish people of Russian or East European descent
(U.S. National Library of Medicine).



YouTime: When you were officially told that you were diagnosed 
                  with cancer, what went through your mind?

Shaun: I couldn't stop thinking about chemotherapy, losing my
             hair, and dying. It was hard, I didn't know what to think. It
             was scary.

Two months after being diagnosed with CLL Shaun received some news.

Drum roll please...

  
Shaun was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes.

At the end of June 2009, Shaun got the big news that not only did he have cancer but he now has Type II Diabetes.


YouTime: This is some hard stuff to take in, how were 
                 you feeling after hearing the news?
 
Shaun: This felt like two really big hits. 

YouTime: It sounds unbelievably tough. What kind 
                of thoughts were you having about the quality 
                of life you may now have to live with? 
               
Shaun: I honestly just kept thinking, "Shaun, you will be shooting 
             insulin into your stomach for the rest of your life".

STOP

Using the K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Stupid) model from the previous blog (if you didn't read it, DO IT!!)

I want to take a step backwards.
We do not need to discuss the complexities of what causes different types of cancers and type II diabetes. Although, if you wish to know the answer...I strongly encourage you to read "The China Study" or watch "Forks Over Knives".
The problem is clear and the solution is clearer.

What we need to do now is ask a simple question...

Given the situation that Shaun is currently in,

HOW DOES HE MOVE ON FROM HERE?


 
Shaun decided to work with YouTime Coaching to take charge and control of the challenges he was presented with. 



SHAUN'S REMARKABLE RESULTS BELOW:
 
 


 
If the results you see interest you and make you start wondering what you take control of in your life, contact me for a FREE Consultation!
CLICK HERE TO CONTACT