YinvsYang

I’m not a big morning paper guy anymore. I used to read the paper when I lived in Brooklyn, but now I tend to surf the net for my news. However, yesterday at the bagel store, I picked up the NY Daily News for old times sake. On page 3 was an article titled “Ven You Beat It…” by Michael Daly.

The article was about Julie Reed, and 18 year old cancer survivor who just returned to the same stage she collapsed on 18 months earlier. She was diagnosed with a rare abdominal cancer and had to endure months of intense chemotherapy. On top of that, before she could even begin chemotherapy, she had to beat a serious infection that scared even the doctors. It took intravenous antibiotics administered through a gigantic needle so big that it made Julie cry.

Yet, Julie persevered through this all, and 18 hard months later, she was back at the one place she never wanted to leave: the stage. She gave a riveting performance even though she felt as if she would pass out any minute. Afterward, they asked her how she managed to get through this entire ordeal, and she gave an answer that really struck my heart.

“Mental Strength. When you really want to do something, your mind is stronger than any other force.”

I am a huge advocate of the mind’s potential power. But this story really hits home for me because I went through something similar, though far less severe. When I was 18, my life abruptly changed when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s diesease. It’s an intestinal disorder where your own body begins to attack a section of your GI track for no particular reason. This causes swelling in that area, and screws up the whole digestive process.

My Crohn’s was located where the small and large intestines meet. It caused me to drop from 185 pounds all the way down to 118 pounds in under 6 months. I was forced to have surgery to remove a foot of my intestines, a fistula attached to my bladder, and hope that it would send the disease into remission. Once you have Crohn’s diseases, you have it for life. The surgery also was risky because they did not know if they would have to give me a permanent colostomy bag until they got in there.

The disease was not really life threatening yet, but if I did not get better, my life would never be the same. It was definitely a tough time, but I never really was scared for some reason. I kind of just accepted this was something I had to go through, but it would not beat me. In fact, it would make me stronger. Once I had the surgery, I recovered in under a month, and have lived a relatively normal life ever since.

The one thing about the experience was it changed me forever. Being put in a situation with no alternatives, facing the possibility of never living the same lifestyle again, you begin to understand the power of the mind. It is stronger than any other force, as Julie said. If you really want to do something, anything can be possible. Anything at all.

Many people never believe they can do something. They rationalize it with reasons that seem rational and may even be to the current school of thought. These are people who lack mental strength. I was one of those people, until my experience opened my eyes. And once your eyes are opened to the possibilities of the mind, anything is possible.

It’s why millionaires tell you the first million is the hardest. Once you’ve made a million once, it’s easier every time. The reason is because now your mind believes it because it experienced it. If you believe it to be true, than it already is no matter what.

Julie’s story is one of many we see all the time proving what people can accomplish with their mind when put into dire circumstances. My question is, why wait for the dire circumstances? Why not accomplish what you want to right now?

Believing takes perseverance, persistence, and patience. If those traits are enough to beat a rare cancer, then I think our goals, whatever they are, definitely pale in comparison.