Monday, November 05, 2007

Reactions

I was thinking today about how people react to bad situations. And I think it is the true measure of the strength of a person's character.

Some people get diagnosed with cancer and fight it from day 1 kicking and screaming (My friend Steve is a good example. Also Lance Armstrong). Other get depressed and shut down

Some people lose a loved one and turn around and start a crusade to prevent it from happening to others (Katie Couric and Colon Cancer, the founders of MADD, SADD, etc). Some people turn into recluses.

I see a whole spectrum of people at the hospital who are dealing with horrible, life altering diagnoses, and I have a lot of sympathy for them no matter how they react. But I am always so inspired by people who stay strong. No sulking, second guessing, no looking back. Just looking forward. Even people who know they will die. Because they know that they will be forever remembered by how they are at the end. That not giving up is going to forever influence the lives of sons/daughters/grandkids. They will have a role model for how to fight adversity.

When smaller things happen to me I always fall into this- feel sorry for myself- funk. It sometimes lasts as little as a few minutes, sometimes weeks. But I just can't look at myself in the mirror when I'm acting like that. And then I make myself realize that any negative thing that happens in your life, no matter how big or small, can be made into a positive if you really want it to.

So I'll add a couple inspirational quotes here. So that everyone out there who is in a funk can use this to try to snap out of it. Life is too short to be funky

We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.


Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitudes toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.
Charles R. Swindoll



The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.
Tom Bodett


Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.

Helen Keller


Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.
Francesca Reigler


Happy Monday!

:-)

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you're a fan of inspirational quotes, check out Reel Life Wisdom site. 1,300 meaningful quotes from the movies. My favorite related to character:

“As I've gotten older, I realize I'm certain of only two things. Days that begin with rowing on a lake are better than days that do not. Second, a man's character is his fate.” (The Emperor's Club)

Charlie said...

Good stuff.

i find as I get older, my reactions become much calmer.

Sometimes this works against me.
Most of the time not.

Ultimately we choose our state of being.

Angry Runner said...

"Some people turn into recluses."

Damn right we do. Not that easy to start the crusade...

Unknown said...

Thanks Jodi, well put and well received.

Janet Edwards said...

Clearly you have a very strong character woman!

It was awesome to finally see ya for a bit over the weekend!

Rice said...

Being able to look at yourself in the mirror is always a good gage as to how you spent your day.

Great post.

Cheers.

Rice.

B Bop said...

"Life is too short to be funky."

Awesome.

To avoid the funk, some of us turn into a drunk ((looks innocent))

Thanks for this post.

Craig said...

Very nice uplifting post!

Unknown said...

Just found your blog, I love the title "Diagnosis Ironman"

I think it is a terminal disease.

Great posts, keep it up.

triguyjt said...

forrest gump
"life is like a box of chocolates"
Thats life in a nutshell, but its half of the story.
How we choose to react to what kind of chocolate is how we live our lives.

nice post dr.jodi

momo said...

thanks for the reminder, jodi! sometimes we let the day to day muck up what we really need to be focusing on - being true to ourselves.

Unknown said...

All very true. Our attitude towards things is the only thing we can truly control.

I loved the pictures in your previous post. Beautiful!

No Wetsuit Girl said...

Great point. I know I really needed to hear it heading into the Winter Funk.

Bob Almighty said...

thanks for the pep talk doc...

Bill Lawrence said...

Good Post

When I was diagnosed with melanoma, I felt pretty sorry for myself in the examination room.

That self pity pretty much ended when I got back out to the waiting room and saw a bald headed seven year old girl carrying on like a normal seven year old.

How could I be parylized with fear when that little girl could "HTFU" and continue her childhood, despite going through everyones nightmare.

Thanks again for the great post!

E-Speed said...

Hey girl, hope you are feeling less funky! After JFK let's kick off VTC with a trainer ride at your place! I miss you!

Anonymous said...

Love the red hair!

Freenie said...

I am thankful that I have you for a niece