What's Your WHY?

When you were going through cancer, you probably tapped into energy, determination, and courage that you didn't even know you had. Your PURPOSE was to survive and you were able to focus your energy on what mattered most - getting through treatment and showing cancer who's boss. 

You were told what to do and given a strict schedule of chemo/radiation/immunotherapy/whatever treatment that was laid out for you from start to finish. And you knew WHY you were doing it - it was your best chance at getting rid of the cancer and saving your life. 

But that strict cancer treatment protocol finished, and the intensity of that feeling of survival weakened - at least just a little. You're now left with less energy, a bit less determination, and a big void when it comes to thinking about "now what do I do?"

What will I do today? Where will I go? What will I eat? Who will I talk to? Should I exercise? How can I keep cancer away?

You are left with the ability/burden to make your own choices. After cancer treatment, your direction has become less focused and you're unsure of where to put your attention. It's overwhelming.

Heck, you know at a base level that you need to change your eating habits, start exercising, and stress less. You KNOW this. But 2 things: 1) you could stand to have a bit more guidance in order to cut out the background noise and know where to start, and 2) you could use a little motivation and determination to begin these difficult lifestyle changes. 

Where did that motivation go that you had during cancer treatment that helped you to survive? Where did that determination and courage go? Now you feel like a burnt-out and distracted sloth that can't put the desire to be well into action. 

Because after cancer treatment, when you're tired (exhausted), burnt-out, and overwhelmed with what you could be doing, you've also lost the immediate feeling of the need for survival. You've lost your purpose aka your WHY.

And, as the German philosopher, Frederick Nietzsche said, "he who has a why can endure any how."

Knowing your why is a necessary first step to achieving your how and what. It's a weird sentence, but it will make sense soon.

Let's get into finding your WHY, HOW, and WHAT so that you can find the motivation, desire, and courage that you had before that got you through cancer treatment, and apply it to getting your energy back and improving your chances of remission...

Simply put, your WHAT, as it pertains to your greatest health concern, is likely to keep cancer from returning or growing.

Your HOW, as it pertains to your WHAT and why you're hanging out with me, is through nutrition and lifestyle changes. We aren't going to go into the details because, as you may not be expecting, the how is NOT the most important part. Anyone can do the how, and perhaps a little expert input is needed sometimes (if so, check out my Facebook community), but even with the education around how, a lot of people still don't put the how into action.

That's because the WHY, aka your reason/purpose, is the most important part of achieving your what. It is what drives you to actually follow through with the how to get to the what. 

Knowing your WHY is going to get you started and keep you going through the bumps in the road. We are all human, we all have other things to do, and we all fall off track. That's totally fine!

And, although your why is still related to surviving, the intensity of the feeling isn't as big as it was when you were going through treatment, and you need to understand your purpose more. You need to feel it in your soul and it needs to resonate with your how and what.

How to figure out your WHY. Why do you want to keep cancer away or from growing? It may seem obvious, but sometimes these words just don't hit us right and take some deeper investigation in order to reach the ability to make us self-motivated. 

Just a note...these questions coming up likely can be applied to any roadblock you experience with your health. Interested in exercising but can't seem to make yourself do it? Start with finding your WHY for wanting to exercise. Interested in meal prepping but can't seem to make the time? Start with finding your WHY for wanting to meal prep. You get my drift.

In order to uncover your why, answer these questions...

1) In a perfect world, what would my ideal health look like (how would you feel/think, what would you be doing/saying, who would you be with)?

2) To achieve this health goal, what are all the things I need to reach it?

3) Are these changes worth the outcome I described as my perfect health goal?

4) If so, perfect. If not, why is it not worth it?

5) Do I feel confident I can put these changes into place in order to achieve my ideal health outcome?

6) If so, perfect. If not, what do I need to feel confident?

7) What are the cons of not making healthy changes and achieving my ideal health?

Take like 30 mins to WRITE THESE ANSWERS OUT. Get out a paper and pen. Then continue on.

Once you've answered the questions, let's circle back to question 7, and question 4 if you explained why it isn't worth the changes. Basically, these are the walls that are holding you back from reaching your ideal health. They are knots in your why. Let's tease them out.

Cross out any excuses that may be in questions 4 and 7. Excuses show up as anything that shows you can't accomplish your goal because of things like time and money (self-imposed restrictions). I say these are excuses more often than not because we all have the same amount of time. We can all look at Facebook 10 mins less per day, we can all take five minutes to meditate, we can all find an hour to grocery shop or order groceries online. 

I've worked with many single parents and busy parents, and when they are truly committed to their why, they find the time. Listen, I don't have kids, but I've talked with many accomplished people who do, and I also have busy clients with kids who have succeeded in their health goals. And they say that sometimes it comes down to the fact that your health is more of a priority than many of the needs of your kids. When you're feeling your best, you become a better parent and you are role modeling how to take care of yourself.

You know what? You need to be honest about your priorities. When you say you don't have time, you actually are saying you don't know how to prioritize your health. And when you start to push yourself to make these changes for increased energy, you start to have more energy to do more things. And when you start to get rid of the things that aren't serving you, you start to find time for the things that are. When you are saying that you don't have time, you are saying that it isn't important to you. 

And often when I speak with people who say they don't have money...first off, I get it and I hear you and I can appreciate that. I pulled myself through three degrees and 11 years of post-secondary education, often having two jobs to pay for school, and it was a struggle. I'm still very thrifty and I am conscious of where I invest my money.

But to make these healthy changes, you often don't have to spend a dime. How much money is it to go for a walk? How much money is it to sit quietly and breathe? How much money is it to stretch? How much does it cost to eat an apple with peanut butter instead of toast and butter? How much does it cost to do a little meal prep each week instead of ordering pizza? How much do your blood sugar medications cost? How much does feeling energetic and being present with family cost? 

And if you're anything like many of my clients, the money is already allocated somewhere else and sometimes it's really hard to imagine taking it and being able to invest in yourself in this capacity. When you recognize the importance of what you want to do for your health, you need to think about the financial repercussions of not investing in yourself and your health. What does not investing in your health mean for your for work? outside activities? family time? for the long term? More often than not, it means taking another look at where your money is going, and investing it into new directions, like your health. 

Next, recognize your limitations and fear. Just because you haven't succeeded in the past, it doesn't mean you can't succeed now (you change every day). Also, not liking something or not being good at something, is not a good enough reason to avoid it (you need to explore why this is and be patient with yourself). Do you not have confidence in your abilities? Then take your answer to question 6 and start looking for what you need. Always challenge your mindset and trust in yourself and the process. 

Now, cross off the excuses, limitations, and fears from your answers. What are you left with?

I hope by now you're feeling like you're closer to finding your WHY. In order for you to make these long-lasting changes for improving your health, you really need to know your WHY in your heart. This whole exercise you just did is important for breaking it down for you and giving you the deeper exploration you need in order to sift through your thoughts and emotions and to make your why more concrete and attainable. 

Finding your why is something I work on with my clients in my online system, FLOURISH! The Cancer Remission Revolution. The goal of this system is for my clients to achieve the knowledge and know-how to achieve long-term health and remission. And I could supply them with all the info in the world, but I can't do the work for them. When we connect them with their WHY, the how (my program that takes them through exactly what they need to feel energized and to improve remission rates) becomes easier. 

In addition to your why, I also help to motivate you and keep you accountable through weekly check-ins, and I get rid of the background noise and lay everything out, step-by-step, so that you can feel more focused and use your time and energy efficiently.

If you think that sounds like what you need, don't hesitate to reach out to book your FREE 45-minute breakthrough call where I will give you clarity around the problem that you're experiencing, we will discuss what is and isn't working, and options on how you can move forward. If you seem like a good fit for FLOURISH! The Cancer Remission Revolution, then we will go through it together and decide if it's part of your next steps to achieving more energy and your best health after cancer treatment. 

WHY would you want to miss out? ;-)