Thinking from the Perspective of a Breast Cancer Survivor

I love to think. I love the satisfaction that I get when I would think through something and come up with a great solution or a better way to do something.  I always loved to think about the topic that I will choose each week for my blog. I can go on and on but I have discovered that my thinking could be vastly improved if I considered not only what I was thinking but how I was thinking.

“I first ask/pray for guidance and direction from God. Then I gather all of the information that I can find, ask others that I trust for their input and allow my instincts to come into play.”Barbara Jacoby

I believe that there is a solution for every situation that may arise and if you send a “problem” my way, I will work to find a solution. This applies to my own life. I cannot solve other people’s problems because I don’t think the way that they do and I know that each person’s response to a problem is greatly shaped by their own personal experiences. If someone wishes my point of view on a situation with which they are dealing, I can share that information based upon my perspective.But every person has to think things through for themselves in order to reach a conclusion that works for them.

Now after all of my years of thinking, I have finally found that I have continually made that process so much more difficult and time-consuming for myself because I was allowing my emotions to enter into my thinking. Sometimes it was a matter of what other people would think about my choice.  Sometimes I did not trust my own instincts.  Sometimes I did not believe that I had enough information because I wasn’t an expert in a particular area. And worst of all, sometimes it was because someone else told me that I was wrong about my choice and would try to get me to do something differently.

Now the more I thought about my thinking, the clearer it became that I cannot reach the best decisions if I keep straying into an emotional realm. So I have been practicing and each time I start to allow emotions to enter, I stop myself and go back to addressing the problem. If I feel that I need additional input, I will do research and I will discuss the matter with those whose opinions I respect. But in the end, I need to make my own decisions.

I first ask/pray for guidance and direction from God. Then I gather all of the information that I can find, ask others that I trust for their input and allow my instincts to come into play. With all of these factors, I make my decision with the knowledge that I did all that I could with the information that I had and based on who and what I am as a person, I know that I have reached the best decision possible for me and for me, that will always be enough.