Setting Future Goals for Breast Cancer Patients

No matter if you are diagnosed or have been living with cancer for a long time or even if you are currently cancer-free, one of the most important things is to continue to be inspired by having something to which you can look forward. Of course, there are always the big goals such as a benchmark for your child like a graduation, wedding or an addition to your family. But, while I have repeatedly heard these as the reasons for keeping up the fight against cancer. I seldom, if ever, hear a cancer patient being motivated by hope for the future based upon a personal goal.

“we can’t know what tomorrow will bring so why not hope and pray and focus on its being something wonderful and better and happier than we have ever known.”Barbara Jacoby

This made me wonder why such would be the case and it seems that we, as women in particular, set everyone else and their goals and happiness as our goals.We worry about everyone else and how we can make their lives better and we determine our own worth based upon our being needed by others. But what happens if we don’t have the motivation for the happiness and well being of others on which to focus?

I remember my mother’s words in the months immediately before her decline when she felt no longer needed. My father had already died and as she put it, her children were all married to wonderful spouses and living happy lives while her only grandchild was close to college graduation and going off to live her own independent life. She felt that she was no longer needed, not because she wasn’t included in all of our lives but rather because she had done what she was sent here to do so it was okay for her to wrap it up and go. I remember thinking that it was such a great perspective on a life well lived but also it was sad that she had no more motivation to keep on going for herself.

And it was at that point that I realized that what she was saying and doing applies to all of us. If we don’t have a purpose or a goal or a dream or something to pursue, why would we bother to get out of bed every day? If all that we have to look forward to is the end of our lives because we don’t see anything in our future to keeping working or fighting for, do we just stop and lay down and die? But, most importantly, how do we know that we don’t or won’t have anything to look forward to in the future since we can’t see beyond this moment?

Maybe our true future and real purpose is yet to be revealed because everything is not in its proper place at this moment. And it was at this moment when I understood what it means to live in the moment and enjoy every minute of today because you don’t know what tomorrow may bring. What tomorrow may bring just may be something so much better than we could ever imagine but if we quit on it just because we don’t see it, how sad would such a decision be?

Therefore, I started getting excited about anticipating things based upon holidays, the change of seasons, visits with family and friends whether near or far or just about anything that made me smile. It also might be working toward a purchase of something that I have wanted or setting a short-term goal to do something positive for myself or someone else that could potentially be a new way of life. It doesn’t really matter what I project or set up as long as I am taking the focus off of what is presently causing me pain, either physically or mentally, and think about something happy.

That which can always motivate us is the hope for something better. No matter the amount of pain or fear or despair that we might feel in this moment, we know that it can be better because we have known better at least at moments in the past.

It is this knowledge that keeps us going and lets us focus on the positive and the promise of something better, bigger and/or greater for the future if we just let go of what we are holding on to that is causing so much pain and sadness and sorrow in this moment and create a happy or positive thought or dream or anticipation for the future. After all, we can’t know what tomorrow will bring so why not hope and pray and focus on its being something wonderful and better and happier than we have ever known.