be positive – Living Well While Surviving Cancer

Inspirational Quotes for the New Year

Be upbeat every day.

As we have posted before, inspirational quotes can be quite uplifting. For example, we cited inspirational quotes from Good Reads, Wisdom Quotes, Brainy Quote, and Lifehack Quotes.

Here are several quotes cited by Melanie Curtin for Inc.:

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” —Albert Einstein

“It’s not about how hard you can hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” —Rocky Balboa

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” —Winston Churchill

“Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” —Joshua J. Marine

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” —Maya Angelou

“Embrace the glorious mess that you are.” —Elizabeth Gilbert

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” —C.S. Lewis

“The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” —Mark Twain

“If I had just one hour left to live, I’d spend it in math class…it never ends.” —Anonymous

AND:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow! What a Ride!'” —Hunter S. Thompson

Click the image to see more quotes.

Inspirational Quotes for the New Year — *CREDIT: Getty Images*

How to Get and Stay Stronger

Tips to stay healthier

To get some some excellent tips about staying/getting strong, check out the links below to several recent NY Times’ articles. There should be at least one article that addresses YOUR needs.

Live Life Every Day

Today, I am quite sad. More on that shortly.

In our blog, we have focused on the journeys of people with serious health issues. And sought to be inspiring through posts such as these:

Why I am Sad Today

Over the weekend, the female half of one of my closest and dearest couples passed away. She was the same age as me. And she dealt with a plethora of health issues over the years. As has her husband. This post is in honor of them both. She suffered greatly. And as a survivor of a long-time marriage, he is suffering a lot now. They have been the NICEST people I know.

Understand that you are in my heart and head. And always will be. The fond memories will not fade away. Rest in peace.

Yet, we know that life goes on and that we must treasure each day, because we can be snatched away suddenly. As we’ve noted before: Try not to “throw away” any days. They are precious.

That’s why I find Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” (written by Craig Michael Wiseman, James Timothy Nichols, and Tim Nichols) to be so inspirational. Even though the specific lyrics of the song mostly do not apply to me, the focus is on living life every day:

He said:

“I was in my early forties
With a lot of life before me
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days
Looking at the x-rays
Talkin’ ’bout the options
And talkin’ ’bout sweet time”

I asked him:
“When it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How’s it hit you
When you get that kind of news?
Man, what’d you do?”

He said:
“I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying”

And he said:
“Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying”

He said:
“I was finally the husband
That most of the time I wasn’t
And I became a friend a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden going fishin’
Wasn’t such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad
I finally read the Good Book, and I
Took a good, long, hard look
At what I’d do if I could do it all again.”

New Year’s 2019 Resolutions – Part One

Be motivated to set and follow New Year’s resolutions.

As we begin the new year, we need to set meaningful resolutions so as to be better. We should do this a positive, motivated, and continuing manner. Today, New Year’s 2019 Resolutions – Part One. Tomorrow, New Year’s 2019 Resolutions – Part Two.

Not only start 2019 by addressing your personal resolutions, but end the year by keeping to these resolutions.

Consider these 15 resolutions as described by Health Fitness Revolution.

And these 9 resolutions from UPMC Myhealth Matters.

Now, articulate YOUR OWN plan for meeting your personal resolutions as shown by Times Now News.

Our Interview with Health Professional Radio

I recently did an online radio interview with Health Professional Radio about my experiences and my upbeat message.

As we noted when our blog began: “This blog is intended to inspire hope and show the value of a positive attitude. Happiness is a choice. And may we all live as long as we can as well as we can.”

My personal goal is to try to inspire as many people as possible — and to encourage us all to live life every day. With that in mind, I recently did an online radio interview with Health Professional Radio about my experiences and my upbeat message.

To listen to the interview, click the play button below.

To get a FREE copy of Surviving Cancer and Embracing Life: My Personal Journey, click the book cover.

Having a Work-Life Balance

I’ve only grasped the value of a work-life balance in recent years. You? How to do better!

Millennials do a good job at a having a work-life balance. Us older folks don’t tend to do as well. For me, work has been dominant in my life.

So, what can we do to improve our work-life balance? Let’s learn some tips from Marissa Levin, reporting for Inc.:

“Today’s work environment has permanently blurred the lines between our personal and professional lives, which requires us to be even more intentional and protective with our downtime. Burnout and mental health issues have reached crisis levels, with nearly 1 in 12 adults having depression. The number of hours we spend online checking E-mail or engaging in social media platforms continues to grow. Adults today spend an average of 11 hours online.”

“What can we do to ensure we care for our physical and emotional health while still attending to personal and professional obligations? These 8 steps can help even the most stretched person regain control over his/her schedules and restore a sense of calm to their daily life.”

“(1) Prioritize your health. (2) Put buffers in your schedule. (3) Stay true to your agenda – not someone else’s. (4) Schedule touchpoints with your friends. (5) Plan for long-term fun. (6) Get your sleep. (7) Be OK with not getting it all done. (8) Remember the power of your thoughts.”

Click the image to learn about each of these tips.