Beating Cancer in Heels: Negative vs. positive thoughts

A few years before I was diagnosed with breast cancer the book The Secret — which explains how our thoughts create our future — came out.

That notion really got me thinking: Am I really that powerful? Am I to blame for my reality? Being positive 24/7 sounds really exhausting, but if it can create a better life, then I think it’s worth a shot.

At the time, I didn’t give it too much thought because I was in my early 20s and my biggest concern was my weekend plans. With that being said, I never forgot what I learned.

At first when I was diagnosed with cancer at 25 years old, I didn’t want to tell anyone. I didn’t want my name now to be associated with a life-threatening illness.

The last thing I wanted was to be asked, “What’s new Marlena?” because I’d reply, while holding my tears back, “Oh not much, I just have some cancer that I have to deal with. How about you?”

It’s hard for me to keep any big news in, but I wasn’t ready to let such devastating news out. That feeling didn’t last very long because my perspective changed when I realized the lack of support that was given to young women with cancer.

I quickly decided that I had a new mission in life!! That’s when I started to take my negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones.

The battle of negative vs. positive was about to begin and I prepared myself by strapping on my four-inch heels and sharing my raw story with the world, through my on-line diary.

I didn’t know how I would keep positive when all I could anticipate were the negatives. What I decided to do was to allow each negative thought to enter my head and then discover something truly positive.

For example, when I started thinking about how much I missed my hair, I purchased a fun, inexpensive wig in a color that I always wanted to try. Rocking a long blond wig made me realize that blondes might actually have more fun. I’m a sassy brunette so I wasn’t that happy about it.

Quickly, I found when I flipped my perspective into something positive, the easier it became to find light at the end of my tunnel. Doing so gave me hope that led to more creative ideas on how to deal with this all.

So many positive opportunities and results came my way that for a split moment I felt like I had some type of magical power. That power was my ability to become aware of my thoughts. It’s not easy, but it isn’t impossible.

How do you become more aware of your thoughts?

Ask yourself…Am I being aware of how my thoughts affect my actions and feelings?

Suggestion: When you have a negative thought, pay attention to what you do after it.

Empowerment: “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” — Marcus Aurelius

How do you manage your thoughts once you are becoming more aware of them?

Ask yourself…What is it going to take for you to shift your thoughts to cope better with the reality you are in?

Suggestion: List five reason of why you owe it to yourself to let positivity enter your life.

Empowerment: Thoughts become feelings that lead to actions that then become results.

Inspiration for the week: Watch the movie “Soul Surfer.”

Calming sentence of the week — Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Come see me at a charity event May 6 at StitchThat’s it for today, coachee!

Stay tuned for more tips from your Life Coach Marlena!

Marlena Ortiz is a Certified NYU Life and Personal Coach and founder of Beating Cancer In Heels and MarlenaLifeCoach.com.