Brian Tracy's Cancer – A Metaphor For Any Unexpected Setback Or Reversal In Life

I’ve been a great  Brian Tracy fan and I know the difference my life has taken by applying the success principles he teaches.

I had the privledge to hear him and speak with him about a year ago and was on a high for ages after that.  So I was shocked and saddened to hear that within the past few weeks, he has been diagnosed with a fairly advanced cancerous tumor in his throat. On his blog Tracy shares some of his thoughts, perspectives and ways he will choose to respond to this recent news.

On his blog, he writes how life was moving along quite smoothly for him.  He was in good health and new opportunities and possibilities were  still coming his way.  But his recent diagnosis of cancer has changed that.  He writes about how he now has to “slam on the breaks,” call a “time out,” and redirect the entire focus of his life to survival.

What he writes resonated with what people go through in situtations where individuals experience any sudden, unexpected setback in life – which includes as in his case, a diagnosis of an illness like cancer, but which could also involve situations like divorce, news of a partner’s infidelity or being made redundant.  As he says:

“It also occurred to me that cancer can be a metaphor for any unexpected setback or reversal in life, especially in the areas of money, business, career and marriage.  In each case, when your situation abruptly changes for the worse, you go through a process of shock and denial, followed by depression and self-pity, which is then followed by acceptance and resurgence.”

Brian Tracy offers the following advice for those going through their own “dark night of the soul” as he termed it:

1.  Tracy admonishes the reader to remember the famous words – “This too will pass”.  He describes the importance of the process of detaching from a particular outcome, remaining calm and accepting ‘what is’.

2. Tracy then reminds the reader of the relationship between optimism and the strength of the immune system and suggests engaging in two ”Optimism Mechanisms”

* Deliberately looking for something good in the situtation

* Seeking for the valuable lesson in whatever has occured

In a split second in time – our life can suddenly get derailed leaving us, initially feeling shocked and numb and later feeling angry and despairing.  The  advice Brian Tracy offers, backed by research in the field of positive psychology, is about the power to choose how to respond to something so unexpected and out of our control.  It’s a response that will help us feel more in control and also more likely to give us a richer and more positive outcome.

We wish Brian Tracy well in his fight against the cancer and offer him our heartfelt love and best wishes.