“Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.” – Emily Dickinson
Glancing back on life, it’s clear that the greatest struggles I’ve endured were not actually from the pain itself, but rather from that awkward, excruciating, silent period of waiting to see what might come next.
Concerns when Mom ran late picking me up from grade school. Thinking Dad was going to kill me after the fire. Trepidation before leaving home for college. Questioning whether I’d ever find love. Waiting outside the Emergency Room for updates on my own child.
Even this morning, writing on the day before an immensely important national election.
While we all face moments of uncertainty, what if we chose to see the future not as a murky mess packed with a challenge, but as a clean canvas ripe with potential to grow, change, impact and achieve?
This perspective shift is one I learned from Teri Griege.
She views each day through a lens of hope that fuels her through days of total uncertainty. And after being diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer and told that cancer had metastasized to her liver, Teri knows better than most both the pain and potential of uncertainty.
Although crushed by the diagnosis of terminal cancer, she continued to dream of watching her kids grow, dancing at her daughter’s wedding, growing old with her husband, and running a big race.
In her first appointment with the oncologist, Teri asked if she could continue swimming, biking, and running. The doctor agreed, said exercise was encouraged and told her to feel free to workout when she felt up to it.
It’s unlikely, however, he had any idea it was Teri’s plan to not simply exercise, but to train for the Kona Ironman Triathlon – the ultimate endurance competition consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and 26.22-mile run!
In the midst of treatments, surgeries, weakness, and nausea, Teri trained for her big race. “Not knowing when the dawn would come, she opened every door.” And boy did the door open!
After training two years for the competition, while simultaneously undergoing aggressive treatment for her cancer, Teri ran the race of a lifetime, crossed the finish line and ran into the arms of her husband, kids, family and “army” gathered there to greet her.
Seven years after her terminal cancer diagnosis, Teri still doesn’t know what tomorrow holds, but that doesn’t stop her from racing toward the immense possibility within it.
My friends, everything is going to change tomorrow. There will be an election. A new United States president will be elected. A new day will dawn.
You can choose to weigh yourself down with anxiety and fear, cross your arms and curse the darkness of the approaching day.
But what if you saw it differently?
I challenge you to embrace the gift that comes with each new dawn. The beauty of a blank canvas, the potential within a new day and the opportunity to finish strong in your best race yet. [Tweet this] | [Share on Facebook]
The choice you make not only has the potential to impact an election but more importantly, the life you lead afterward regardless the results.
This is your day. Live Inspired.
Get inspired with me and Teri on episode 002 of my Live Inspired Podcast (ranked top 20 on iTunes business)! Subscribe, rate & review here.
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