Breast Cancer Reimagined

Finding Strength in Gratitude

• Shannon • Season 1 • Episode 9

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Summary
In this episode of Breast Cancer Reimagined, host Shannon D. Silva, a two-time breast cancer survivor, explores the transformative power of gratitude in navigating the challenges of breast cancer. She shares personal stories and practical strategies for cultivating gratitude, emphasizing its role in enhancing mental health, fostering happiness, and finding deeper meaning in life. Listeners are encouraged to discover their unique relationship with gratitude and to practice it intentionally through specific prompts.

Takeaways

  • Gratitude can transform challenges into opportunities for growth.
  • Experiencing gratitude can ease pain and foster self-compassion.
  • Gratitude supports mental wellbeing by counteracting negative emotions.
  • Practicing gratitude can boost happiness and life satisfaction.
  • Gratitude connects individuals to a deeper sense of purpose.
  • Understanding your character strengths can enhance your gratitude practice.
  • Gratitude can be a signature strength, middle strength, or lesser strength.
  • Personalizing gratitude practices makes them more impactful.
  • Simple prompts can help cultivate a gratitude mindset.
  • Recognizing the good in life is essential for emotional resilience.

Journaling Prompts:

#1  I’m grateful for… because…This is meaningful because… 

#2: Things could be worse and I’m glad they’re not 

List of 24 Character Strengths

VIA Survey

Please let us know how we can support you by completing the Breast Cancer Reimagined - Listener Survey

Article 

Breast Cancer Reimagined Facebook Group 



Speaker 1:

The story you tell yourself about your breast cancer journey shapes your entire experience, whether you've been recently diagnosed or are in the midst of treatment. Breast Cancer Reimagined is your podcast for writing this new chapter of your life. Hi, I'm Shannon, your host, and I'm so glad you're here. As a proud two-time breast cancer survivor, I'm on a mission to help women like you reimagine how you navigate your breast cancer journey by helping you shift your mindset, activate your strengths and uncover deeper meaning in your journey. I'm creating future episodes to address your unique challenges, but I need your input. What are your biggest questions or struggles when it comes to your journey? Share them with me by completing the Google form that's linked in the show notes. Your voice matters and together we can create something truly powerful. I can't wait to hear from you. Hello, hello, welcome back to Breast Cancer Reimagined. I'm Shannon, your host, a proud two-time breast cancer survivor. I am so glad you are here. In this episode, we're focusing on how gratitude can truly make a difference for you as you navigate your breast cancer journey. Now, it's not about pretending that the hard parts don't exist. It's about using gratitude to transform those challenges into opportunities for growth and deeper connections. We'll explore how your experience with gratitude is unique and you'll learn practical ways you can use it to strengthen your mental health, boost your happiness and uncover deeper meaning in your journey. So, to kick off this episode, I'm going to share a defining moment that helped me find strength and gratitude.

Speaker 1:

It was September 2011. I was in San Diego visiting my stepmom and my dad. I was sitting on the couch and then the doorbell rang, and as soon as I saw who it was, I burst into tears. It was the hospice doctor. I was crying because my dad was dying of stage 4 colon cancer. I was heartbroken. I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do to save him. But while I was crying, I realized that I burst into tears every time the doorbell rang, and in that moment it hit me. I realized that I was crying not just because I was sad, but because I was grateful. I was grateful because I was able to be with my dad before he died. I was grateful because of the love and the care that my dad was receiving. I was grateful because I got to be there with my family. My mom, my brother, my stepmom and my wonderful husband drove eight hours in the middle of the night so he could be with me, and I'll never forget the moment he rolled up into the driveway. I ran out of the house and into his arms. I was grateful because my job was understanding and told me to take all of the time that I needed. Now, gratitude didn't take the pain away, but it eased my pain because I was able to appreciate the good in the situation. And this experience was so meaningful to me because my gratitude opened the door to self-love and self-compassion. I was really able to be there for myself when I needed myself the most. This experience helped me to find strength and gratitude.

Speaker 1:

So what is the character, strength of gratitude? Gratitude is being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen, taking time to express thanks. It's about noticing and recognizing the positive aspects of your life, big and small. Perhaps it's a stranger who opens the door for you and you take a moment to acknowledge the kindness. Gratitude it's that feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for the goodness. Maybe that's when a friend checks in on you and you appreciate the love behind their message. It's about actively expressing your gratitude, both internally, meaning towards yourself, and externally, to others, maybe in writing or through your actions, so you might say a quiet thank you to your body for getting you through another day, or maybe you compliment a caregiver and let them know how much their kindness means to you. Gratitude is also about appreciating past benefits, present goodness and even anticipating future good things. So in the past, you might reflect on a time you overcame a challenge and remind yourself of your resilience. In the present, maybe you enjoy a heartfelt conversation with a friend, cherishing the connection, and in the future, you might think of a celebration you hope to attend, to letting yourself feel that excitement.

Speaker 1:

Now that we've explored the meaning of gratitude, let's talk about the payoff for finding strength and gratitude. There are lots of reasons to focus on gratitude, but I'm going to focus on three key reasons and, as I share these reasons, think about the reason that resonates most with you. So number one gratitude supports mental well-being by counteracting negative emotions. Gratitude acts as an antidote to negative or upsetting emotions like anger or overwhelm, and I love this saying you can't be grumpy and grateful at the same time. Number two gratitude is a happiness string, and this means that gratitude directly boosts your feelings of joy and life satisfaction. This shift promotes contentment and satisfaction with your present circumstances. Now, this doesn't mean that everything is great. It simply means that you can see the good in your circumstance. And number three gratitude is a meaning strength, and this means that it connects you to something larger than yourself, giving you a deeper sense of purpose. It cultivates a profound appreciation for life itself, reminding you of your place within it and giving deeper meaning to your daily experiences.

Speaker 1:

Now, which reason for practicing gratitude resonates most with you? Are you looking to support your mental well-being? Or perhaps you want to create more happiness in your breast cancer journey? Or you want to create more meaning in your breast cancer journey? So now let's put it all together by exploring how to practice gratitude. Discovering your unique connection to gratitude is essential, and the VIA survey can guide you in that journey. Now, to bring this to life, let's use an analogy called the path and whether or not you have your character strengths profile. This analogy will help you discover your unique connection to gratitude.

Speaker 1:

So, number one gratitude as a signature or top strength. So imagine a well-worn path through a beautiful forest. It's clear, easy to follow and you walk it effortlessly. You know every turn, every beautiful vista, and it brings you joy each time you traverse it. If gratitude is a signature strength in your top five on your profile. Your path of appreciation is like this well-worn trail. It's natural, familiar, and you instinctively see the beauty and good things along the way without needing to think too much about it. Number two gratitude as a middle string.

Speaker 1:

Gratitude will show up as number six through 19 on your profile, if that's the case. So picture a path that's mostly clear but has occasional obstacles like fallen branches or overgrown bushes. You can navigate it, but you need to pay attention, make some detours and put in a bit of effort. So if gratitude is a middle strength, your path of appreciation is like this you can access it, but you need to be mindful and actively remove the obstacles of negative thoughts and consciously choose to walk it regularly. And lastly, gratitude as a lesser strength. It will show up on your profile as strengths number 20 through 24. And so imagine a path that's barely visible, overgrown with weeds and hidden in the undergrowth. You need to clear the way, find the right direction and put in significant effort to make it possible. So if gratitude is a lesser strength, your path of appreciation is like this you need to make a deliberate effort to find it clear the weeds of negative habits and consistently practice walking it to make it more visible and accessible. So think about your breast cancer journey for a moment.

Speaker 1:

When it comes to gratitude, do you feel like you're walking a well-worn path, effortlessly noticing the good, or does it feel more like you're navigating a path with a few obstacles, or perhaps even clearing a hidden trail? By knowing where gratitude falls in your profile, you can develop a more personalized approach to practicing gratitude, making it more meaningful and impactful in your daily life so it actually sticks. So let me share with you what a personalized approach looks like. So if gratitude to you feels like a signature strength, that means that practicing it will feel natural, authentic and energizing, and you likely are already expressing and feeling gratitude frequently without much effort. For you, practice is about amplifying your existing inclination and making it more intentional and impactful. So, for example, you might actively seek out things to be grateful for during difficult times. This is where signature strengths shine. They can be resources, even in adversity.

Speaker 1:

Now, gratitude as a middle strength. Gratitude is something you can cultivate and can access, but it might not always be your immediate go-to response. It requires more conscious effort and structure. So for you, structured practices will be especially helpful in consistently cultivating gratitude. So, for example, you might want to set reminders on your phone or computer to pause and think about something you are grateful for throughout your day. Grateful for throughout your day. Lastly, gratitude as a lesser strength. If gratitude is a lesser strength, practicing it might feel less intuitive and require more significant effort. It's important to be patient with yourself and start small. Don't try to force yourself into elaborate practices right away. Again, begin with small, manageable steps. So, for example, something you might try is each day identify just one good thing that happened and acknowledge it with gratitude, even mentally. When it comes to gratitude, do you find it comes naturally and effortlessly as you apply it to your daily life, or do you often need reminders and structured practices to engage with it? The key is knowing how you relate to gratitude so you can practice it in a way that supports you.

Speaker 1:

Now I'll share two of my favorite prompts, and you can use these prompts whether gratitude is a signature, middle or lesser strength. Here's the first one. It's a three-parter I am grateful for because and this is meaningful because so I'll give you an example based on this story that I shared earlier. So I'm grateful for being with my dad during his final days, because I was surrounded by family, I got to share and hear stories about my dad and I got to see and feel how much people loved him, how much people loved him. This is meaningful because I realized that being grateful opened the door for me to have compassion for myself and to comfort myself in the moments I needed myself the most. Now, what I love about this prompt is that it helps you to go below the surface and really get to the heart of why you are grateful and what it means to you. So if gratitude is a signature strength, you may choose to respond to this prompt, say, for the next seven days. If gratitude is a middle strength, you may choose to set a reminder to respond to this prompt, maybe three days a week. And if gratitude is a lesser strength, you may choose to think about what you are grateful for and why, to help you build your gratitude muscle Ready for the second prompt.

Speaker 1:

Before I reveal that prompt, I'm going to share a little bit of context. This prompt was inspired by an article that I read and I'm putting that article in the show notes if you are interested in checking it out for yourself. In this article Adam Grant. He's an organizational psychologist and Sheryl Sandberg was the former COO of Facebook and they are co-authors of the book called Option B, and they were having a conversation about Cheryl's husband, dave, who had recently passed away. This is what Cheryl said.

Speaker 1:

One of the things that really helped me recover the most was completely counterintuitive to me is one day Adam said to me you know, things could be a lot worse. And I said to him what do you mean? Things could be worse. I just lost my husband suddenly. Are you kidding? How could things be worse? And Adam responded and the only thing I could think of was to say Dave died of a cardiac arrhythmia and he could have had that same arrhythmia while driving your children in the car. And he could have had that same arrhythmia while driving your children in the car. Cheryl responded, and it never occurred to me I could have lost all three of them in an instant, not just one. And actually the minute you say that you're like, okay, I'm all right, thank God, my children are alive.

Speaker 1:

This story highlights that severe adversity provides a powerful sense of perspective, helping you recognize and appreciate what you have. It's about acknowledging things could be worse, but instead finding gratitude for the good in your life. So here's the prompt in your life. So here's the prompt. Things could be worse, and I'm glad they're not. In terms of my dad, things could have been worse. He was diagnosed and the doctor gave him one and a half years to live. He could have died within or sooner, but he lived four and a half years after he was diagnosed. So I was so grateful for all of the bonus time I got to have with my dad.

Speaker 1:

You can use this prompt, whether gratitude is a signature, middle or lesser strength. Which of the two prompts are you most curious about using? As we close out this episode, I want you to remember three things. Number one find strength and gratitude by choosing to see the good in your circumstance. Number two gratitude isn't just a feeling. It boosts your happiness, helps you find meaning and supports your mental well-being. It's worth practicing. And number three understand your own gratitude path. Are you naturally grateful or does it take more effort? Knowing this helps you practice it better. Now it's your turn. Which of the prompts will you use this week? I'm grateful for, because and this is meaningful because or prompt number two Things could be worse, and I'm glad they're not.

Speaker 1:

If this episode resonated with you, I would appreciate it if you hit follow and share it with someone who might need to hear this today and join our Breast Cancer Reimagined podcast Facebook group so we can support each other. The link is in the show notes. In our next episode, we'll explore the character strength of hope. Don't forget to subscribe. I will talk with you in the next episode. We'll explore the character strength of Hope. Don't forget to subscribe. I will talk with you in the next episode. Thank you for joining.