A Lesson for All of Us Who are Living

I’ve been in an introspective mood lately. Like I mentioned last week, this time of year causes me to slow down a little more and look within.

So, this news story particularly touched me recently when I saw it all over Facebook. Maybe you’ve heard about Brittany Maynard, the 29-year old woman who was diagnosed with a terminal form of brain cancer and was told by her doctor that she had 10 years to live. She recently said, “I have to tell you, when you’re 29 years old, being told you have that kind of timeline still feels like being told you’re going to die tomorrow.”

Brittany received more bad news shortly after her diagnosis, where she was told she only was going to live for six more months. She and her husband decided to move to Oregon where she would have the option to end her life on her terms, which she is going to do on November 1 of this year, just two days after her husband’s birthday.

Whether you agree with Brittany’s decision to end her own life or not is beside the point. Like I said, I’ve been extra-introspective lately and when I heard about this story, I couldn’t help but think about my own life and if I were told I only had six months to live. Brittany offered a personal quote for all of us still LIVING to ponder:

Seize the day.
What’s important to you?
What do you care about?
What matters?
Pursue that.
Forget the rest.
– Brittany Maynard

Those are some deep words coming from someone who only has a few more weeks to live. I’m sure she’s taking her own advice and really seizing each day and forgetting about what doesn’t matter or what’s not important.

I recently posted on my Facebook page the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. Here they are:

1. “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
2. “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”
3. “I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.”
4. “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”
5. “I wish that I had let myself be happier.”

I want to do something special these next five weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. I’d like to focus on each one of these, really dissect and dig deep into them one by one and I want you to share this journey with me. It is my longing that you live the second half of your life with more purpose, passion, and joy, and do this all in the healthiest body possible for you.

So for today, please take some time to be introspective with me and look within as we think about Brittany’s words to those of us who have been gifted with yet another day of health and LIFE. Here are those powerful words again:

Seize the day.
What’s important to you?
What do you care about?
What matters?
Pursue that.
Forget the rest.
– Brittany Maynard

I look forward to spending these next five weeks diving deeper into the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying so that each one of us can spend OUR life not in regret, but rather in a life we look back on and smile because we LIVED.

Come see me speak LIVE at the Southern California Women’s Health Conference & Expo on Friday, October 31st! Admission for the conference is FREE, but you must register for the workshops. Register for my workshop at 9:30am and then stay for the rest! You’ll find many topics on women’s health that you will enjoy. My talk will be “Look, Feel, and Perform At Your Best in Your 50’s”.

Register here: http://www.socalhealthconference.com/workshops

Your health and wellness coach in your 50’s,
Kim