Begin With The End In Mind

When I first read Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I had a bit of an out-of-body experience.  I was immersed in a celebratory Outward Bound-esque trip in honor of my husband's 40th birthday. We were scuba diving and cave spelunking and exploring and otherwise testing our physical selves in Belize. I was in grad school at the time, and while I was able to leave a lot of my every day life behind me on this trip, my homework came along for the ride.

So maybe it was the intoxicating balmy breezes, or the exotic food, or the Mayan temples, or the serene ocean animals, or the bright display of color and sound, but I found the ideas in this book to be electric.  And although I don't remember every detail of this work (having passed 40 myself some years ago), a good bit has stayed with me.

Habit 2 is Begin With the End in Mind.  Covey explains:


Habit 2 is based on imagination--the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default.


I'm pretty certain that Covey was not envisioning a battle with cancer when he wrote about this approach, and it certainly is not appropriate or fair to suggest that someone facing a physical monster just needs to "mentally create" wellness.  But when I read those words recently they made me think of Sheri  -- because she has been so purposeful in this process; so focused on getting where she needed and wanted to be; so clear about what is important to her. 

Once Sheri texted about her sweet boys, and said "I am fighting for them and it might sound weird  . . . but it is comforting to know that the person I want to be, for the most part, is the person I am."  And that is why we love her so much.  She is exactly who she is meant to be and that shines through even in the most challenging times. 

And she has reason to celebrate this week:

I am SO happy to report that this week marked THE END of her hard chemo treatments!!  

After so many weeks of hard work, after surgery and sickness, and after grappling with a "new normal," Sheri has completed this important part of her plan.  I am so proud of her and of her family. 

There will be a continuation of treatment that will not be as difficult as what she has just finished.She will have Taxal the next two Tuesdays, and then get a month off.  After a CT scan she will then have Avastin once every three weeks by infusion for the next year and a half to two years.  

The journey continues -- but every victory along the way is worth reflection  . . . and CELEBRATION! Congratulations, Sheri!

~Bess