I don’t usually talk about my boobs, but when I do, it’s serious business.

Ok, this is where I explain my recent mammogram experience to an audience that is predominantly male.

This oughta be fun 🙂

So I went for a routine mammogram screening recently.

I’ve been going for years now, and every year I get a letter in the mail that says “your test results were normal, see ya next year.”

But not this time.

Right after I left the office I headed over to the health club to do some laps in the pool. My workout was going swimmingly but I suddenly got a sinking feeling. I hopped out of the pool to check my phone.

A missed call from a number I didn’t recognize. This had to be what I thought – the callback.

Sure enough.  The radiologist reviewed my results and they wanted me to come back for more testing.  And I would have to wait 5 days for the next available appointment.

Annnnnd then the catastrophizing started.  Fear-mode activated.  What if?  What if my healthy lifestyle failed me?  What if all this trying to keep my body alkaline was all for naught? 

Maybe this is how it starts.  With a phone call.  Oh but the kids.  The kids. Who will take care of them when I’m going through all this? And my clients. I don’t want them to have to deal with any interruptions. And it went on and on.

The story I was telling myself wasn’t a pretty one. And then I realized it was just a story. And it was a choice.  I could choose to tell myself a different story.  One more along the lines of “I am healthy.  The universe has my back. I’ll always be taken care of.”

So for 5 straight days, I battled my own thoughts.

It’s a moment-to-moment practice of training the mind. Every time a negative thought bubbled up, I had to ask myself if it was fear-based or faith-based.

I leaned into faith and reminded myself that whichever way this goes, the Universe has this. It has me.  Its had me all along. Its had me during some of my darkest moments, and every time a stronger version of myself has emerged.  

I realized that the only way through this was to accept.  Make peace with where I was.  Trust. Faith. Surrender. 

If this is part of my story, then so be it.  Then it’s because it’s supposed to be part of my story.  I had to remind myself of the bigger picture.  While certain chapters may be challenging, they’re all part of the big, beautiful story the Universe is writing.

How it ended:  I went in for the follow-up testing and was beyond grateful that everything came out fine.

My point in sharing all of this is that this type of approach can be applied to any challenging situation in life.

You can do this.  Choose faith over fear and you will win every time.