Finding Hope in Your Breast Cancer Journey

Send us a text

Summary

In this episode of Breast Cancer Reimagined, host Shannon D. Silva shares her personal journey of hope as a two-time breast cancer survivor. She discusses the importance of cultivating hope during challenging times, using the inspiring story of Jane Morcheski, known as Nightbird, as a focal point. The episode explores the character strength of hope, its vital role in emotional resilience, mental health, and coping strategies, and offers practical advice on how to nurture hope in everyday life through the 'Three Good Things' practice. Shannon emphasizes that hope is not just wishful thinking but an active choice that can lead to a more fulfilling life, even amidst suffering.

Takeaways

Hope is your guiding light throughout this process.

• You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
• Hope isn't just wishing; it's about future-mindedness, optimism, goal direction, and believing in your agency.
• Hope fosters a sense of inner strength, enabling you to cope with uncertainties.
• Hope is linked to reducing anxiety and depression.
• The Three Good Things practice helps to shift your focus to the positive.
• Nightbird's story is a powerful reminder that even in the darkest night, hope can shine.
• Hope helps us find meaning and purpose, even in difficult times.
• Even after her death, Nightbird's legacy of hope lives on.
• We can cultivate the character strength of hope by nurturing it in our everyday lives.
  
  

Three Good Things Activity

1. Daily Reflection: Each day, before bed (or anytime that works for you), take a few minutes to reflect on your day.
2. Identify Three Good Things: Think of three good things that happened that day. They don't have to be huge. They can be small and simple. Maybe it was a beautiful sunset, a kind word from a friend, a moment of feeling a little stronger, a moment of laughter, a delicious cup of tea – anything positive, no matter how small.
3. Write Them Down: Jot them down in a journal, or simply mentally list them. For each good thing, ask yourself: 'Why was this good? What made this positive?

List of 24 Character Strengths

VIA Survey

Nightbirde AGT Performance 

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

Breast Cancer Reimagined Facebook Group 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
The story you tell yourself about your breast
cancer journey shapes yourentire experience, whether
you've been recently diagnosedor are in the midst of treatment
.
Breast Cancer Reimagined isyour podcast for writing this
new chapter of your life.
Hi, I'm Shannon, your host, andI'm so glad you're here.

(00:25):
As a proud two-time breastcancer survivor, I'm on a
mission to help women like youreimagine how you navigate your
breast cancer journey by helpingyou shift your mindset,
activate your strengths anduncover deeper meaning in your
journey.
I'm creating future episodes toaddress your unique challenges,

(00:45):
but I need your input.
What are your biggest questionsor struggles when it comes to
your journey?
Share them with me bycompleting the Google form
that's linked in the show notes.
Your voice matters and togetherwe can create something truly
powerful.
I can't wait to hear from you.
Hello, hello, welcome back toBreast Cancer Reimagined.

(01:16):
Hi, I'm Shannon, your host, aproud two-time breast cancer
survivor, and I am so glad youare here.
Welcome to episode 10.
We are talking about thecharacter, strength of hope,
finding hope in your breastcancer journey.
I'll start by sharing my storyof hope and starting this

(01:42):
podcast.
You should start a podcast.
I remember when my friend Dsaid that to me.
I remember that moment.
It was like a light bulb wentoff.
I was filled with hope and Isaid yes.
And then, over the next fewmonths, I created the vision for
this podcast to help youreimagine how you navigate

(02:05):
breast cancer by shifting yourmindset, activating your
strengths and uncovering deepermeaning in your journey, and my
hope was that this podcast wouldbe a guiding light for you.
I felt excited and optimisticabout this adventure.

(02:26):
My zest was oozing out and Ialso felt really nervous and I
felt challenged by all of thethings that I needed to learn.
There was so much I didn't knowabout equipment, about writing
episodes, recording them.
What software do I use?

(02:46):
Editing I thought editing wasgoing to be a nightmare and then
figuring out how to market thepodcast.
It all felt so overwhelming attimes and I also had a lot of
doubts.
I had thoughts like starting apodcast is too hard, it's too

(03:10):
much work.
Women may not resonate with mymessage.
I have no idea how to promotemy podcast.
I might get bad reviews.
I might not be good at this atall.
In the past, those naggingthoughts would have slowed me

(03:32):
down, or they may have juststopped me in my tracks, because
I used to think that beingself-confident that it meant the
absence of any self-doubt.
So if I felt self-doubt, itmust mean that I'm not confident
.
But this time I had a differentthought.
My perspective had shifted.

(03:54):
It was like wait a minute.
Of course I'm feeling a littlenervous.
Of course I'm feeling a littleunsure.
I've never done this before.
Of course it's going to beawkward.
Of course I'm feeling a littleunsure.
I've never done this before.
Of course it's going to beawkward.
Of course I'm going to makemistakes.
I'm learning something new, andthat's when I realized that
being self-confident is takingaction, even when you feel

(04:18):
self-doubt.
So what did I do?
Well, I took action.
So what did I do?
Well, I took action.
Instead of trying to knoweverything up front, I adopted
the approach of learning bydoing, figuring things out along

(04:41):
the way.
I set goals for myself.
I made decisions instead ofswirling in confusion.
I purchased a podcast-launchedtoolkit.
I researched podcastingsoftware.
I listened to other podcastsfor inspiration and finally, I
created my project plan, and nowI have 10 podcast episodes
Woo-hoo.
Hope was my guiding lightthroughout this process, and

(05:05):
it's the same hope I want toshare with you in this episode.
Hope was also a guiding lightfor a truly remarkable woman who
touched hearts all around theworld with her music, her spirit
and her unwavering message ofhope Jane Morcheski.

(05:25):
You may know her as Nightbird.
She performed her original songit's Okay on America's Got
Talent.
Her song and her story ofbattling cancer, while
maintaining a positive outlook,led Simon Cowell to give her the
coveted golden buzzer.

(05:47):
The link to her performance isin the show notes and I will say
tissue warning Every time Iwatch it I just I cry.
I'm just so touched by herstory.
She faced unimaginable hardship.
She faced unimaginable hardship, battling cancer relentlessly.

(06:09):
Yet she radiated a light thatwas impossible to ignore.
How did she do it?
Today we'll explore Nightbirdthrough the lens of one of our
most powerful inner resourcesthe character strength of hope.
We'll define what hope trulymeans.
We'll talk about why it's sovital, and then we'll uncover

(06:30):
how Nightbird embodied it sopowerfully.
And then we'll explore how youcan cultivate this strength in
your breast cancer journey.
So just take a quick moment tothink about what hope means to

(06:54):
you right now in your journey.
Is it hope for a specifictreatment outcome or hope for
feeling better today?
Take a breath and justacknowledge what your personal
hopes are.
Thank you.
Now we can start byunderstanding what we really
mean by hope.

(07:14):
Hope is not just wishfulthinking or blind optimism.
According to the VIA Instituteon Character, the character
strength of hope is made up offour key elements.
I'll share each element andthen I'll give you an example
based on Nightbird's journey.

(07:35):
So number one future-mindedness.
Hope is about having a positivevision of the future.
It's actively looking forwardand believing that things can
get better, even when things aretough right now.
And so when we think ofNightbird, even with facing her

(07:56):
third bout of metastatic breastcancer and having a 2% chance of
survival, nightbird didn't losesight of the future.
She said 2% is better than 0%.
She dreamed of singing again,of sharing her music, of

(08:16):
connecting with people.
She famously said you can'twait until life isn't hard
anymore before you decide to behappy.
That's future-mindedness inaction choosing joy and purpose
in the present while stillfacing a difficult future.

(08:40):
Element number two optimism.
It's about believing inpositive outcomes.
It's not about ignoringchallenges.
It's more about maintaining afundamental belief that good
things are still possible.
And Nightbird, she radiated joyand positivity, even while

(09:02):
battling immense physical painand uncertainty.
Her smile, her laughter, herspirit.
They were beacons of optimism.
They were beacons of optimism.
She chose to focus on thebeauty and goodness in life,
despite her circumstances.
She wasn't denying her pain,but she was actively choosing to

(09:30):
cultivate joy alongside it.
The third element isgoal-directedness.
Hope isn't passive, it's active.
It involves having goals and asense of direction even when the
path is unclear.
It's about moving towardssomething you value.
For Nightbird, her goal wasclear to share her music and her

(09:52):
message of hope with the world.
This purpose drove her Evenwhen she had to withdraw from
America's Got Talent for healthreasons.
She continued to create music,write songs and connect with her
fans online.
Her goal gave her strength anddirection.

(10:13):
Her goal gave her strength anddirection.
And the fourth element agencyand pathways thinking.
Hope combines believing in yourown ability to act.
That's the agency piece andseeing different routes to get
there.
That's the pathways piece.
It's not just wishing butbelieving you can find ways

(10:35):
forward.
And despite her illnesslimiting her physically,
nightbird found countlesspathways to share her hope.
Through her songs, her lyrics,her interviews, her social media
presence, she found ways toconnect with millions and spread

(10:55):
her message.
She demonstrated incredibleagency, using every avenue
available to her to pursue hergoal and share her light.
Nightbird's story is so movingbecause it wasn't about a life
free from suffering.
It was about a life lived fully, purposefully and joyfully,

(11:23):
even within suffering.
That's the power of hope inaction.
What aspect of Nightbird'sstory of hope resonates most
deeply with you right now?
Now we'll transition to the whyof hope.

(11:45):
Why is hope worth cultivating?
And we're going to explorethree key reasons.
Number one emotional resilience.
Hope fosters a sense of innerstrength enabling you to cope
with the uncertainties oftreatment and the potential for
recurrence.
Number two improved mentalhealth.

(12:09):
Hope is linked to reducinganxiety and depression.
Hope is linked to reducinganxiety and depression.
By maintaining a hopefuloutlook, you can better manage
the emotional tolls of breastcancer.
And number three enhancedcoping mechanisms.
Hope fuels a proactive approachto treatment.

(12:29):
It encourages you to activelyparticipate in your care, seek
information and exploreavailable resources.
No-transcript.

(12:50):
How has hope played a role inmanaging your emotions and
mental health during your breastcancer journey?
Okay, we've talked about whathope is and why it's important
to cultivate it, so now we'llexplore how we can cultivate

(13:11):
more hope in our lives, drawinginspiration from Nightbird.
Here is a simple, powerfulpractice called Three Good
Things and the purpose of thispractice is to help you boost
positive emotions, thoughts andbehaviors to improve well-being.

(13:32):
You can think of it as a dailyactivity that can rewire your
brain to notice and appreciatethe good, even when things are
challenging.
There are three steps.
Here goes Step number one dailyreflection, so each day before

(13:54):
bed, or you can pick any timethat works for you, but each day
take a few minutes to reflecton your day.
And then step two is toidentify three good things.
So think of three good thingsthat happened that day.
They don't have to be huge,they can be small and simple.

(14:16):
Maybe it was a beautiful sunset, a kind word from a friend, a
moment of feeling a littlestronger, a moment of laughter,
a delicious cup of tea Anythingpositive, no matter how small.
Delicious cup of tea, anythingpositive, no matter how small.

(14:40):
And then step number three isto write them down, jot them
down in a journal or simplymentally list them.
For each good thing, askyourself why was this good and
what made this positive?
Asking those questions canreally help you to savor those

(15:01):
good things and to help you justreflect on how they made a
difference in your life.
So just imagine Nightbird doingthis practice, even on her
toughest days she might havelisted, I felt the sunshine on
my face.
I wrote a new line for a song.

(15:22):
I connected with the fan online.
Even throughout illness, thereare always glimmers of good.
The three good things.
Practice done consistentlyhelps to shift your focus to the
positive, and it trains yourbrain to notice goodness and

(15:43):
cultivates a more hopefuloutlook over time.
It's a small but mighty way tobuild your hope strength.
Build your hope strength.
Now, as we close out thisepisode, let's quickly summarize
three key takeaways fromNightbird's powerful legacy of
hope and how we can apply it toour own lives.

(16:05):
Number one hope isn't justwishing.
It's about future-mindedness,optimism, goal direction and
believing in your agency.
Number two hope is aboutbelieving in positive outcomes,
not ignoring challenges butmaintaining a fundamental belief

(16:28):
that good things are stillpossible.
And number three hope helps usfind meaning and purpose Even in
difficult times.
It allows us to see beyond theimmediate struggle and connect
to what truly matters to us inlife, giving us something to
strive for.

(16:51):
Nightbird passed away onFebruary 19, 2022, at the age of
31.
Even after her death, her musicis still being shared and her
legacy of hope lives on.
Her life is a powerful reminderthat even in the darkest night,

(17:14):
hope can shine.
Let's carry her legacy forwardof choosing hope by nurturing
our inner strength and byreimagining our journeys with
courage and light.
Her story always just touchesme Like Nightbird.

(17:35):
We can cultivate the characterstrength of hope.
Start with the three goodthings, practice and consciously
choose to look for and nurturehope in your everyday life.
If this episode resonated withyou, hit, follow and share it
with someone who might need tohear this today, and join our

(17:58):
Breast Cancer Reimagined podcastFacebook group so we can
support each other.
The link is in the show notes.
Next time, in episode 11, we'rediving into how to be mentally
strong as you go through yourbreast cancer journey.
Don't forget to subscribe.
I'll talk with you in the nextepisode.

(18:19):
Thank you for joining.