[2021-08-11] Things will get better
The inspiration for tonight's post comes from Colin Powell, US Army General, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State. Today, I reread the best bits that I had copied down from his book It Worked for Me: In Leadership and Life. This quote remains a favourite: "Things will get better. You will make them better."
I was struck by Powell's statements when I read his book almost 10 years ago. At the time, I was leading a team embroiled in significant internal conflict, and sometimes I felt that the situation was hopeless. I wrote Powell's quote on a Post-It note and stuck it inside my notebook as inspiration to not give up. His words helped me in two ways: they gave me hope that things would get better (they did), and they reminded me that I had the power to make them better (I did).
Reading those same words now, almost a decade later, they are meaningful to me for a different reason. They remind me, as I face various challenges associated with having ovarian cancer and a faulty BRCA2 gene, that things can get better, especially when I do my best to contribute to that outcome.
I would no doubt have appreciated stumbling across Powell's remarks a year ago, when I was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer. They might have given me comfort that things would get better.
But his words are just as sweet now―perhaps even more so. That's because I can look back at the past year and confirm that things did get better and that I made them better.
Of course, I wasn't alone in making them better, but I did do my part. I followed doctors' orders. I took the time needed to focus on my health. And I reflected on my experience and worked through my emotions. And things did get better. My CA125 is low and steady as my maintenance medication appears to be doing its job. I've recovered from surgery and chemotherapy. My body is returning to its old form (right down to the hair on the top of my head).
I also take heart in Powell's assertion that "Problems come with just being alive." Every day that I walk upon this earth, I will face some problem or responsibility or unpleasant task. That's just part of life. "When they come," writes Powell, "you just suck it up and get started again."
