Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become…habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny! What we think we become. – Margaret Thatcher

If we perceived thoughts like seeds, we would think differently. It is often the case that we are led to believe we can’t choose what we think about. Oh, all these thoughts running rampant through our heads… the stories we create… the ones that produce added panic and throw us into a funk.

It’s my moral obligation to wake you to the notion that we can indeed choose our thoughts! In fact, it’s a necessity of life! It literally determines the course that your life takes. How you feel each day. And what direction you set your focus on.

You see, it doesn’t come naturally. It’s human nature to automatically go to the worst-case scenario. The so-called “what if’s.” We have ourselves on the road to destruction before we even get the test results back from the doctor, am I right?!

Pre-transplant I learned how to train my thoughts. Conquering the mind is the hardest battle you will ever fight. It plays tricks on you. Holds you hostage. Has you believe falsehoods. And leaves you feeling hopeless and wanting to give up…

Transplant derailed my coping mechanisms. In my brand new life, I’ve had to learn new weapons for combating the thoughts that have often left me in darkness wondering what I’m doing and how I’m going to get out of a slump. In fact, that’s why I took a trip cross-country by myself to figure this out. I had to in order to create the life that I wanted. One filled with peace and joy, leaving trauma and grief behind.

Anxiety and depression steal your life like a bad outlaw. It creates stories like: you’ll never make it through this. You don’t have what it takes. Things will never get better… I’m sure you’ve experienced this somewhere along your journey as I have too many times.

I started a new routine a few months ago. After struggling so desperately to find peace in this new life, I knew something had to change. So it starts before I even get out of bed in the morning…

I begin each day anew – let yesterday be yesterday. Release the pain, frustrations, and mistakes. Ain’t nobody got time for that! Today is a brand new day to get it right. A fresh start. A God-given gift that I’m honored to have received from a selfless stranger.

I open my eyes, and list at least five things that I’m grateful for. It changes my attitude from “I have to” to “I get to.” One word makes all the difference! Now it’s a privilege to do what I am able to do. I get to exercise without oxygen. I get to do cardio without hacking up a lung. I get to explore the country without the nagging thought of getting smacked with a respiratory infection. I get to travel lightly, not freak out if there’s no electricity for treatments or oxygen concentrators… I’ve been camping! In a tent! In my car! Carefree! That in and of itself blows my mind.

Once I start my list, I find that it keeps growing. Gratitude starts my day with positivity, and allows me to look through the lens of other simple things to be grateful for. Big or small, gratitude changes your whole outlook.

Guarding your mind and what you allow to go into it is essential. What goes in, comes out. If you’re struggling with anxious thoughts or feeling down, evaluate what you are watching on tv, the music you are listening to, and who you are hanging out with. You’ll be surprised where the root of some anxiety and depression actually comes from.

That’s not to say that anxiety and depression don’t just happen, along with experiencing flashbacks of the trauma endured. Some of it is out of our control given the circumstances we have undergone. I’ve been through it. Those monsters still rear their ugly heads from time to time. They are few and far between now, thankfully. I’ve seen the difference after cutting out what didn’t belong in my life. Life has enough yuckies to deal with, outside influences that aren’t adding to our lives are actually sucking the life outta us. Being a good steward of this area, is a game changer.

Recognizing that we all are struggling with something in our lives brings us together with a sense of comradery. That somehow we are not alone in our battles, whatever they may be. When we support each other through these times, we get to witness a beautiful facet of humanity.

Some of my dear friends are struggling immensely right now. Some are on the waiting list for new lungs and it feels like an eternity. Some are sick, but not too sick or able to be listed yet, leaving them in an uncomfortable limbo. And some are battling the forces of mental health that feel like an impossible battle sometimes. I see you. I feel you. I just want to let you know that even on your darkest day when it seems like the sun will never shine again….

That there is hope! Clinging to something that is bigger than us allows us to be rejuvenated by the belief in a better plan than we can even dream of.

I’m living proof. Last year, being on 55 liters of oxygen waiting for lungs to come through the kindness of a stranger… I knew they would come. I didn’t know how long it would take. But I clung to the hope that walking 10 feet wouldn’t throw me into exhaustion gasping for breath drowning in mucous even on the hi-flow oxygen. It carried me through when it doesn’t even make sense. I set my sights on higher things than what I was experiencing, knowing that one day I would be able to perform simple daily life tasks with ease. Never in a million years did I think that driving solo across the country would ever be a possibility, let alone a reality. And here I am…

None of us know when our time is up, whether we have a few more odds stacked against us or not. All we have is this moment. Cystic Fibrosis has given me this perspective ever since I can remember…but after my double lung transplant, it REALLY hit me. I get to choose the life that I want. Every breath is a gift. Not only am I breathing with someone else’s lungs, but I am taking a slow, deep breath like never before. Had I not received my transplant, I wouldn’t be here today. Time was running out and my gift of life came at just the right moment…it blows my mind that I have been granted this second chance.

There’s something different about those who live with the constant threat of death over their head. They either make the choice to live each moment to the fullest or… they choose to dwell on the circumstances that are beyond their control. These two have one thing in common… each one is a choice…That’s why it is essential to… Choose your choices. Don’t just let them happen.

It takes the same amount of energy to think positive or negative. Which has the best outcome? What do you want to see in your life? I wonder what would happen if you believed the best for your life…

When was the last time that you allowed yourself to dream? Sometimes it’s difficult when we are constantly in survival mode. Living moment to moment. Never sure of what will transpire next. We get tunnel visioned on the situation at hand, which contributes to our level of functioning mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. For better or for worse.

This is why we have to take every thought captive. Each thought we have, has the ability to throw us into a downward spiral, or to propel us forward. We have to choose our thoughts like we choose our clothes, what we want to eat, or where we want to go. This is one of the few areas that we CAN control in our lives. We have to be diligent with our thought choices.

I have had the honor of meeting others who have been given the gift of a new pair of lungs. They have inspired me beyond measure. These friends are so precious to me. They have this zest for life that can’t be matched. Drinking up every moment, soaking up each delicious breath, having that perma-grin planted on their faces…is priceless. They have taught me so much about living in the moment, choosing to focus on what I can do, and spreading joy to others. They remind me to keep my eyes on the prize. They truly bless me beyond measure.

When the storms of life rock your boat, let it be an opportunity to be present. All we have is this moment, so… in this moment I CHOOSE to be filled with gratitude. I CHOOSE what I think about. I CHOOSE to focus on what I can do, not what I can’t. And I CHOOSE to surround myself with those who celebrate me as I am, loving me through my storms and celebrating all my victories with me. Change how you think, change your life. It all begins with one good thought…

Help Others Live STRONGER and LONGER-

Lara is 31 years young and resides in Vermont. She has Cystic Fibrosis and received a double lung transplant in August 2017. A beacon of light for the existence of miracles; Lara enjoys adventures, nature, and belly laughs with her loves. She believes Jesus walks and pants are the devil. Passionate about spreading encouragement, she always lends an ear to those in need.
Follow Lara here: www.facebook.com/Lungs4Lovey

***Views expressed in the CFLF Blog are those of the bloggers themselves and not necessarily of the Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation***