How to Dare Greatly With Cancer

Granddaughter Lilly, a black belt in Mixed Martial Arts, recently competed in an MMA tournament and captured two third place finishes. On the way home, she and I FaceTimed and of course she was disappointed, because she has some rather nice first-place hardware in her room at home.

But by the time she and her dad stopped for lunch and she got home to post a photo to Instagram, here was her thought: “Win or lose, I left it all on the mats today.”

I have a very wise 15-year-old granddaughter.

I’m reading Brené Brown’s book, Daring Greatly. The title comes from President Roosevelt’s 1910 speech delivered in Paris. Most likely, you’ve heard this passage that made it famous:

“It is not the critic who counts…The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again … but who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

Lilly and I talked about how much courage it took to even get on the mats, and how every time we do something challenging, no matter the outcome, it makes us stronger, wiser, quicker on our feet.

Read the full article here:   http://www.oncolink.org/blogs/2016/08/dare-greatly-cancer/