A person suffering from cancer is on a treacherous, depressing path itself, and it takes some real effort in goal setting to keep you motivated, focused, and empowered throughout the experience.
Goal setting is extremely important as it helps the cancer patient develop a positive mindset and move forward through hard times. The benefits help you with physical, spiritual, and mental development
Benefits of goal setting for a cancer patient
Fight depression
If you join any cancer support community, you’ll see that the cancer patients have developed their own vision boards expressing what they want to do and feel today and in future. The entire idea of developing vision boards is combating depression. When cancer patients suffer from depression, they often ponder what went wrong with their lifestyle or body, hence, goal setting allows them to change the things.
Create space for rest
The goals not necessarily have to be task-based all the time. You can revise your routine tasks and eliminate activities that you feel are longer a healthy part of your life.
Gives hope
If you’ve seriously started considering creating goals, it means you’ve already started helping yourself. You are now starting to look to the future with a silver lining on the horizon, in fact, it’s a step towards fighting the gloomy thoughts about your disease and health.
Helps you find the right balance
Setting goals regarding your career, health, lifestyle, travelling, etc. helps you realize that there is life outside cancer. You start focusing on things that really matter in life and find the delicate balance you’ve always sought for.
How to set goals
Be kind and stay patient with yourself
Its time you finally start being kind to yourself. Evidently, no one is bound to achieve 100% success in every phase in life, neither are you. Speaking of goal setting, approach the task with kindness and patience.
Celebrate progress, and not just accomplishments
Today, people normally crave for praise more than encouragement. For example, we may often praise a child for a beautiful drawing he/she has made, rather than saying, “you must have worked really hard for that”. In short, the output is often praised, and not the effort behind it. Try to focus your celebrations on every step towards progress, no matter how tiny it might seem. Remember, beating cancer is not an overnight thing, but making one step at a time is what really counts.
Practice self-care
Often people overlook this, but people, especially suffering from cancer, should set goals focusing on self-care. Come up with ways you can refine your mental, physical, and emotional health and relationships. Finalize one goal for each category and cater each with equal importance.
Practice gratitude
Setting goals and gratitude run hand-in-hand. Realizing and thinking your efforts in the quest to beat cancer will keep you going in a unique direction towards betterment.