The year after I was diagnosed with cancer, my boss, Trudy, called to tell me she had been diagnosed with cancer, as well. It was a bond that brought us closer together, one I relied on to get me through some tough times.
For the next fifteen years, Trudy battled sarcoma with grace and courage. She continued to work and offer support to her entire team, all the while dealing with difficult treatments and exhausting side effects. She always had time to listen to everyone else’s problems, and made battling cancer look like it was no big deal. She was a hero to me, and I wondered where she got her strength. I wondered what she knew about facing fear that I didn’t.
So, I finally asked her. She smiled and answered, “when I was young someone told me the secret to life is to ‘just keep perking.’ Just keep moving, tackling the next challenge, taking the next step. It doesn’t matter how you feel, how worried, tired or anxious you are. Just keep perking.”
It was that simple. There was no magic, no great mystery about it. No matter what she was facing, Trudy just kept moving. That’s how you get through.
If you’re feeling anxious today, worried, like you can’t take another step, if you’re feeling like you’re done, finished, it’s over, let me share with you Trudy’s secret to meeting any challenge life can hand you.
“Just keep perking.”