Breathe in…Hold your breath….That’s it….Now breathe normally.
For anyone out there who has had radiation treatment for breast cancer, you may recognise those words, and then the sensation that comes with them.
Holding your breath for around 15 seconds at a time, filling your lungs with air to protect the other organs around where the treatment is happening.
| The treatment itself is short. Just 10 minutes. But it happens every business day in a row – and I had fifteen sessions. So that means going to the hospital every day for three weeks, waiting, sometimes quickly, sometimes for hours when machines broke or delays rippled through the system. And where I waited the internet was terrible …which meant it has been a massive time sucker. But it does mean I’ve been doing a lot of thinking! It’s strange how different this moment feels compared to July, when I started chemotherapy. Back then, everything dramatically slowed down. I had no choice. I programmed my mind for what was ahead and built protective walls around my time, my energy, and my health. Survival required real focus. But now something else is happening. I’m dying to step back into life and some semblance of normality. With my last treatment session on Thursday of last week (I’m finished…yay!!!!), I travel to London on Wednesday (and after that Denmark). Finally back to colleagues, friends, and leadership sessions. Back to conversations that challenge my thinking and open new doors – I have missed it so much. I also miss my more regular writing. I miss recording my podcast. Sharing stories in articles. Being on stage. But this slowing down experience has left me with an awareness I didn’t have before. How easily life fills up, and how quickly urgency returns. And just how simple it is to become busy again – without ever asking whether the busyness is serving us. For years, through my work with TIE Leadership and in Return on Humanity, I’ve spoken about the importance of not becoming prisoners of the systems we operate within. Of remembering that behind every KPI, every meeting, every objective, there is a human being. And this isn’t just a leadership idea – it’s a life practice. So now that I’m returning to the work and the life I love, I refuse to do it at the cost of losing myself inside it. I want to keep creating, building, and contributing – but can only do it in a way that lets humanity in, rather than pushes it out. Because in the end, we are the ones in control of how we live. Not the systems around us. So I’m curious…. as I start this new chapter, I’d love to know what helps you stay connected to what really matters, even when life speeds up again? (This is me on my last day of treatment last week. Another milestone to celebrate!! Whoohooo!) Better leaders. Better companies. Better world. |
