Everything else could wait...or could it?

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I sometimes find myself in situations where I think something is absolutely important yet to someone else it's just a passing thing. The importance we place on things is subjective therefore where things fall on our list of priorities is different.

Everyone has a list of priorities, and that is different from person to person. And people can have different opinions regarding others' priority lists. So what I personally believe is one's priority list should give a higher place for his/her own self and the closest ones, and the rest can come after that.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Until recently, I never realized the importance of self-care. My conscientiousness led to unpleasant consequences on my mental health. My illness not only affected me but also my family. I was also forced to leave my job. If we do not care for our physical and mental well-being, we will not be able to care for those we love, nor fulfill our duties. It is of vital importance to" put on our own oxygen masks before we help others."

Seemingly you have experienced the importance of caring for your own self in a bit harsh way. I wish that you are totally cured by now. It was same for this author as well. She too ended up with bad consequences by self ignorance. This tale and yours will be good eye openers to those who put their own self behind their work.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I strongly believe to lead a fearless life. Talking about health anyone can get any disease any time. The reasons that cause cancer are enormous and we cannot blame any one aspect of life.
Giving more importance to her duty was a part of her life that makes her life fulfilled and contended.
So both things are important duty and health.

You can live a fearless life, but it should not be a reckless one. Being fearless does not include being negligent. I agree that anyone can be succumbed to any illness despite of whatever the precautions they take. But that does not mean that you have to forget your own health and wellbeing

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I believe there should be a balance between the two. I have seen both extremes in my parents, with one focused on work entirely and one focused on recreation and the family. Therefore I can discern that staying somewhere in the middle is better in the long run and for your happiness. Though she should have taken more care of herself, I do not think focusing on her job was the sole reason for her developing cancer.

I think this balance take different looks when it is applied to an individual and a couple. Most of the times the couples complete this balance in a shared manner. One becomes the workaholic and the other looks after the home and the family. That too is not very healthy, but it will atleast hold the family together

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I envy people who already know what they are meant to do in life, not so many people have this. Therefore, I understand how the author does not view what she does as work. When you discover your passion, that is where your happiness lie.

Being able to identify the meaning of the life and to follow the passion is a rare chance, and this author was lucky enough to have that. She found her happiness in that and with that she could just let her cancer diagnosis be there without being a real burden to her life. If being happy is the most important thing, I think she had it and she had nothing left to worry.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

This is a very difficult question. First of all, cancer is very unpredictable and can happen to anyone, even if she was a housewife and lived her whole life just caring and supporting her family. It is important that she had something in her life that she felt passionate about, like her job. It gave her life purpose and made it worth living.

Cancer is unpredictable, yes, I agree. Let's think that her consequence was not getting a cancer but loosing her family. Do you still believe it was worth to give her life for her passion and at the end she was happy and content about her decision?

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I don’t believe it mattered that she waited in terms of her getting cancer. However, how far it spreads, the stage of cancer, waiting does matter.

As for the second question: Do your job wholeheartedly, (give 100%) or you’re not doing your best, and this reflects on you. Have pride in your work. Giving 100% at your job doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself and your loved ones. Everyone must learn to multitask, it’s just a part of life.

Yes, the wait impacted directly on the spread of cancer. If it was taken into consideration earlier and acted promptly, it could have been controlled.

Multitasking is a must know ability to all the humans. One should succeed in every aspect of life and there is no other way for that than doing everything in the best way but in a balanced way as well.

[Shy_soul]

I believe that we all have our fates and destinies already laid out for us. Everything we do is all part of that big plan. With that said, I do not think if she would have done it differently anything would have changed. She could not have done things differently because that is how her life was meant to be.

[Jeetu_95]

Caring about herself may not prevented cancer. Cancer os a disease less caring or more caring anyone can get infected. Both are important doing job wholeheartedly and taking care of loved ones and yourself

[WADonnelly]

Hindsight is a fine thing. If we were to live our lives in an attempt to prevent every illness known to man we begin losing some of the joys of life.

[Stephanie Runyon]

Personal experience has taught me that if you don't take care of yourself, you aren't going to be able to do your work nor care for your family. I waited almost 2 years before I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. During that time, I would have pain that started to appear more frequently. When the doctor did surgery, it had spread to my uterus and fallopian tubes plus started to grow onto an ovary. I ended up with a hysterectomy but thankfully saved my ovaries. I was only 34 years old. If I had seen the doctor when I started feeling pain, I might have not lost everything, plus requiring chemo, a blood transfusion, and 2 shots a week of a vitamin blood booster in my stomach.

[t_mann23]

I think having a work-life balance is the most important thing, not one over the other. Yes, you should be able to do your job well and fulfill the commitments you made, but you've also made a commitment to yourself and your loved ones. You shouldn't be running yourself ragged for your job so that you don't recognize warning signs in your personal life.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I have learned over the years that one must stop and think about themselves. Care for themselves. We live in a world where we are being taught to give selflessly of ourselves to others 24/7, our entire lives. But there is also backlash for stopping to self care. People take you for granted when you give of yourself all the time... But the moment you stop, I find that they believe you selfish. Not so. You have to care for yourself in order to give of yourself to others. My personal opinion, at any rate.

Quite true. People always expect you to serve them. But when you rest for a bit and care dor your own self they start to think that you are being selfish. But I say you have to be selfish first and then only you will be able to serve others selflessly.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Since her job is making her happy and content with her life, it's totally normal to be a priority for her. At the end of the day, being happy with what you do is what matters.

Being happy about what you do is important. But happiness is not everything and you cannot prioritize it over everything else. You should live first and for that you have to care for yourself first. Living happily is an advantage, but living comes first.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

It is hard for someone especially a doctor to choose between work and family. She has a family who understands what she is doing and in support of her so that's why she also happy with what she is doing. But she didn't take care of of herself as much as she took care of her patients so maybe she did have the symptoms earlier but she didn't take it seriously cause her work and patience were her priority. I think she should have given herself priority first so that she could treat herself first and then others. Cause a healthy person who well can take care of others better. But again, she did what makes her happy so do what makes you happy cause you never what will happen next. That's my take.

A job is important despite its designation, whether it is a doctor or a janitor. But I do not think that whatever the job you do it make it difficult to understand your priorities of your life. Your own self and your family should come first. You may be happy by serving others. But will your loved ones will be happy about that as same as you?