Mile 4 - how I spent the 4th year of my diagnosis

Today was Mile 4, four years since I was diagnosed. I don't want to call it an anniversary or a cancer-versary because those are things that are usually celebrated. So, Mile 4 it is. It has no inherent emotion, is tied to the outdoors, and is easy to update every year.

So, today, I took a 4.6 mile walk on the beach alone with my thoughts. No music, no podcasts, no nothing, just me, the waves, a dog barking on occasion, a kid crying and some tourists. But, inside my head, it was just me.

I like to do this once a year to think about life and how I am doing. Not sure why you would remember this but I had four guiding principles that have come out of these walks but haven't been updated since 2023 (#s 1,3,4 and 4 were original, #4 added a year later):

1. Heal myself

2. Better support my friends and family

3. Help others heal

4. Help others that help others heal

My annual goal is to relook at these when I hit my milepost (yes, I am kind of liking the metaphor!). The past two years I've gone skydiving instead of walking/hiking which doesn't give you the same thinking ability. So this year was three years in coming.

So on my walk today, I evolved, updated and even added a bit. My new guiding principles, created on Mile 4, are:

1. Help myself and others

2. Support my friends and family

3. Help those who help others

4. Just be and Buy the ticket

5. Never lose the humor

Now let me explain.

Help myself and others

Fairly self-explanatory. If you would like more definition let me know. But this means to continue to work on myself both mentally and physically, and to help other people who need help, whether it's cancer or something else. I did consciously change it from "heal" to "help" because I didn't only want it to be about health and I also realized that "healing" is a lot of pressure and something that I can't necessarily own.

Support my friends and family

I added this one on Mile 2 when I was in Glacier National Park. I am not the only person in my sphere. My friends and my family have their own things they are dealing with and I need to be there for them in every way that I can be. The world is not only focused on Burt. It sounds simple, but that took me a year to get to.

Help those who help others

This is the one that guides my work and my volunteer efforts. Not only can I help people 1:1, but I want to help people 1:many. That's where this comes in. My AI work, my boards, speaking, podcasts, facebook groups, etc. are all focused on places that ultimately help people. If it doesn't help someone, I am not interested. This is broad but it works for me.

Just Be and Buy the Ticket

This is a new one that took me way to long to add. Just Be is my tattoo and my personal mantra and reminder to stay in the moment and to not worry about the what-ifs. Just Be also works with other words. Just be who I am, just be where I am, just be in the moment, etc.

Buy the ticket (kudos to another patient that came up with this, I am borrowing/stealing it from her!) is a fun one (I am still working on my style guide, not sure yet if I capitalize all the words or just the first one). I have tried to start experiencing new things since my diagnosis. I've gone skydiving (three times!!!), gotten a tattoo, and more. Buy the ticket, for me, means say yes to experiences. If someone says "hey, do you want to try this?" say yes. If I want to hop on a plane to go somewhere or see someone, do it. You get the picture. It's all about the yes. Who knows, maybe I will even dance in public one day!

Never lose the humor

I mean, what the fuck. Of course I will find humor in everything, whether appropriate or not. This works with my IDGAF philosophy (I Don't Give A Fuck (sorry mom)) and my overall approach to life. The day I lose the humor is the day you know I am done.

So, that's what I accomplished today, Mile 4. It was an amazing day. It was great to think about things, and to free my mind to go wherever it wanted to.

What does Mile 5 bring? Ask me on July 1, 2027!

And this was my favorite photo from the day