When the focus is on positivity amid the fight for your life
- danstamm9
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
This edition of 'No Distractions' with Robert "Bob" Brams is one of inspiration and focus on living life to its fullest amid a life-changing diagnosis
Ask someone who has been given a life-altering diagnosis, or their loved ones, how important mentality is to their health battles, and you likely will hear something like, "It's not as important as the treatment, but it sure seems to help."
The science says there is something an optimistic mindset brings to dealing with a life-or-death situation:
"Optimism may significantly influence mental and physical well-being by the promotion of a healthy lifestyle as well as by adaptive behaviours and cognitive responses, associated with greater flexibility, problem-solving capacity and a more efficient elaboration of negative information."
That quote from the abstract of Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health’s "Optimism and Its Impact on Mental and Physical Well-Being" perfectly sums up the mindset shared with me recently by my friend Robert Brams.
Robert (I know him as Bob) is a survivor who changed his outlook amid a life-threatening brain cancer diagnosis at the age of 55. Brams was a high-powered Washington, D.C.-based international law attorney prior to his life-altering diagnosis and battle for survival with his wife, Kim, at his side the whole way.
Positivity: The healthy habits of an optimist
Now he's one of my favorite people, an inspirational spirit: an artist, a proud family man, a songwriter, an artistic muse, a joy to be around, and a true optimist.
All those things could be deemed distractions, but thanks to Brams’ survivor mindset, they're exactly what the doctor ordered.
"Just work on staying positive. You have to work on it... work on things like your diet and just thinking more about more pleasant thoughts."
But for Brams (someone who continues fighting his cancer with MRIs for the rest of his life) he focuses on living each day to its brightest. Another positive lifestyle change helps him do that.
"If you encounter people or activities that will create stress, just walk away from them. You know, the bad vibe you get in your gut about certain people and certain activities, well, get away from it."
Now that is some focus that many of us could probably use. I know I often find myself preoccupied and stressed by the negative figures in my life. Right now, while writing this, I could rattle off a big handful of people I would be better off avoiding.
However, I lack the clarity that Brams has gained from his life-altering experience.
Not only does he avoid the negative factors, but he has added positive ones: a healthy diet (you are what you eat), more time spent with family and friends, and walks near his home along the Chesapeake Bay.
Modern medicine and the strong will of his wife saved Brams, but a holistic focus along with eliminating negative distractions keeps him living the life he received to its fullest.
"A significant positive relation emerges between optimism and coping strategies focused on social support and emphasis on positive aspects of stressful situations. Through employment of specific coping strategies, optimism exerts an indirect influence also on the quality of life. There is evidence that optimistic people present a higher quality of life compared to those with low levels of optimism or even pessimists. Optimism may significantly influence mental and physical well-being by the promotion of a healthy lifestyle as well as by adaptive behaviours and cognitive responses, associated with greater flexibility, problem-solving capacity and a more efficient elaboration of negative information."
So, let us all take Brams' advice and the medical insight to heart: eliminate the bad, put the focus on the positive, and live a healthy life to its fullest.
Get to know Robert Brams better by checking out his book: Fighting Brain Cancer, Finding Your Best Path, and Leading a Life With Purpose (with foreward written by U.S. Sen. Chris Coons) and listening to his song "A New Day Today."
Also check out Robert talking about his death-defying experience on CBS News:
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