Ep #38: Part 2: Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery: Self-Care

Today’s episode is a start of part 2 in a 3-part series called Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery, and today’s segment is all about self-care. Everyone’s talking about it: on TV, on social media, in magazines. The problem is that there are two different kinds of self-care: outer self-care (pedicures, massages, bubble baths) and inner self-care (the inner-world work that makes a world of difference in your life and in your healing).

What You’ll Learn From this Episode:

+  The difference between outer self-care and inner self-care

+  The key to unlocking your inner wisdom and your own path to healing

+  An exercise to help you discover what self-care you truly need in this moment

+  A short meditation to help you connect with your inner wisdom.

+  Truth & Dare Quote: Inner self-care is saying “yes” to the things that are good for you, even if you don’t feel like it.

Featured on the Show:

+  Episode TDC #37: Part 1: Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery: Self-Love

+  Episode TDC #09: Dreams Are Free

+  The O Magazine: 25 Self-Care Tips to Help You Be the Best Version of You

+   WANT TO CREATE A LIFE YOU DESERVE? Whether your goal is to get healthy, change careers, improve relationships, focus on self-care… You can create whatever you desire. If you need help figuring it out, it's time for private coaching, no more waiting for Monday.

+  DARE Cancer is a structured coaching community and a safe space full of women who know what you’re going through and aren’t afraid to keep it real. Registration doors open in December - to get on the waiting list to be the first to know, go to darecancer.com.

Full Episode Transcript: 

Welcome to Truth & Dare Cancer, the only podcast that teaches you how to supercharge your self- healer, navigate fear, and recalibrate your life by using cancer as a powerful catalyst for change. On this show we get real about all things cancer. And now here’s your host, cancer survivor, mathematician and certified life coach, Ceca Mijatovic. Hello and welcome! You are listening to the episode number 38 of the Truth & Dare Cancer Podcast. If you have not yet done so please subscribe to us on Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast, and like us on Facebook. To access the show notes for this episode go to truthanddarecancer.com/podcast and select episode number 38. I’m your host Ceca Mijatovic and today’s episode is the second in a 3-part series called Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery. Cancer as a path to self-discovery … what does that even mean? What I mean by it is the fact that YOU are the most important person in your own life. Without YOU, you would have no experiences or relationships; you would have no way of serving the world. To that end, any experience - any joy, any hardship - can be fertile ground for learning more about yourself. Cancer is no exception. In the first episode of the series, episode 37, we talked about the concept of self-love. We’re socialized to act and live in certain ways that may or may not be in line with our deepest selves. Cancer can be an invitation to step out of our prescribed roles and back into our true nature. In episode 37 I shared three paths back into self-love. So if you didn’t listen to that one yet, pause here and go check it out. Today is segment two of Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery series, and the topic is: self-care. For each episode in this series, I’m offering some teaching on the topic, an exercise, and a short meditation. So let’s dive in! In the last episode we touched on the idea that true self-love is stepping into our higher selves, and honoring who we truly are. Self-care is having a moment in our culture right now. All the magazines talk about it, the TV shows joke about it, self-care is a meme we see on social media all the time. And some of them are really good, like Oprah’s O Magazine article on 25 tips to help you be the best version of you touches on what I’m talking about today. What is most often celebrated (or ridiculed) as self-care are the external forms of self-care: having your nails done, taking a bubble bath, getting a massage. But there’s a big disconnect between authentic self-care and what we’re socialized to believe is self-care. While those external acts of kindness towards self are enjoyable and needed, there is a much deeper and more important aspect of inner self-care. In a nutshell, what I mean by inner self-care is saying “yes” to the people, things and experiences that are good for you (even if you don’t always enjoy the process of doing them), and similarly, saying “no” to those things (people and experiences) that deep down you know aren’t good for you. The external forms of self-care are like the short-term approach. They give you instant gratification. The long-term approach to self-care is the piece that’s really essential - and it’s the inner work on ourselves. This inner work boils down to the process of tending to our inner child. Because even if you had the best childhood experience, that relationship with yourself as a child is not over. It’s this childlike part of you that represents your higher self - and this all-knowing part of yourself is your path to true healing. Reestablishing your relationship with your own inner child is key to opening that path into healing. Here’s your exercise to try this week: Grab your journal and open a dialogue with your inner child. Tell her that you’re listening to what she wants and needs. Then, ask her what self-care she needs. She might need you to listen to her. She might want a walk in the park. She might ask for a soft place to snuggle and someone safe to talk to. Whatever she raises, write it down, and do that thing. Do it today! Another way your inner self informs you about what she needs is via dreams. Dreams are extremely valuable and free resource. In last season’s episode number 9 titles Dreams Are Free I talked about great benefits, insights and healing we get from our dreams. I talk about how during sleep we process and integrate all of our cognitive thoughts and experiences, all of the non-verbal learning via all five senses, plus all of the feelings related to verbal and non-verbal experiences throughout the day. Here’s your meditation for today. Remember that after the third episode in this series airs, you’ll be able to download all three meditations in a single audio file. Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. Silence all your devices, except the device you’re using to listen to this meditation. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Inhale, exhale.  Inhale, exhale.  Inhale, and exhale. Picture your childhood self. Whatever age pops into your mind, use that image of your inner child throughout this meditation. Imagine that she comes and sits on your lap. Stroke her hair. You have so much unconditional love for her. You know how to love her exactly as she needs to be loved. You know exactly what words she needs to hear to feel comforted. Tell her: I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. Now ask her: What is the next right step to take in my healing journey? Whatever comes into your mind first, a symbol, or a word - let that be the thing. It might be that you need to take a nap. Eat a snack. Go for a walk. It might be that you need to switch doctors, research a different treatment option, or join a support group. It might be something seemingly unrelated to your cancer journey - like letting go of a friendship that isn’t serving you, or choosing to stop watching a violent TV show, or stepping away from social media for a while. Find some small way today to honor her insight. If she’s inviting you to take a bigger step, then figure out how you can take the smallest possible action toward that bigger goal. Now, open your eyes and write down your symbol or word along with your small action step for today. I invite you to carve out some unstructured time this week so you can continue to nurture this inner relationship and dialogue. And just a quick note: if you’re a part of my DARE Cancer coaching community, you get a full workbook to dive deeper into these podcast episodes, as part of the program! The workbook for this three-part series is called “Cancer is a Path to Self-Discovery: A 3-Step Process to Finding Your True Self.” If you are not a member of DARE Cancer yet, you can check it out at darecancer.com. To recap: self-care is not only about external things like bubble baths and eating good chocolate (although those can be fun!). It’s also about internal work, like connecting with your inner child who is a pathway to that all-wise all-knowing higher self. This week, try asking your inner child each day what act of self-care she needs - and honor that. Be sure to tune in to our next episode for part three of this series - we’ll be talking about how to self-heal. Practice self-love and inner self-care until we speak again! If you received something valuable from this episode and know someone else that would benefit from it as well, please share it with them. And in the meantime, I dare you to find the truth in your cancer! Thanks for tuning in. If you want to stop identifying with your cancer, you can download a free “You Are Not Your Cancer” guide at www.truthanddarecancer.com/podcastfreeguide.

Enjoyed The Show?

• Don’t miss an episode, subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, Spotify or Stitcher.
• Leave us a review on iTunes.

< NEWER EPISODE                                                              PREVIOUS EPISODE >