Feeling Burnt Out? Reignite Your Passion For Life

This week Donna and I passed our 36th wedding anniversary…. Yay!! 

I know the jokes 

“You don’t get that long for murder”……..

Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music, and dancing. She goes Tuesdays; I go Fridays.”

I get it…..

Back to the story….And we took some time to celebrate by going to our favorite local restaurant….We both had a great meal and a few cheeky glasses of wine. 

It’s a bit naughty actually, as I am 2 weeks into my radiation treatment and was told to lay off the alcohol. 

Let me explain the significance of this: for the past 18 months or so, I have been undergoing treatment for cancer, lymphoma, stage 4, cancer in 5 different parts of my body.

I had what is called Grey Zone lymphoma, a rare type not being classed as either Hodgkin’s lymphoma or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is pretty aggressive.  

The reality of how bad it was hadn’t really dawned on me, as my core belief is we can beat this; everything is achievable.

The first treatment was what is called R-Chop, 6 chemo treatments 3 weeks apart as an outpatient. It takes about 4 to 6 hours to administer.

My last R-Chop session was on the 30th of December 2023. 

At my next med review in January, I showed progress; however, not to the extent that was hoped for. 

I still had cancer in my spleen and sacral bone. The sacral bone or joint forms part of your spine, the one that looks a bit like a butterfly. 

Basically the spine, sacral, and then the tail.

Besides the sacral bone being part of the spine, and no one wants cancer growing up their spine, importantly, the sacral bone is where most of your nerves run into from your lower body.

The spread of cancer in your sacral bone would eventually cause the loss of mobility in the lower body. For anyone, this would have dire effects on your quality of life.

So for about 6 months, I was in limbo land as the follow-up biopsy on the sacral bone was not identifying as cancer. 

There was a thought at one stage it might have been inflammation in the bone.

More tests and eventually, a second biopsy, confirmed it as lymphoma cancer.

I was offered Stem Cell Transplant therapy. 

The short version is you receive more chemo treatment this time, a couple of nights in the hospital are required for the treatment. The treatment is one chemo in the morning and one at night. 12 hours apart. I had this treatment two times, and at this stage I was considered to be in remission. 

The cancer had gone or was undetectable.  

The treatment from here on was to increase the chances for a longer survival period.

Next was to extract millions of stem cells from my system which are then sent off to the lab for testing and storage. In my case, they extracted over 10 million stem cells, the most that the hospital has achieved to date.

I was then booked into the hospital for 3 weeks to receive the rest of the treatment. 

One week of chemo day and night, 12 hours apart.

On the 5th of September, 2024, I had the stem cells transferred back into my system. 

At this stage, my immune system has been completely wiped clean, nonexistent. Like a newborn baby.

So I had to rebuild my immune system. This is ongoing, and I start my immunization program in February.

Tests still showed I am in remission Yay!!

And of course next the radiation treatment. It’s purely concentrated on the sacral bone; it is to kill off any undetectable cancer. 

After 18 months and as my core belief is we can beat this, everything is achievable. Yes, we did.

So back at the restaurant, remember celebrating our wedding anniversary, Donna asked me what was it I wanted to achieve this year.

While I have several projects on the table, this newsletter is one, and a course on Ikigai is another. Maybe a Podcast.

Feeling burnt out? Probably not… more being in limbo land, just waiting to get our life back in order. To reignite the passion for life.

So my answer was “to have 12 months of a life not hindered by a cloud hanging over us of not knowing… to live a life filled with purpose. Ikigai.”

My ikigai is Ikigai: That’s to help everyone live a purpose-filled life. Reignite Your Passion for Life.

It made me think about how my life was being lived. How close is it to the Ikigai way of life?

Understandably, with the ongoing treatment, there are parts of my life that become undermined by tiredness and fatigue.

Fatigue is the hardest as it comes unannounced and takes part of your day away from you.

Reignite Your Passion For Life

With the view to what I had declared to Donna

To ensure my Passion For Life, my purpose, Ikigai was on track, I completed an audit on the way I am living agaist the ten rules of Ikigai. Here is what the rules are    

10 rules of Ikigai

• Stay active; don’t retire.
• Staying active and working will keep you connected with your Ikigai.
• Knowing your purpose your Ikigai, and aligning all your actions with your values help create a life filled with happiness and a peaceful mind  
• In Japan, where they have the highest life expectancy at birth among OECD countries, there is no word that has the same meaning as retirement. Maybe because a lot don’t.
•  
• Take it slow.
• In our modern world there is a push to things have it now… have it faster then before, creating a sense that it is normal to rush and be in a hurry.
• This can have an impact on the quality of our life. Be mindful of the thoughts we think and actions we take. 
• Don’t fill your stomach. 
• In Japan there is a saying “Hara Hachi Bu.” which roughly translates to “fill your belly to 80%”. Its a principle that is used by the Okinawans and this principle in their daily lives, believing that they will stop eating when they feel their stomachs are 80 percent full. This will prevent overeating and wearing down of their bodies
• Surround yourself with good friends. 
•  It is a common theme throughout the blue zone countries or areas like the Centenarians in Okinawa enjoy spending time together with family and friends often competing in friendly sports games.
• Get in shape for your next birthday. 
• I think most of us appreciate the benefits of having an exercise regime. From a longevity perspective, your exercise doesn’t need to be extreme.  
• You could consider radio taiso it consists of minutes of gentle movements. It is something that the oldest residents of Okinawa do daily.
• Smile.
• It is said that it takes less facial muscles to smile than to frown.
• Science also tell us when smiling it helps in releasing feel good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, which can improve your mood. 
• It makes us feel happy as it is hard to feel sad or angry when you are smiling.
• Reconnect with nature. 
• Nothing like a brisk walk in the fresh air to start up your metabolism and connect with your surroundings.
• There are many benefits as it can boost your productivity, enhance your mood, and improve your memory.
• Give thanks. 
• The practice of journaling give us the opportunity to reflect on our day and the good things that have happened and be grateful for.
• Writing it down does reinforce the positives of our life, it will remind us of the best things in our life. 
• It may also bring to light things not so positive that we may need to reflect on and remove from our daily lives.
• Live in the moment. 
• Our past has come and gone and there is nothing we can do to change it.
• From moment to moment, we live our lives so try to live it so it is worth remembering.  A purpose filled life.
• Follow your ikigai. 
• Discover what your Passion For Life by uncovering your Ikigai and let it drive you. Having an ikigai adds purpose to your life and can lead to more happiness.

Steve Hudson Currently Reading Atomic Habits By James Clear

• Certified Ikigai Coach – Passionate about guiding people to their purpose
• Author of Ikigai: Purpose Filled Life ikigaipurposefilledlife.com
• Founder of Modern Ikigai, inspiring modern living through Ikigai