{"id":2406,"date":"2009-04-01T11:45:01","date_gmt":"2009-04-01T15:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifewithhappiness.com\/?p=772"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:36:55","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T17:36:55","slug":"the-choices-you-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2009\/04\/the-choices-you-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"The Choices You Choose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael J Fox has been in the media a lot.\u00a0 He\u2019s written a new book and is doing a promotional tour.\u00a0 You may recall that he walked away from acting many years ago when he went public with his battle with early-onset Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u00a0 He\u2019s since become an activist for stem-cell research into neurological disorders.
\nI saw his interview with Oprah on Tuesday.\u00a0 Despite being loaded up with drugs, he manifested the constant uncontrollable shaking\/movement that characterizes the disease.
\nPart of the show was medically-focused, discussing the cause of Parkinson\u2019s as well as the amazing advances in medical research using stem cells created from the patient\u2019s own harvested cells (remarkable results with no risk of rejection!).
\nThe rest of the show was all about what a great life he has, how much he\u2019s enjoying his life, and how this disease has created changes in his life that he considers a great blessing.\u00a0 He considers himself a better father and husband than he would have been if he\u2019d remained healthy in an acting career.\u00a0 He points to the fact that he has met people he\u2019d never have met; created new experiences, and explored other careers, like becoming a writer.
\nDoes he have challenges?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Is he in pain?\u00a0 Much of the time.\u00a0 AND he speaks emphatically about how he refuses to be defined by his disease.
\nMy favorite line:
\n\u201cI don\u2019t have a choice about this (the Parkinson\u2019s).\u00a0 But I have a million other choices like what I do when I get up in the morning, the attitude I carry, what I do with my life; and I focus on those choices.\u201d
\nHe chooses to focus on the choices he CAN make, versus the ones that are no longer available to him.
\nMichael J Fox is an optimist.\u00a0 Thank god for optimists, who help us remember that, in all the crap of life, flowers still bloom and children still smile.\u00a0 J
\nPractice optimism today.
\n<\/strong>
\nFor just one day, approach every decision from the perspective of what you CAN do versus can\u2019t; think about your life in terms of what you DO have rather than what you don\u2019t; with every person you meet, focus on their strengths and what they offer, instead of what they are not doing or doing wrong.\u00a0 Just for one day.\u00a0 Notice what happens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael J Fox has been in the media a lot.\u00a0 He\u2019s written a new book and is doing a promotional tour.\u00a0 You may recall that he walked away from acting many years ago when he went public with his battle with early-onset Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u00a0 He\u2019s since become an activist for stem-cell research into neurological disorders. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,40],"tags":[224,225,49,226,227],"yoast_head":"\nThe Choices You Choose - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2009\/04\/the-choices-you-choose\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Choices You Choose - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael J Fox has been in the media a lot.\u00a0 He\u2019s written a new book and is doing a promotional tour.\u00a0 You may recall that he walked away from acting many years ago when he went public with his battle with early-onset Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u00a0 He\u2019s since become an activist for stem-cell research into neurological disorders. ... 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