I recently went to an inspirational talk by cancer survivor, young mum, triathlete and fellow Noosa resident, Sam Naudin.

Over the past two years she’s had a tumultuous journey which included being diagnosed with breast cancer and subsequently undergoing a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

As if this wasn’t bad enough her long term relationship ended and suddenly she was a solo mum with two children under four years old dependent on her.

Faced with a big helping of crap like that, lesser individuals might have given up and opted to spend the next year or so curled up on the couch watching reruns of dreary sitcoms while consuming vast amounts of chocolate.

But not Sam. Despite being left with  lympoma, when her medical treatment was over, she decided to get fit and raise money for charity. Her dream soon escalated into completing a half-marathon, cycling 100 kilometers and finally a triathlon.

What inspires you to seek happiness?

I have to say, it sounds exhausting but it certainly is inspirational stuff and makes me wonder what events catalyse people to get off their bums and do something.

So often it’s a brush with death, either our own or that of a loved one, that motivates us to live our dream and be the best we can be.

Only when faced with the inevitability of our own mortality does life takes on more meaning and vibrancy.

Let’s not wait for a stark reminder, let’s live life to the full right now and enjoy what we have today.

Be destined for happiness

The other inspirational part of this story is that it really illustrates how much we’re in charge of our own destiny.

Fate dealt Sam a rough hand but she was still able to choose how she played it. Either she could go with the flow, become a powerless victim and sit around feeling sorry for herself, or she could give fate the finger and carry on her amazing journey through life.

Like Sam, when something bad happens I’m going to look on the bright side, try to laugh it off, and not dwell on it.

We do have control over our feelings and I’m working on choosing to feel happy, valuable, satisfied and involved.

Here’s to Sam’s good health and a living life positively.

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