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  • With Mayo Clinic oncologist

    Edward T. Creagan, M.D.

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  • Stress blog

  • Dec. 23, 2010

    Create your future today

    By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.

8 comments posted

It's been a challenging couple of weeks here in Minnesota — brutal temperatures and piles and piles of snow. Not a good time for me to leave a quart of milk in the car in the sub-zero garage. You got it — the milk bottle exploded.

Need more help?

If the stress in your life is more than you can cope with, get help right away.

  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
    1-800-273-TALK (8255)
  • Go to the nearest hospital or emergency room
  • Call your physician, health provider or clergy
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness
    www.nami.org
    1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

On the brighter side, I recently attended our annual Christmas program at church. I was not in a particularly festive mood, but something in the program caught my eye. The image was a young ballerina, perhaps 10 years old, being positioned at the start of a concert by her ballet coach. Beneath the photo it said, "The most important moments take place before the curtain goes up." What a powerful message.

I was reminded of a quote attributed to Muhammad Ali, "The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses — behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."

The grace of a ballerina and the grit of a boxer hammer home the message: The future belongs to those who prepare. If you simply sit back and let life unfold without a clear focus, the results may not be to your liking. If you are proactive, take charge and throw off the victim mentality, you have a far better chance of going the distance and reaching your goals.

And yes, the concert was wonderful.

8 comments posted

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MY01623 Dec. 23, 2010

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