Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 9 | Issue 413 |
Craig Impelman Speaking | Championship Coaches | Champion's Leadership Library Login | |
"THE CHEMO SPA" (VALORIE KONDOS FIELD PART 4) As the Gymnastics Coach at UCLA from 1991 to 2019 Valorie Kondos Field, often referred to as Miss Val, coached the Bruins to seven National Championships.
Miss Val's book Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance is a must read for everybody.
In the Spring of 2014, Miss Val found out she had breast cancer. She, with the help of chemotherapy and surgery, not only beat the cancer, she also continued to coach her team and keep those around her in a positive productive mindset.
A key part of Miss Val's approach was that she used language that created a positive perspective for everybody. In her book, Miss Val expands on the topic:
"I purposefully referenced going to chemotherapy as going to my "Chemo Spa." A spa is where you go to get healthier.
I could have thought, "I have to go to the hospital to get chemotherapy." But I chose to think, "I get to go to my chemo spa." Either way, I was still going to the same place for the same amount of time and would experience the same insertion of the needle. Once I reframed the process with a positive spin, I no longer dreaded it.
A few months into my chemo I was riding up the elevator with another woman and saw she had pushed the button for the sixth floor, the chemo spa floor. So, I cheerfully asked, "Are you heading to the chemo floor?" She replied, "Yes, I have to get chemotherapy." And I cheerfully said, "No, we get to get chemotherapy. We get to receive something that will hopefully make us better."
A peer-reviewed article appearing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal looked at 16 different studies spanning 30 years for a variety of ailments and the research absolutely confirmed that patients who expressed positive expectations had better health outcomes and faster recovery times.
So, regardless of how I was feeling, whenever I was asked, "How are you doing?" I always replied, "Great! Life is amazing!" And, I told my fellow coaches, the team, and Bobby regardless if I was not feeling great to not to treat me like I was sick.
Just as cancer can spread if not treated properly, I didn't want the negativity to spread either. I didn't want to magnify this part of my life but rather enhance the positivity around me. I didn't and don't have time to waste on the negative. The year following my diagnosis was the best one of my life.
One Thursday during that year Ellette Craddock, one of our athletes, asked if we could meet later in my office. I was getting ready to leave our team training for a chemo spa appointment and I told her, "My chemo spa is sure goofing up my day." To which she replied, "Yes, but Miss Val it's giving you a lot more days." Ahh, perspective. My message was getting through."
When faced with a challenge, do you use language that gives those around you a positive perspective?
Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman
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Influence This I think as I go my way: Edgar Allen Guest (1881-1959)
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