Many thanks to my friend Joanne for posting this five-minute TED video on Facebook:  Without her recommendation, I probably wouldn’t have watched it…I mean, I wouldn’t normally be very interested in a man talking about how he survived a plane ditching in the Hudson River (New York City)…

But it’s much more than that, as you will see if you click on the below link. And now I’m really glad I watched it: http://goo.gl/kvSf2L

I imagine lots of people before me have compared a plane accident to a cancer diagnosis. It’s an obvious comparison, methinks. And in fact, while I was listening to Ric’s story, I couldn’t help thinking about my own cancer diagnosis and how it changed my life…in a positive manner, in many ways.

When something major (cancer diagnosis, surviving a plane accident, whatever…) happens to you, the things that you thought were so important, such as your career, suddenly don’t matter so much anymore…As Ric says, “it all changes in an instant.”

And that is why I really liked this comment: “I no longer try to be right. I choose to be happy.”

It’s not possible to be happy all the time or have a perfect life, of course, but it is possible to make some changes…and rearrange your priorities.

I have.

(Or at least, I think I have!)