Episode 131 – How Shannon’s 2025 Went Sideways

We’ve all had years that are difficult, and this year has been one of those for Shannon and Sandy. We’re so grateful to you, our wonderful listener, for continuing to listen to Your Personal Power Pod as we shared Power Pops, Favorites and Minisodes instead of new episodes. Today we’re excited to be back starting Season 6 with a new episode where we talk about why we were running those other things, and the challenges and joys we’ve experienced in 2025.

We want to hear from you, whether it’s your stories about how self-esteem and personal power affect your life, or topics you’d like us to address in future episodes. 

We’d love for you to review our podcast. Do this on your streaming service or visit www.yourpersonalpowerpod.com , click Contact and drop us an email. 

You can also find us on Instagram and YouTube at Your Personal Power Pod.

Also, if you’d like to make changes in your personal or business life, spending time with a coach can make all the difference.  Sandy is offering a free consultation, so contact her at sandy@insidejobscoach.com and put COACHING in the subject line to schedule a free call.

Thank you for listening to Your Personal Power Pod.  We look forward to hearing from you.

And, until next time, find your power and change your life!

Transcript

shannon: [00:00:00] Welcome to Your Personal Power Pod, a podcast about aligning yourself with the life you want. And here are your hosts, Sandy Abel and Shannon Young

Sandy: Shannon. It is so good to be back with you and our listeners. It's been a long, crazy year. How are you today? 

It's been bonkers. It's really nice to be back in the same airspace with you. I guess it's been a year since we've done a podcast together. It 

Sandy: has. 

And we're kind of remembering how to do it. 

Sandy: We are.

And can you believe it's almost Thanks. I wanna thank our listeners for hanging in there this year. We'll tell you about the year for us, but you listen to minisodes, you listen to favorites, you hung in there with us through everything. We are just in awe of you all. 

Yes. It's really very cool to [00:01:00] have this kind of community and to feel supported, even when we're not talking one-to-one.

So thank you so much for your support, and we thought that to start off season six, we would just kind of explain. A little bit about why this season was so bonkers from our end. We didn't wanna talk about it while we were in it 'cause things were scary. But it's much better now. And so we wanna Yes. Just let you in on what was going on that made our podcast pivot have to take place.

Sandy: Yes, exactly. So Shannon, you wanna tell us what happened last January? Last January was not fun. 

It's wild that we're almost a year past it. I spent last holiday season not feeling right, and then on January 2nd, welcome to 2025, I got a cancer diagnosis. 

Sandy: Oh shit. 

I mean, you know all this, but me too, 

Sandy: but it still hurts.

And then from there, things moved pretty quickly. I started treatment. I went through chemo and radiation podcasted once in a [00:02:00] great while when we were doing some of the power pops, just when I had the energy and actually had a. Brain, chemo brain is a real thing. Mm-hmm. But because of that, I was pretty wiped out and didn't have the energy to give.

And you guys were just amazing through the whole thing. 

Sandy: Absolutely, absolutely. And everybody was, it was so incredible to see how our friends and our family and everybody just circled around. What was it like for you, Shannon? Dealing with everybody else, 

it was simultaneously wonderful and overwhelming.

It was really heartwarming to have people reach out, send little gifts. You did a really cool thing and contacted everybody in my immediate circle and had everybody write up a little blurb about why I'm special to them, which makes me cry and put it all in a beautiful photo album, which was just incredible and so much work.

I mean, the closest you can get to wrapping up the love in your life and delivering it to somebody. 

Sandy: Aw, that's so cool. Yes. It's the Love and [00:03:00] Appreciation book. 

Yeah. It was really, really nice 

Sandy: and it was so wonderful because nobody said, no, I'm too busy. I can't do this. Everybody I reached out to, even people I hadn't talked to in.

10 years you were connected to, but I hadn't talked to 'em. They were right on it. It makes me teary. I'm gonna cry. They were like, oh my gosh, what does she need? Yes, we'll do this. I'll send it to you soon. It was just rebuilding a wonderful community, reinforcing it. 

It was really sweet. And that was so much work on your part.

And it's on prominent display in my bookshelf. 

Sandy: Oh, yay. 

Really nice. But at the same time, it was really overwhelming. Because everybody wants to know you're okay, and they want you to know that they're thinking about you. Mm-hmm. So getting texts and calls all the time saying, how are you? How are you, how are you?

First of all, I'm not good. Yeah. Right. And I don't wanna talk about it. 

Sandy: Right. Exactly. 

I tried really hard at the beginning when we were going to all the doctor's appointments and everything to keep everybody in the loop, and I just thought the best way to do this is to set up a calendar and then share it with everybody so everyone [00:04:00] knows when my doctor's appointments are, and I tried to record the audio from my doctors so I could just send it to everyone, and the technology just wasn't working for everyone.

All of a sudden, I'm acting as a secretary for my own cancer diagnosis and I just was like, this is not working. No, 

shannon: no. So. 

Finally we came to this great agreement that I would just reach out to you and dad once a week through a phone call. Yeah. And keep you updated and then let you know if anything else was going on, any new news or anything, I would be sure to tell you.

Right. And that way you guys didn't have to stress other family members kind of did the same thing so I could package everything into one day and let everybody know I was okay or not okay. And then spend the rest of the week just sleeping 

Sandy: right basically. Right. And that was a perfect solution because you know me, I'm hover mom.

I wanna just make everything better. Obviously I couldn't, and the last thing I wanted to do was irritate you and make it worse. So it was a great solution to just [00:05:00] know that if anything huge happened, either way, good or bad, you'd let us know. Mm-hmm. So if we didn't hear anything, then it was chugging along and once a week we could ask any questions and we get to hear you, and it was a perfect solution.

It worked really well. 

And you guys were great and my husband was unbelievable. I like to tell people that I loved him when I married him, but it was really cool to have the universe kind of validate my choice of spouse. 

Sandy: Exactly. You know, both of us learned and grew a whole lot from this whole experience.

Yes. I mean, I know you have said this was a good thing actually. Because of all the positive that came out of it. 

You know, it's interesting. I haven't had people in my immediate circle go through this kind of thing, but I have read or seen in outer circles that people have said, and actually I think Princess Kate said the same thing.

The hardest part of cancer is the healing, the after part because you look fine and you're back to your life. [00:06:00] Everybody's like, oh good, she's fine. It's over. But you're a different person. In some cases, your body's different. That felt very, and feels kind of lonely. Yes. But the actual act of going through it was just, I have no other choices.

This is what we're doing right now. Right, right. And. You just do it. And yeah, at the time it was, I mean, I don't recommend it, but there were some really beautiful moments. We talk a lot about appreciating the things you have and the people you have in your life, and being in the now and focusing on gratitude and my world got really, really small, really fast.

Like I didn't go to work. I did work through the whole thing. I just worked from 

Sandy: home. I know. What'd you do, miss? Four days or something out of the entire process. 

I missed three days. 

Sandy: Three. Okay. Uhhuh, you're such a trooper. My gosh. You worked from home while you were dealing with this. 

Well, one of the things that I'm really grateful for is my coworkers who just were like, yep, go do and, and the cancer center, [00:07:00] which did a remarkable thing and made my radiation treatments.

Right at the beginning of the day. Mm-hmm. So I could go do them, come home and rest for 45 minutes and then just start working. Wow. Um, I'm really lucky to just be able to sit in bed with a computer and do my job. I know a lot of people don't have that freedom or flexibility being home, I totally thought I'm gonna shower and do my hair.

Do my makeup and go to radiation, which is a block and a half away. And my husband was like, yeah, we'll see how long that lasts, you know? And it didn't take long before I got out of bed, put on a hat, went to radiation, and came home like that was it. And so that was my social interaction, and I would just sit at home with this amazing electric blanket that my husband bought, me and my dogs and my husband, and eat mac and cheese.

And gelato and those moments just shine in my memory. Just the act of sitting down in the living room with my fur babies and my husband and a warm blanket, and knowing that you guys were just down the [00:08:00] street and they're loving me and available if we needed anything, there was nothing more that I needed.

Those moments just sparkle. I hope I never lose that gratitude. 

Sandy: Right. I know Matt was. Matt is your husband for everybody. To know was phenomenal. I mean, he's an amazing guy. Anyway. He went above and beyond was there for you 140% and we're just so proud of him and so glad that you guys are together. That's what marriage is about, is you're there for each other.

And he certainly proved that. And I know you've done that for him many times over the years. So Yeah, I 

mean, you have to have each other's back. 

Sandy: Exactly. And one of the things that I think made a huge difference in your recovery, and that just is awe inspiring, is how you approach the whole thing. You never claimed it.

You never said my cancer. You said the cancer. 

I made a decision at the beginning that I was not gonna make it mine. No. I wasn't gonna tell people I have this. No, I slipped up once in talking to a friend on the phone and then backpedaled really quickly because I didn't want to reinforce, I [00:09:00] mean, this sounds woo woo, but I didn't wanna reinforce to the universe that it was mine and that it was supposed to be here.

Sandy: Exactly. And you didn't, you didn't claim it. So how did you phrase it instead? 

Like, when I told my boss, I said, I've been given a cancer diagnosis. 

Sandy: Yeah, perfect. Totally not yours 

because I didn't wanna think about it in those terms. This belongs here, and then I listen to a sleep meditation every night, and I will promote them all day long.

The page is the mindful movement. They have a whole lot of meditations, but. I listen to the sleep meditations before I go to sleep. And one night before I went to a doctor's appointment, at the beginning when I was really scared, when it was really obvious something was wrong, trying to get into a doctor around the holidays is brutal.

So I was really, really scared. And I put on a Heal your body while you sleep meditation. I slept for maybe two hours and woke up feeling like I'd slept for 16. Wow. And I wasn't anxious anymore. And I wasn't afraid anymore. Yeah. I'll swear by them all day long. 

Sandy: Yeah. And I listen to that every night. Yeah, it's great you, you told me about [00:10:00] it and I listened to it every night.

The whole mindset and attitude of positivity. There are so many good things that happened, like you got the diagnosis and we have a dear friend who used to be the head of oncology and we told him, and he got you into the top oncologist instantly. 

I mean, it pays to know people. 

Sandy: It helps so much when you have friends and people who have your back, and so many things like that just fell into place.

It was fascinating to watch how it all worked. Once you have a positive mindset, even though you think, oh, this is a terrible, awful thing. Look at all the good that's happening around it, it's phenomenal. 

It was kind of fun. I mean, not the treatment itself or going through it, but looking at the way it happened.

I got diagnosed on January 2nd, essentially went back to work mid-spring, like physically went back to work, so it was really, really quick. But my coworkers basically said, you know, thanks for working your cancer around our schedule, because our season starts in [00:11:00] mid-spring. And so that worked well. And then we'd been looking for a new vehicle because our other.

Four-wheel drive kind of burned out. And so we needed something reliable and we'd been looking for a long time. And then at one point last year, my husband just said, I don't think now's the right time. I think we should stop looking. So we did. And then the week I was starting treatment, I saw one for sale, used Facebook marketplace.

Woo woo. And I stared at it for a while and just thought, I don't know if now's the time to be. Buying a vehicle. You know, I'm starting cancer treatment. But I showed him and I thought for sure he would say, yeah, I don't think now's the right time. And I would've been fine with that. But he surprised me and said, we should go look at it.

And then within 48 hours it was in our driveway. So that to me was just the universe saying it's all gonna be okay. Yes. And I don't know if that's actually what was going on, but that's how I read it. So yes. 

Sandy: It was just another positive around the scary thing. Yeah, there was so much else that was good and amazing that was just dropping in your lap, but most of all, the [00:12:00] most incredible thing was just your attitude through it all.

And I'm sure that's why you are healthy and safe now because you had the attitude that it's, I don't have cancer. What is this? There's this annoying thing happening and I'm, we get rid of it. 

I didn't think about it much. I didn't wanna give it any energy. I didn't wanna give it anything more than it was already taking from me.

Sandy: That's so wise, so brilliant. I think that's something for everybody to take away when you're going through some kind of trial. Don't let it control you. Don't let it define you. It's just something that's there and you will do what needs to happen to deal with it, but it's not yours, so don't make it yours.

Don't own it and cling to it 

and identify with it. 

Sandy: Exactly. 

How was it for you guys? 

Sandy: Ah, actually we followed your lead. You know, initially the first part was, oh no, I could say some words that I won't say here, but it was, but it was that you just led with your calm attitude and you're, okay, this is what we're gonna do and this is how I'll deal with it, and this is how we'll [00:13:00] communicate, and all of that.

And we just followed your lead very quickly. It wasn't a scary thing anymore because you weren't. Being scared. 

Aw, thank you. You know, we 

Sandy: could, we could do fun little things like drop off dinner or bring flowers or stuff like that, and we didn't even have to see you. We just felt like we were doing our part to bring some joy in your life.

You made it so that it was okay for everybody. You're pretty amazing. Aw, 

thank you. That was hard. That was really hard. I went from, okay, now I really have to take care of me. Yes. To also feeling the weight of having to take care of everybody else. Just had to get over that. 

Sandy: Right. And we didn't want you to feel that you didn't have to take care of us, but you're such a big hearted person that you take care of everybody anyway, so Yeah.

Well, thank you. It was hard when you guys would drop stuff off and I wanted to give you a hug, but I couldn't, 'cause I was in chemo and 

Sandy: we didn't expect it. We just wanted to let you know that we were thinking of you and also that nobody had to cook dinner. Matt didn't have to come home from work and cook dinner.

That was like [00:14:00] there. Okay, that's cool. So it worked out well. And then the cool thing is you got, well just in time for us to go on a family vacation. Which was incredibly fun. 

I told my doctors the whole time, look, we've had this cruise to Alaska planned four years, we've had this planned. And they were like, you should go.

And of course we all came back with COVID, but, 

Sandy: but fortunately you were healthy enough that COVID didn't do any serious damage, you know? Yeah. And then we had a family wedding and that was so fun. You were well by then. 

Well ish. Yeah. 

Sandy: Right. But there was a lot of good last year. This year. It's still this year.

Oh my gosh. It's still the 2025, right? 

Another six weeks, 

Sandy: that's all. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Well, anyway, it's been quite a ride. And is there anything else you want to share with our listeners 

for them and for you? Thank you for adjusting. 

Sandy: Yes. 

We had to pivot. We didn't wanna just. Stop the podcast. We also didn't wanna explain what was [00:15:00] going on because again, I didn't wanna claim it and you were awesome when I said I don't have it in me to do this, and you were like, okay, we'll do something new For a while, listeners kept listening.

Just thank you to all of you for being amazing. 

Sandy: Absolutely. Absolutely. It's incredible that you continue to take this podcast journey with us. We are so blessed. To have you in our lives. 

It's just so much fun. 

Sandy: It's, it's very fun and we'd love to hear from you. Please give us your thoughts. Send an email to sandy@insidejobscoach.com and put podcast in the subject line and I will respond.

I'll get right back to you if you've got ideas, uh, what we can talk about. If you've got thoughts on what we've done or you want us to do anything. We're here for comments and concerns and support and whatever. 

And ideas. 

Sandy: Absolutely. 

She's not joking. This woman is all about follow through, so Oh yeah. If you send an email, you'll get a response that day.

So this is the beginning of season six. Woo hoo. So we will [00:16:00] start with those topics next time. Again, thank you. Thank you, Sandy, 

Sandy: and thank you Shannon. And thank you to our listeners and we will post this. On Thanksgiving because we are incredibly thankful for all the positivity that's happened this year.

Yes. And we'll move ahead posting on Thursdays. 

Yes. So until next time, find your power and change your life.