Last updated on October 3, 2025
I do not have a crystal ball that shows me my future. To my knowledge, none of us do. If you happen to have one, I would love to borrow it sometime.
Still, there is a kind of wisdom that lives outside the need for prediction. A quiet nudge inside us that sees past the urgency of now and asks a simple question: “Will this serve who I am becoming?”
When it comes to living a healing, anti-cancer life, that one principle has become my compass. Consider your future self. Always. In the smallest moments. In the unglamorous decisions. In the things no one else will ever see.
We often think about healing in dramatic terms. The surgery. The results. The breakthrough. The scans. But the reality is that healing begins much earlier than that. Long before the first symptom or diagnosis. Long before the crisis. Healing begins in the whispers of our choices.
Everything we consume matters. I am not just talking about food. I mean all of it. What we eat, yes, but also what we watch, what we read, who we allow to speak into our lives, and most importantly, how we speak to ourselves. Every bite, every scroll, every conversation, every thought. Each one is casting a vote for who we are becoming.
This is not about being perfect. Perfection is an illusion and a thief. This is about being intentional. About knowing that your present moment is a seed, and your future self is the harvest.
If you are already struggling with anxiety, ask yourself: is pouring caffeine, alcohol, violent media, or doom-filled scrolling into your nervous system really going to help you bloom? Or are you just soothing the moment while stealing from your future?
There are so many things we do to feel better right now. A glass of wine to take the edge off. A sugar rush to replace the fatigue. A social media binge to escape the discomfort. But what we often fail to ask is: what is the cost?
Soothing is not the same as healing. One is a pause button. The other is a pathway.
The choices we make today whisper to the universe what we believe about ourselves. If you knew your body was sacred, if you believed your energy mattered, if you truly saw yourself as a woman worth protecting, how would you treat her?
What would you feed her?
What would you allow her to watch?
What would you stop apologizing for?
What would you finally say no to?
This is not a lecture. This is a love letter. Because I know how easy it is to forget that we matter. I know what it feels like to give your energy away to everyone else and leave nothing for the woman in the mirror. I know how tempting it is to say “I’ll change tomorrow,” even as your body quietly begs for change today.
But here is what I also know. When you begin to consider your future self, something incredible happens. You stop chasing the quick fix and start building a foundation. You stop asking, “How can I get through the day?” and start asking, “What would it look like to thrive a year from now?”
Imagine yourself one year from today. Not ten years. Not five. Just one. Imagine her with more clarity. More strength. More presence. Imagine her waking up with peace in her belly instead of panic. Imagine her laughing without guilt. Imagine her full of life, not just surviving it.
She is not far away. She is the sum of what you choose today.
Will she thank you?
Will she recognize the love in your choices, even when no one else understood them?
Will she feel the ripple effects of the boundaries you set, the greens you juiced, the rest you allowed, the media you muted, the kindness you extended to your own nervous system?
You do not need to have all the answers. You do not need to have it all together. You just need to believe that she is worth showing up for. Not in a grand gesture, but in the slow, steady rhythm of healing.
That rhythm is not about deprivation. It is about devotion. It is about saying, “I am building something here.” Not out of fear, but out of love.
Because love, more than anything, is what heals us. Love for your cells. Love for your energy. Love for the life you are working so hard to save.
So please, whatever season you are in—whether you are in a fight for your health, a recovery of your peace, or a reinvention of your entire life—consider your future self. Feed her with grace. Nourish her with truth. Protect her with boundaries. And remind her that she is not forgotten.
She is watching. She is waiting. She is worthy.
And she is so ready to thank you.
About the Author
Leslie Nance is a Holistic Cancer Coach, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, speaker, and author. She helps women heal with clarity, courage, and soul. Writing and teaching about mindset, wellness, and living a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside.
