In this Worthy Wisdom series, I have been spouting off all sorts of grand ideas about health and healing, diet and nutrition, exercise and fitness. What I share all comes from Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. I spent four days there. I plan to spend a lifetime practicing what their experts preach.

Canyon Ranch worked for me. I bought into every one of their healthy living approaches and for the two months since I've departed this desert destination, I've done just about everything right -- the eating, the exercising, the de-stressing. And as I sit here eating a bowl of red raspberries instead of a bag of chips and handfuls of M&Ms, I think it's only fair I make a confession.

I've made many attempts at changing my lifestyle. I've gone without sweets several times in my life, only to later reintroduce them into my daily routine and inevitably go way overboard on my consumption. The same goes for soda. There have been times when I've obsessed about exercise. And times when I've let it go altogether. My stress levels have been up and down and all around. I've searched long and hard for the motivation to change, to do better, be better, feel better. It took cancer to push me over the edge, toward positive and long-lasting change.

I don't want you to think I just simply went to Canyon Ranch, gathered a bunch of terrific techniques, and quickly and successfully set them in motion. Canyon Ranch came after a long line of defeats. It took cancer and two years of solid soul searching for me to get my butt in gear. Canyon Ranch came at the perfect time. I was primed and ready. And finally, I feel good about how I'm conducting my life in a post-cancer world.

I confess: I'm not a quick study. I'm 37 years old and have just now found my way. For those of you finding your ways, good for you. Stick with it. For those who are still wavering or find it hard to hang on to a good and healthy plan, don't give up. The time will come. And when it comes, you'll know. It will just seem right, and effortless. It won't seem like a chore, an obligation, or deprivation. It may take something profound in your life before you make a commitment. It may not. Either way, you'll see what I mean when the time arrives. Until then, be patient. It worked for me.