Brad Dryburgh talks about the belief prophecy and Cystic Fibrosis

By Brad Dryburgh

‘What you believe about yourself is what you become.’  

This statement right here is at the foundation of a life philosophy that has afforded me a wealth of good health in spite of cystic fibrosis. A statement so powerful, that anyone who chooses to live & breathe it, will most certainly live a better life for it… Including you. 

I’ve set the bar quite high haven’t I. I’ve eluded to the power of self-belief as if it is magic or god himself. I have good reason for it though. The words, ‘what you believe about yourself is what you become’, are not words I first read on a bumper sticker, or stole from a philosophy book, they are not words I heard in a Hollywood film, they are the words that define the most valuable lesson I have ever learnt in life, a lesson afforded to me by my own incredible parents. 

Just a few chaotic months after I was born on the 12th of April 1996, my parents were still coming to terms with my diagnosis. They knew little about cystic fibrosis aside from a few sad stories of patients living a life of struggle or those who were no longer with us. In an age before readily assessable internet, they read books, watched tapes & absorbed any educational material they could to be great carers, all in the lead up to my first appointment with a CF specialist.

They describe the day of that appointment as a bleak winter’s day yet a hopeful one. They had hopes that the doctor they were meeting for the first time could provide them with a plan & a pathway toward a more optimistic future for me. What they were met with that day was most certainly not that. This doctor sat my parents down, looked them in the eye & delivered a brutal prognosis, “Your son would be better off with a terminal illness that would either kill him or he would miraculously recover from, cystic fibrosis will ruin his life.” He said it with absolute certainty. As if he had seen my future in a crystal ball. When I think about those words, I can’t help but think about how pathetic they are, how this man lacked any empathy in his delivery, how he gave my parents absolutely no hope. I often think that I could not have blamed my parents had they heard his words & believed them, after all he was a cystic fibrosis specialist.

In utter shock & disbelief for his lack of empathy, my parent’s response has given me the most inspiring & optimistic lesson I could have ever learnt in life. They stood up, looked him in the eye & said ‘you will never see us or our son again’ & proceeded to walk out of that room. They chose to believe that cystic fibrosis would not limit or define my life, that they would do everything in their power to raise me into a man who believed that too, & boy did they fulfil their purpose.  

Belief is the first piece in a self-fulfilling prophecy. What you believe about yourself dictates your behaviour. If I believed that cystic fibrosis would ruin my life, I would rarely exercise, I wouldn’t consistently take my medication, I would wallow in self-pity & ultimately the outcome would see me spending most of my time in a hospital bed or maybe I wouldn’t be here to tell the story. The outcome then reinforces the original belief & it plays out as a vicious cycle until you decide to break it & muster some self-belief for who you believe you can be! In my case however, I believed that CF would not limit or define me, rather that I would be stronger for overcoming the challenges I faced, that I would have a greater perspective & more gratitude for good health & for everyday of life, because of that belief, I behave accordingly. I exercise everyday not because I always have the motivation to do so, but because I know the discipline of doing so affords me better health & longevity. The outcome being that I am now 27 & the healthiest I have ever been. I have run 3 marathons & 1 ultra-marathon in the last 3 years, I have a business I am building up & I work hard to earn my living. I have a partner I love & we are planning a family together. This outcome is the evidence that reinforces my self-belief. I continue to work hard & look after myself every day because I know it allows me to live a wonderful life & be the man I want to be. 

I hope this encourages you to think about the power of self-belief & the role that it plays in living an extraordinary life with cystic fibrosis.

If you’d like to connect with what I am doing & sharing daily (training, podcasts, life & business) you can find me on Instagram, TikTok & LinkedIn @bradleyjdryburgh as well as on your favourite podcast app by searching, “A Lot To Talk About.”