Michael J. Fox is keeping his hopes up amid his alarming health battle.

For years, Fox has been bravely battling against Parkinson's disease - an illness he kept a secret for years until finally sharing it with the public in 1998. The retired actor officially left the spotlight in 2020 and focused on his non-profit Michael J. Fox foundation.

Even losing his spot in Hollywood, he hopes to leave a lasting legacy by helping other people like him as they continue to search for a cure for the dreaded illness.

As part of the AARP The Magazine's December 2021/January 2022 issue, the 60-year-old actor shared how "gratitude makes optimism sustainable. According to Fox, he remains the genuinely happy guy as he does not have dark thoughts inside his head. On top of that, he does not fear death.

He also earned a positive vision when his father-in-law, who had been full of gratitude and acceptance, passed away.

"I started to notice things I was grateful for and the way other people would respond to difficulty with gratitude. I concluded that gratitude makes optimism sustainable," he went on, as quoted by Fox News.

He also advised everyone that if they do not see something to be grateful for, one "should keep looking" since people never receive optimism.

How Michael J. Fox Survives His Everyday

In the same interview, Fox revealed that he still has rough days despite that insight. However, he remains determined not to allow anything to subdue him.

Parkinson's disease, for Fox, will always be in his life until he dies. Still, the illness does not have the power to lead and drive him.

With that, he feels lucky to have a new way to live his life.

Rewatching his hit movie "Back To The Future" reportedly brought him to hope recently, as well.

"I understood it was just a big giggle and that we all need ... to take credit for what we've done and the lives we've touched and to occasionally step back a bit and appreciate that much of life has been great and that there's a lot more to live," he went on.

Parkinson's disease, per the National Institute on Aging, is a brain disorder that causes a patient to suffer from difficulty walking and talking as it progresses. It also affects a person's mental health and well-being.

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