What can able-bodied people learn from those who face their challenges head-on every day in an effort to live a meaningful and fulfilling life?
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- Disability can’t steal happiness. Many people have disabilities such as brain injuries and fibromyalgia that are not visually discernible. Nevertheless, they learn to find joy that transcends disability through acceptance, therapy, medication, prayer and/or meditation.
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- Communication takes courage. Asking for help doesn’t make you any less independent. Communication connects you to those who care about you and the community at large. We should all have the courage to communicate honestly.
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- Know yourself. People with disabilities know their limits. Living within these limits without allowing them to become limiting is an art. Understanding yourself gives you the opportunity to use the strengths you have while cultivating new ones.
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- Gratitude. Be thankful for the good times and learn from the bad. Beyond fostering positive emotions, practising gratitude can also lead to lower blood pressure and a stronger immune system.
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- Develop a support network. Support groups exist for just about every disability imaginable. They provide a judgement-free zone for people with similar disabilities to vent their feelings and learn new techniques to help overcome various issues. Whether you’re a mom with a special needs child or have an unruly puppy, find people in similar situations who can share their knowledge, experience and compassion with you.
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- Never stop fighting. Whether it’s for a correct diagnosis or simply to get through the day without giving in to your pain or symptoms, the fight makes you stronger and teaches how to keep winning your daily battles. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you still lose. This is the time to take pride in the fact that you made the effort and know that you’ll live to fight another day.
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- Adapt. Albert Einstein’s defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. As your life changes for better or worse, you’ve the opportunity to redefine yourself as a person who can build on experiences by adapting and forming new habits and a happier life.
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- Patience. When you’ve a disability, endless patience is required. This is a valuable lesson for every one of us.
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- Don’t judge people by their looks. From Stephen Hawking, a man in a wheelchair who can’t speak yet is one of the cleverest people in the world to Francesco Clark, a quadriplegic and CEO of a huge beauty product company, you never know what someone with a disability is capable of.
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- Don’t sweat the little things. Since having a disability can be rather stressful (broken wheelchairs, exorbitant medical fees, caregivers suddenly quitting), people with disabilities learn to prioritise what is really worth freaking out over.
We need to recognise that the world with its wild diversity of people, culture, philosophy, technology – and even politics – has something to teach every one of us whether we’ve a disability, invisible disability or are as healthy as a rose in full bloom.
Sources
Drew Bufalini. Life Skills Village Center for Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Chief Marketing Officer
www.huffingtonpost.com
www.pitlanemagazine.com