Text Box: DISabled, I’m SUPERabled.” “It’s not enough to be average. Because then I would have been worse than I was before the accident somehow. And I want to be better.” Because there is no choice Many things we do in life can feel like a challenge, but at the end of the day, what choice do we have? We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves, think that we have it hard, worse than others, and generally throw ourselves a pity party. Most of the people interviewed agreed there had been difficult times, but if we sustain an attitude of self-pity by feeding those feelings with too much negativity, life would be pretty miserable.  Positive attitude Having a positive attitude and the support of friends and family or social networks all came out as key elements in maintaining motivation. If we do what we can to enjoy life and feel good about ourselves, then motivation should begin to flow naturally. Text Box: Living with a disability brings extra challenges to daily living. Someone recently commented to me, “Imagine the daily choices I make, knowing that on some days it takes upwards of three hours just to get up and out of the door in the morning?” So when we have a disability, what are the extra factors that help us stay motivated? What gets us out of bed and gives us the strength and resilience to make the most of each day? I recently interviewed a number of people with disabilities, seeking to discover what it is that gives us the inner drive, the motivation to get up and get on. Here are some of the motivating factors that came out of the interviews: A desire to make the most of circumstances Having or acquiring a disability often gives you a higher appreciation of what you can do, and the function you do have. This can act as a motivator to want to make the most of life and use whatever parts of your body Text Box: you can! One interviewee had experienced a serious accident in the mountains that led to the loss of both his arms and legs due to frostbite. He commented, “Having come to the edge of the abyss and had this second chance, you do suddenly appreciate much more the opportunities that we have in life, and you do want to grasp the nettle a lot more.” To improve self-esteem Becoming disabled can—certainly at first—damage your self-esteem. The desire to feel good about themselves drives some disabled people to want to make more of their life than before and to avoid being sucked into a low self-esteem abyss. A number of interviewees commented that they do what they can to avoid feeling diminished by their disability.  “Close to my heart, I wonder if I continue to compete (wheelchair racing) and achieve as a way to ‘hide’ my disability and prove to myself that on an emotional and spiritual level, I’m not really Text Box: Staying Motivated, by Karen Darke Reprinted with permission from www.disaboom.com

3rd Quarter 2008

Volume 3

Mobility Matters

Special points of interest:

· Living with a disability brings extra challenges

· Dancing the Tango improves balance

· Each year, about 700,000 people suffer a stroke

“Make the most of life’s circumstances

that’s what makes you—you”