Every word of this video is absolute truth. If you had a bad day today, forget it and get up tomorrow ready to take on whatever comes. You are your own greatest resource.
Happy motivational Monday everybody
I was born with cerebral palsy I’ve been in the chair for as long as I can remember. I’ve needed help every day since that day I was born. Independence is something that has come little by little. I went to college and found a way to get it done, with lots of help from others of course, but I got it done.
I spent years looking for a personal assistant. Maybe closer to a decade. Last October, I got Jane. Having her has been a major adjustment. I can finally get out and go,(not whenever I want to but almost.) I have someone to stay with me. Which allows my parents to have much more of a life of their own. I’m learning to the shop for groceries, and now I’m learning what it’s like to be able to make my own choices. It’s an amazing thing really.
All that said, I still live in my parents house. It has a few things that are built just for me, like a big bathroom and sink I can roll under. For the most part however, it’s their house. Appliances are located in convenient places for them. Which in most cases means they are too high for me to reach. This is okay for most things, a guy with very limited motor skills, probably shouldn’t be attempting to cook a meal on the stove. That said, having the ability to microwave a snack when I got hungry and no one else was around, would be nice.
Over the last year, I have been extremely fortunate to have an independent minded woman pointing these things out of me. She’s constantly thinking of ways I can improve my situation. A major addition to my living environment would be a microwave. When I started thinking about it, all of these wrinkles begin to happen. A microwave is great but only if I have access to food to put in it. That means I’ll probably need a freezer somewhere in my room as well. My room is nice but it’s very limited in terms of space and I don’t even have that much stuff.
So I am looking around trying to figure out where I could put a freezer and a microwave that would be accessible to me. Then I start thinking about how I could get the food from the freezer to the microwave and out of the microwave without making a huge mess in very limited space, that someone else might have to cleanup. All of these thoughts have me wondering if there is a reality show out there that specifically designs spaces for people like me, to help us become more independent? If there’s not there should be. There’s one out there for everything else. (there is one about building custom epic tree houses, those guys are insane).
My point with this post, is that in my case becoming independent has happened by baby steps. it’s painfully slow, And in the case of the microwave and freezer, trying to figure out how to make it work, in a place that’s not really designed for it, is a daunting task. I know it will happen for me. Sometimes it feels like I will need a team of MacGyver’s to make it happen. (that’s want a mile time favorite shows, just an FYI.) Has anybody out there ever attempted what I am talking about, and do you have blueprints? Comments welcome. Independence is worth it, but I don’t think it ever comes easy.
Comments are welcome
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I love all of of the types of entertainment. Being a kid in a wheelchair growing up, I watched a lot of TV and played lots of video games. I read a lot also. I couldn’t play sports like most kids, so these were things that kept me busy.
As I have gotten older, I still read a lot and play video games more than most people but not like I used to. I hardly ever watch TV unless it’s a very specific show like The Black List. I’ve watched a lot of the new shows this year and I must say, they are really good. I love BlindSpot, The Grinder and a few other ones. The one that has really caught my eye however is Limitless
The reason is simple the story seems to take place only a few months after the events of the movie and the main character of the movie is a major player on the TV show.
That’s something that I’ve never seen before it’s an amazing way to continue the story and bring people in who love the movie. My whole life I’ve had people tell me that I could be a rocket scientist if I applied myself. I consider myself to be smart but not that smart. Human beings only use 10% of our brain. The idea of a pill that would allow someone to use their whole brain is really intriguing to me.
I’ve often wondered what opportunities in my life I have missed to give myself a better life, because I just wasn’t smart enough to see it. I have had several family members and other people tell me I should dabble in stocks because I have the time to do the research.
The idea kind of terrifies me. I don’t feel like I’m smart enough to see the trends. I’ve wondered how many opportunities I’ve missed with women because I wasn’t observant enough to see them in front of me.
I’ve never really been tempted to try and illegal drug, but if there was no one out there that could make me smarter, that would be hard for me to resist. I highly recommend that you watch the movie and check out the TV show. It has been time well spent for me.
Is anybody else wondering how much time the lead actress on Blindspot spends in make up to put on and remove those tattoos for every show?
I’m just saying
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Even though I’ve never had a day job, I struggle with Monday just like everybody else. As I get older they seem to get worse. The best way I found to deal with them, it Is constantly reminding yourself that you are in control and it’s going to be a good week. You have no control over what goes on around you. Just make up your mind to have a good Monday whatever happens. Having a minion around also helps. Now back to devising my plan for a wheelchair themed amusement park. I need some help figuring out the rides, any ideas?
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How thankful are you for what you have? Seems like a weird question I know. I don’t know about you, but it’s easy for me to get hung up on what I don’t have, or what I’m missing, instead of thinking about how blessed I am, I have a friend in the hospital right now, dealing with some very serious issues. Issues that you wouldn’t think about having to deal with in your 30s.
I have another friend who fights through pain everyday, and does it with smile. I have a wheelchair yes, but in all other aspects of my life, including my health, I am extraordinarily blessed. It’s very easy for me to lose track of that. It takes some serious wisdom and patience to learn to be content with where you are in life. No matter how tough your life is, you probably have something you can be thankful for. I have learned that if I don’t reflect on what I’m thankful for on a regular basis, the pressures and darkness of everyday life can overtake me, Today I am thankful for being healthy. I’m also thankful for good friends and family who I know love me. What are you thankful for?
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I can’t decide what to write about today. I’ve got nothing really inspirational and I’m not feeling that funny, so I’ll leave you with a couple of observations.
Observation one
Fred Savage might be ageless
I watched a couple of episodes of that new show on Fox called The Grinder. it’s got our friend Fred and Rob Lowe, I’ve seen two episodes and I think is really interesting, mainly because I believe Fred looks the same as he did like 30 years ago, right down to the Voice. His voice is exactly the same as when he was playing a teenager on The Wonder years.(That show was great, don’t even get me started), Like half way through my second episode last night, I kept expecting Connor McCloud to show up with a sword and try to take him on (who’s old enough to get that reference…. Anybody?)
Observation two
How is it winter already?
It’s October for crying out loud. I have no idea how we got here. One minute I’m trying to figure out how to get a tan quickly so I can wear shorts without blinding the unsuspecting public, the next I’m trying to find pajama pants because I’m cold(I’m wearing them now actually, and they are great)
I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it on this blog but I get cold very easily. It probably has something to do with sitting all the time and having bad circulation. Unless it 85 outside, I am probably cold, I’ve never had a girlfriend in the winter. I’m thinking that’s probably good because I would want to snuggle all the time. I’m wearing pajama pants at 6:30 in the evening. I feel like a really old man. I was at a indoor volleyball game the other day, and I saw an older man in wheelchair wearing a blanket almost up to his chest. . To each their own, he might have been sick, I have no way of knowing, but I hope the only way you ever see me with a blanket in public is if I’m wearing it like a cape. Just saying.
See, this is what happens when I have nothing inspiring to say. I just get random.
Happy Wednesday folks
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I have had it pointed out to me several times over the last year that the way that I think about things could maybe use a little work. I think that’s probably true for all of us. “Nobody is perfect” if you stop and think about it, you can probably think of some aspect of your life that needs work.
Whether it’s your attitude, your communication skills or the way you interact with others, we all need work. In my case, I usually don’t perceive that I could be better a person and In a particular area until someone points it out. I think we all have that person in our lives who can point out our flaws in a way that we can handle and not be offended.
In my case I tend to have issues not seeing the big picture. I struggle with the idea that it is not always about right now. Take this blog for example, I would love to get paid for doing this. It’s probably not going to happen but I would love it. More than likely doing this blog Will eventually lead me to something else in the future that could be my next step. I may never be paid for doing this but I might develop a skill that will be useful in my next job.
In this case I’m using making money on the blog as a way to illustrate other similar situations I’ve struggled with recently. It took a very special person in my life to point out that I wasn’t focused on the future as I should be. If anyone else had said that to me I probably wouldn’t have taken it well. Instead I have decided to change that aspect of myself for the better. It’s hard to admit that I don’t know everything and that I’m not always right when this happens. That said, every time I’ve listened and make the effort, it has paid off for me in the long run.
What would you change about yourself to become better?
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I’ve been sick this week. Nothing major, just want those colds that sucks all your energy and makes you want to sleep. Today was my day off so I slept extremely late. The rest of the week I’ve had work to do and have literally had to make myself get up. I saw this picture and it reminded me of Dr. Leigh.
It didn’t matter if you were sick or tired or had had a bad week. If you showed up for something she expected you to work. I was in a wheelchair and she didn’t cut me any slack. Her attitude has served me well as I’ve gotten older, and I have had more and more days where I just don’t feel particularly good. Some days you need to take a break and rest but I have noticed that when I push through what I need to get done, regardless of how I feel I actually feel better because i’ve accomplished something. If you are struggling at work while reading this, just remember, the weekend is only a few days away.
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I’ve been in a wheelchair all my life and I have to admit something, I have never really wanted to walk. I can’t think of a ton of things that I would love to do if I could walk, dancing Sports, Rock climbing, the list goes on. The act of walking however has never actually appealed to me.
That’s probably because every time I have ever done it with the aid of technology it has hurt really badly.
Jokes aside, walking just to walk, has never made sense to me. I have no idea why all of you” normal” people don’t ride around on segues everywhere you go. I’m all for exercise, but walking or running just seem like a massive waste of energy. I don’t understand the stationary bikes or treadmills either, if I’m going to put in that much effort I better going somewhere, just saying. Somebody out there who likes to walk, tell me what I’m missing. Is it one of those don’t knock it until you’ve tried it kind of things?
I believe humans make bad decisions and mistakes, simply because we are not in the right frame of mind to handle what is placed before us on a given day.
Bad days are going to happen, no matter how fabulous your life it is. On a bad day, whether you realize it or not your judgment is probably clouded.
The main key to not doing something boneheaded is being able to identify when you’re not in the appropriate mental state to make a big decision. Today is the one year anniversary of the murder of a very close friend of mine. You can read more about her here Today, I’m aware that I am in no mental shape to make any decision more important than what I’m going to eat next.
If I had a major decision to make today, I’d do my best to put it off till tomorrow, or maybe even next week. This is why people make mistakes when they’re drunk(Think back, you’ve probably made at least one). We are smart people, but even a little emotion has the potential to drastically affect our decisions. You’ll be amazed how much better your decisions turnout when you think them through with a clear head.
Bad day’s will happen. When they do, Focus your energy on getting through them, and improving your outlook. Don’t worry about much else. You will thank yourself in the morning. For more info on this topic read this
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