The Good And Bad Of Disabilities
Each Wednesday I conduct a weekly message, typically through video, that I post on most social media networks. I get this question a lot; Why did I choose Wednesdays? Well, because historically Wednesdays have sucked for me so I thought I would choose Wednesdays to hopefully make them less bad for people who follow my work outside of the financial industry.
Stevie Wonder — the brilliant musician and pianist, who also happened to be totally blind said “just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.”
I’ve always thought that quote was remarkable coming from a blind person. As a man, I watched my own mother suffer from multiple sclerosis. I thought, as a young man, it was my responsibility to keep her safe and healthy.
For other men watching, maybe you think being a real man means always being strong, capable, good-looking, and in charge…if we have a disability, such as blindness or a learning disorder, we may have thought we were less masculine or less worthy.
But from a mental health perspective, we define what our disability will do to us. We also define what our disability will do for us.
All of us have some sort of disability — for me it was dyslexia and audible dyslexia. If you struggle with a disability, such as dyslexia, MS, or blindness, it’s easy to look at others with confusion and wonder, “why does John Doe down the street have it all together and I’m stuck with this disability?” Even those people who look like they have it all together have the worst kind of debilitation…they can be blinded by their own ego.
Some disabilities are more visible than others, but they usually confront some degree of powerlessness. We do not find our finest human qualities until we have met our limitations and accepted them. For those of us that have a disability, there’s a lot of acceptance needed to find peace, isn’t there?
A new side of our strength develops when we accept our powerlessness and yield to it rather than trying to take charge of it. It’s human nature to want to take charge of our limitations and either conceal them, or deny they are there in the first place. Or maybe you’re like me and throw a pity party over your inability to accomplish or do something.
We develop greater vision when we stop feeling sorry for ourselves about our disability and surrender to its truth.
When we surrender, when we gain altitude on the situation and choose the higher road of acceptance…. we find not only a perspective shift, but we develop a deeper appreciation for the limitation or disability that’s been holding us back.
So maybe your disability is something like dyslexia? Or maybe your disability is pride or stubbornness in a relationship? But the longer we try to dress it up and hide it from the world, the more obvious it becomes.
My message is to accept our struggles and rise above them. This process is a metamorphosis of beauty.
Through acceptance, our world can look much different than it does now. And if you’re think you don’t have a disability, show yourself to the barn, find yourself a horse, and saddle up because we’ve got work to do. If we want to find success with a limitation, admitting our limitation is the first step.
Because success lives on the other side of admitting a weakness.
Success lives on the other side of doubt.
Success lives on the other side of fear.
Success lives on the other side of inaction.
Success lives on the other side of dishonesty.
Success lives on the other side of struggle.
But success favors the prepared.
When we work on us, it multiplies into all areas of our life! It doesn’t matter if you’re a painter, a rodeo clown, or a banker, working on us undoubtedly makes us better at our jobs and the clients, or customers, or patients our business serves, will want to do more business with us.
Have a great ending to your week and a positive weekend. If you enjoyed this article, and you haven’t read my new book Godfidence, you can find it on Amazon by clicking here. The introduction price will run through September 1, 2022 so hurry and buy your copy today. Your future self will thank you!
