Comments on: Are You Challenged or Disabled? http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/ Strategies for Positive Change Tue, 22 May 2012 22:25:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-23109 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:20:12 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-23109 Hi Marty, Tony Robbins tells a story about a man who was depressed for several years. He agreed not to use the word (label) depressed to describe himself for ten days to see if anything changed. After two years he said he had not been depressed, not even once, during that whole time. Labels are powerful so we should always pick the ones that empower us the most. Thanks for sharing your story, I found it inspiring. Hi Marty, Tony Robbins tells a story about a man who was depressed for several years. He agreed not to use the word (label) depressed to describe himself for ten days to see if anything changed. After two years he said he had not been depressed, not even once, during that whole time. Labels are powerful so we should always pick the ones that empower us the most. Thanks for sharing your story, I found it inspiring.

]]> By: marty http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-23049 marty Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:32:45 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-23049 Hi Jonathan, For a few years, I chose a label for myself.... depression. I was comfortable with it in a way, however it held me back. Being something unseen, most people did not understand it and in truth I didn't understand it myself. It was self perpetuating. I'm no longer a victim of it. I've been inspired by what others have done with their lives by not being held back. I think of Nick Vujicic as a classic example of this. The truth is, as you say, we all have challenges through life. Those challenges we can use as the motivator to choose great things in life. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. Hi Jonathan,
For a few years, I chose a label for myself…. depression. I was comfortable with it in a way, however it held me back. Being something unseen, most people did not understand it and in truth I didn’t understand it myself. It was self perpetuating. I’m no longer a victim of it. I’ve been inspired by what others have done with their lives by not being held back. I think of Nick Vujicic as a classic example of this.
The truth is, as you say, we all have challenges through life. Those challenges we can use as the motivator to choose great things in life. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.

]]> By: Turn Your Challenges into Opportunities http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-8448 Turn Your Challenges into Opportunities Fri, 28 May 2010 18:18:48 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-8448 [...] life hands you a challenge, how do you feel about it? What is your initial internal response on an emotional level? What is [...] [...] life hands you a challenge, how do you feel about it? What is your initial internal response on an emotional level? What is [...]

]]> By: Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-3330 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:02:46 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-3330 Thanks Kate, I am so glad you liked it. He has definitely been an inspiration to me and I love to share stories that inspire. Thanks for joining the conversation. Thanks Kate, I am so glad you liked it. He has definitely been an inspiration to me and I love to share stories that inspire. Thanks for joining the conversation.

]]> By: kate smedley http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-3328 kate smedley Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:55:31 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-3328 Thanks for an excellent article on disability and our perception of what disability actually is, you have given us all much food for thought. I also love the quote by Richard Bach. Your friend John is an inspiration to us all. Thanks for an excellent article on disability and our perception of what disability actually is, you have given us all much food for thought. I also love the quote by Richard Bach. Your friend John is an inspiration to us all.

]]> By: Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-3327 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:59:39 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-3327 Hi Robin, your husbands exercise reminds me of a similar approach by another teacher. He would assign pairs of students to go to public places like a mall. One would sit in a wheelchair and the other would push. After several hours they would trade places. His students quickly gained a new perspective on life. They got to experience first hand the way other people reacted to them. It was a awakening, to say the least. Hi Robin, your husbands exercise reminds me of a similar approach by another teacher. He would assign pairs of students to go to public places like a mall. One would sit in a wheelchair and the other would push. After several hours they would trade places. His students quickly gained a new perspective on life. They got to experience first hand the way other people reacted to them. It was a awakening, to say the least.

]]> By: Robin Easton http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-3326 Robin Easton Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:10:53 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-3326 Hi Jonathan, this is very thoughtful and encourages us to think deeply, to tap into hitherto untouched reserves of inner strength. Having climbed out of several very deep holes in my life (where I had to fight for my life) I can say that the loss of a limb would be a devastating blow but I would force myself to go on, and not JUST go on, but go on until I became whole again in spirit. I don't say this lightly, I say it from a place of knowing the various odds I've faced at times of my life. It would take a bit of time, but eventually I would find my focus again and move toward it one day at a time. I would find the thing or things that gave me hope, that inspire passion in me and excitement, the desire to dream, the courage to not just live, but to live fully and with great joy. There are extremes of loss that would seem almost impossible to over come, but I pray that I would. My husband does an exercise in one of his classes where the students have to strap one arm to their body and go an entire 24 hour period without being able to use it. It makes people think, value what they had and develop compassion, etc. Thank you for such a touching post. I highly value it and you. .-= Robin Easton´s last blog ..<a href="http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/?p=1991" rel="nofollow">What Forced You into Awareness?</a> =-. Hi Jonathan, this is very thoughtful and encourages us to think deeply, to tap into hitherto untouched reserves of inner strength. Having climbed out of several very deep holes in my life (where I had to fight for my life) I can say that the loss of a limb would be a devastating blow but I would force myself to go on, and not JUST go on, but go on until I became whole again in spirit. I don’t say this lightly, I say it from a place of knowing the various odds I’ve faced at times of my life. It would take a bit of time, but eventually I would find my focus again and move toward it one day at a time. I would find the thing or things that gave me hope, that inspire passion in me and excitement, the desire to dream, the courage to not just live, but to live fully and with great joy. There are extremes of loss that would seem almost impossible to over come, but I pray that I would.

My husband does an exercise in one of his classes where the students have to strap one arm to their body and go an entire 24 hour period without being able to use it. It makes people think, value what they had and develop compassion, etc. Thank you for such a touching post. I highly value it and you.
.-= Robin Easton´s last blog ..What Forced You into Awareness? =-.

]]> By: Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/are-you-challenged-or-disabled/#comment-3316 Jonathan - Advanced Life Skills Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:22:54 +0000 http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/?p=187#comment-3316 Hi Stephen, it’s true that all of us learn to work with what we’ve got. Some limitations have always been with us and so, for example, being unable to fly is not really a challenge. We never had that ability and neither does anyone else. The real challenge arises when we lose abilities that we once had, as in Mark’s case (comment #2), or we are born without something that most people have, as in Rachel’s case (comment #1). Loss challenges us on almost every level and that’s when strength of character really comes into play. Hi Stephen, it’s true that all of us learn to work with what we’ve got. Some limitations have always been with us and so, for example, being unable to fly is not really a challenge. We never had that ability and neither does anyone else.

The real challenge arises when we lose abilities that we once had, as in Mark’s case (comment #2), or we are born without something that most people have, as in Rachel’s case (comment #1). Loss challenges us on almost every level and that’s when strength of character really comes into play.

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