Author: youshouldgoanyway

Do you ever wonder what your purpose is? Why you are here? What you are supposed to be doing?

It’s a difficult question to answer and even more so when you have muscular dystrophy or another disorder that makes living life somewhat challenging. Sometimes, unfortunately, people decide their life has no purpose. This could be an easy conclusion to come to when you have a disability.

But deciding your life has no purpose is entirely the wrong conclusion.

Maybe your purpose in life is simply to live. Live and face the challenges that your disorder or disability puts in front of your face. Maybe all you have to do is do whatever anyone else is supposed to do — grow up, go to school, get a job, meet people along the way, and just live.

These things are definitely more challenging when you have the added weight of physical impairments, but there are ways. If one person with your disorder can do it, so can you, and you can be proud of living because you know it’s a challenge just to live.

Many times we are told that we have to achieve great things in order to lead a purposeful life. In many of my posts on this site I tell you great things are possible, and they are. However I also think there is a lot to be said for facing the challenge of a disability head-on and living life. I mean, that’s an incredible task in and of itself.

I’ve had people tell me they’re amazed by many of the basic life things that I have done, like go to school, live independently, and work. These are things that most people do but because I have muscular dystrophy, others perceive those basic life things as difficult, which they are at times. But these people are motivated by me and the fact that I do those things nevertheless.

So if you struggle to find your purpose, get settled with the basic purpose of living — getting up, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, and then going to school or work or whatever you do. You’ll motivate others in their own lives. You’ll also get comfortable with living and then when it becomes second nature you can move onto other purposes! After all, we can have more than one!

Almost everything you do every day is a set of small tasks. For example, the task of getting out of bed isn’t just “getting out of bed.” For me it’s a series of tasks like: 1) Hit snooze ten times. 2) Roll over. 3) Push myself up on my elbow. 4) Pivot and sit up. 5) Transfer to my chair.

Most things we do during the day and during life are a set of smaller tasks. Some of those tasks have smaller tasks, and so on.

So the next time you are overwhelmed by your dreams and what it might take to achieve them start thinking about the dream in smaller chunks. Particularly, think about what you can do today, right now to take that first baby step — or baby push — in the right direction.

Think about the last time someone told you about somebody you didn’t know. How did they describe that person? Nice? Fun? Happy? Or were they mean? Negative? Depressed?

Now think about how someone might describe you and your outlook on life. Would they say you are happy and positive? Or depressed and negative?

Look around you. Think about the people you know who could be described as happy and positive. Are you acting like them?

If you would prefer to be described as positive and happy then you need to start acting that way. Find something right now that’s positive in your life and think about it for a minute. Force yourself to smile.

For some people, finding a positive attitude is as struggle and yes, sometimes requires therapy and medication. But over time, the more you get yourself into a positive state of mind, the more likely you are to be positive by habit.

So keep practicing!

The shower is a great place to just soap and think. This morning I was trying to list things that someone might tell me I can’t do anymore and then think of a way to do it. Here’s my short list. Add your ideas in the comments!

1. Climb a mountain

I remembered reading this story about a paraplegic climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. But there are other ways to climb a mountain too. I could take a ski lift or a tram. I could saddle up on the back of a horse or a person and be carried up the mountain. I could probably crawl up a path on the side of a small mountain, but that still would qualify for climbing a mountain. Not sure I’d go that far to prove the point, but it would still be possible!

2. Play basketball/hockey/soccer/insert sport here

There are all sorts of ways to play wheelchair or adaptive sports. I have already played wheelchair tennis. There’s wheelchair rugby, basketball, sled hockey, adaptive skiing, power soccer, and a whole slew of adaptive sports out there. I even had a guy telling me about how he goes water skiing despite being a quadriplegic!

3. Go camping

There are all sorts of adaptive camping equipment from tents to trailers to you name it. Of course people define “camping” in a variety of ways. We used to take a TV with us in our camper when growing up. I came across this neat adaptation to a pop-up trailer that allows a wheelchair to enter. Neat!

4. Build a house

I can’t find the Youtube video now, but I once saw a short series about a guy who used a wheelchair and was building a cottage by himself. When he needed help he asked for it, but he did most of the work himself. If you think about it, why wouldn’t this be possible?

5. Make a million dollars

There are many disabled millionaires out there. Granted some of them have won court cases. However, there are several self-made disabled millionaires out there that have started businesses, saved their earnings, owned real estate, and done a lot of productive work. Just because you’ve got muscular dystrophy or a disability doesn’t mean you can’t start a business or save your pennies!

6. Travel around the world

As far as I know this has been done several times, depending on how you count going around the world. You could cruise, fly, take a variety of transportation methods. This guy is going to do it starting this June. Amazing!

The list goes on and on and on…come up with your own crazy idea and figure out a way to make it happen. Post it in the comments!