Living Beyond Your Limitations

"I believe I can Fly, I believe I can touch the sky" - R Kelly

As I write I am pushing through the effects Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  I had my nails done yesterday, today I suffer the consequences.  I am propped up in bed with a pillow keeping my head upright, my body does not have the energy to hold my head up this morning.

This is my life.  For a long time I thought my life was over, now I know it is just beginning...

Barriers Were Made For Busting

I struggled to work with CFS and it wasn't always pretty but I managed to pull it off for five years. Folks actually thought I was making up my illness because to them I was sharp, efficient and on the ball! 

They did not see the many days when I would prop my elbows on the desk so I could hold my head up.  Or the many times I would read and re-read an email before hitting send because CFS causes words to scramble in your head (yup, and I choose to be an author. lol).  They did not see the phase I went through where I would search for pictures on the internet to clarify what I was reading because my ability to comprehend words was severely impaired.  They could not see how I would work for one day and then be totally bedbound for three days while building up the energy to work another day.  They saw my results, they had no idea what it took to produce them.

This taught me an important lesson.  You can push through anything if you are determined to do it.  You can live beyond your limitations, no matter what they are.

You Don't Have To See the Barrier To Break It

A dear friend of mine in college was my first introduction to living beyond your limits.  He had lost his sight as a teenager.  When we chummed around in college I could never had imagined the hurdles he had crossed to get there.  He had dropped out of high school and became a poultry farmer, he had been rejected multiple times when he tried to continue his education but he refused to let his disability stop him.  He went on earn multiple degrees, he became a Minister of State and is now president of the (Jamaican) Senate and continues to be a vocal advocate for persons with disabilities.

See No Limits, Hear No Limits, Speak No Limits

Helen Keller lived in a time when women were largely viewed as powerless (1880-1968), yet she was an outspoken advocate for women's suffrage,  labor rights and socialism.  She was a prolific author and public speaker.  She was awarded the 'Presidential Medal of Freedom' and inducted into the 'National Women's Hall of Fame'.

Helen Keller was blind, deaf and dumb.

"Helen Keller spoke of the joy that life gave her. She was thankful for the faculties and abilities that she did possess and stated that the most productive pleasures she had were curiosity and imagination. Keller also spoke of the joy of service and the happiness that came from doing things for others . . . “ - Wikipedia

When I read her story I wondered 'how?!?'.  I can't imagine what it took to unlock the boundaries of a the cage imposed by a lack of the major senses that we use to absorb, interpret and communicate.  Much harder for me to grasp how she overcame the limitations society would have imposed based on her gender as well as her disabilities.  But I am most impressed by her message.  Joy within and despite her circumstances.  Gratitude.  Service. 

Helen Keller walked the talk against incredible odds.

You Can Stand Tall, Even If You Can't Stand

Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR) contracted polio in the prime of his life and lost the use of his legs.  He would later become one of America's most popular presidents, holding the office for a record 12 years.

"He laboriously taught himself to walk short distances while wearing iron braces on his hips and legs by swivelling his torso, supporting himself with a cane. He was careful never to be seen using his wheelchair in public, and great care was taken to prevent any portrayal in the press that would highlight his disability" - Wikipedia

What impresses me about FDR's story is his refusal to identify with his disability.  It is said he always stood upright when he appeared in public, a feat which he accomplished with the support of his aides or his sons.  He was not able to stand on his own, but he was determined to stand tall, and he did. 

FDR stood tall for over 20 years after losing the ability to stand on his own and he changed the world in the process.

Dancing With The Stars

I saw Amy Purdy's compelling story on OWN's 'Super Soul Sunday' and I was taken by the grace and beauty of this young lady, who had no legs but who chose to dance.  She has been a paralympic snowboarder, a finalist on 'Dancing With the Stars' and a speaker in Oprah's 'Life You Want' tour.

"Snowboarding and travelling the world—that's the dream Amy Purdy had always set for herself. So, at age 19, after losing both of her legs (and very nearly her life ) as the result of a severe case of bacterial meningitis, Amy refused to let new challenges and negativity get in the way of her dreams. The double amputee not only vowed to continue snowboarding but also went on to win world titles” – Oprah.com

What many young women would have taken as a crushing end to life as they knew it, this resilient young woman took as an opportunity to literally soar to new heights.

 If Your Mind Is All You Have, Use It

I have long been inspired by the story of Stephen 'Steve' Hawking who is a well know theoretical physicist.  He suffers from a rare form of Lou Gehrig's disease which has gradually paralyzed him.

At first he refused to use a wheelchair, then became known for being a wild wheelchair 'driver'.  He eventually lost the ability to operate his chair independently.  He lost his speech and learned to 'speak' through a computerized word synthesizer, which he would operate with his hand.  Then he lost the ability to use his hand, he now communicates using a single cheek muscle.

 "Hawking was, however, fiercely independent and unwilling to accept help or make concessions for his disabilities. He preferred to be regarded as "a scientist first, popular science writer second, and, in all the ways that matter, a normal human being with the same desires, drives, dreams, and ambitions as the next person." - Wikipedia

Despite his limitations Steve Hawking has earned an impressive set of accolades including being director of research in the Centre of Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge, receiving the Presidential medal of freedom which is the highest civilian award in the US and authoring 'A Brief History of Time' which was on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking run of 237 weeks. Oh, and he's been married twice and fathered three children.

I have thought of Steve Hawking often as I struggled to come to terms with the limitations of my condition.  I still cannot fully comprehend the strength of spirit that it has taken to project outward from a body so totally devastated by physical disability but I am inspired by it.

Life May Break You,  But It Can't Break You

In my book I mention the story of Ramona Pierson who was hit by a drunk driver.  The car crushed her face, throat, heart, lungs and legs.  She was placed into a medically induced coma for 18-months, and was awakened by a heart-attack.  

She woke up blind and so badly mangled she was unable to walk, talk or even eat.  Doctors rebuilt her through more than 50 surgeries giving her a plastic nose, a new eye, lots of titanium for bones and some pieces taken from cadavers.  She eventually regained her sight (after eleven years of blindness).  She earned a PhD in neuroscience.    She became a world class athletic competitor.  She learned to develop software and created two amazing tech start-ups which have made her a multi-millionaire.

When I read that story I made up my mind never to complain again.  Ramona was literally broken and somehow she managed to pull the pieces of herself back together, she had to learn new ways of living and of being but she embraced her lessons and used them to effect meaningful change in the world.

You Don't Need Legs To Climb Mountains

“I climbed the top knowing that I'd experienced an epiphany.. My answer lay in the man next to me at the summit. Tajiri had been a porter on the mountain before a rockslide took his leg. We bought him a light prosthesis that fit well. When he returned to the mountain he said to the other porters, ‘You never thought you'd see me here again. Well I'm back.’" - Chris Waddell

Mt Kilimanjaro at 19,340 feet high is the highest mountain in Africa.  Each year thousands of the fittest and the bravest pit themselves against the mountain in an attempt to prove their strength and fortitude.  The mountain is cruel, the air is thin, it is cold, the terrain is steep.  Many have died trying to take the mountain.

Meet Chris Wadell who not only took on the mountain and won, but he did it without legs.  Waddell was an accomplished athlete until he was paralyzed in a skiing accident.  The accident only slowed him down.

Chris is a record holding paralympic skier, an inductee into the paralympic hall of fame and a nationally acclaimed motivational speaker.  He is also the first person to climb Mt Kilimanjaro on a handcycle.

Chris's story to me is about finding a way.  Yes, doors close and sometimes you don't get to do what you want to do in the way you want to do it.  But if you are determined enough you will find a way.

Where There Is A Will, There Is A Way

All the people I have mentioned here lived 'normal' healthy lives before the course of their existence was changed by physical disability. 

The psychological trauma of having health and then losing it can be immense and to some insurmountable.  Yet these people have proven by accomplishing in their lives far more than their peers would even dream of accomplishing, that their limitations are irrelevant.  

These people have used their challenges to inform their contribution to the world, through advocacy, through books, through creation of new technologies to help those who come behind to live fuller, richer and more accomplished lives.

These people don't get to walk away from their limitations, they get to deal with them every day, they deal with the pain and frustration of working with bodies that are no longer what they used to be and still they make their mark on the world, despite their limitations.

Perhaps your limitation is not physical. Perhaps it is financial, perhaps it comes in the form of addiction, perhaps your limitation is due to culture or race or body size or gender.  Perhaps your limitation is psychological.  Does it really matter? 

Can your limitations compare to those of the people I have mentioned here, and if the can, well.. they did it, what are you waiting for?

Inspiration Links

* I am in no way affiliated with the sites that I link to here.  They have inspired me, I hope that they will inspire you too.

Man without legs climbs mountains  : http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/man-without-legs-climbs-mt-kilimanjaro/

An unexpected place of healing : http://www.ted.com/speakers/ramona_pierson

Author’s note

This post is inspired by my book Embracing Prosperity By Changing Your Mind. I hope to persuade you that you are worthy of all the blessings that you desire in life and that nothing can stop you from claiming them, if you simply change your mind.

In the book I share my own experiences and walk you through activities and exercises to help you through every phase of your journey to claim the life you desire.  It would be my pleasure to share a free gift with you, if you would like to receive an excerpt from my book just click here  and with subject "I want a free gift", be sure to include which topic is most useful to you.

If you liked this post I would be so appreciative if you would spread the word and like me on Facebook.  I would be happy to email this and future posts directly to you, if you're interested please subscribe to my mailing list. You may also follow me on Twitter #ProsperityIsMind.

I bless you, I bless your journey and I am so happy to be a part of it.  May this be the year that you begin to claim the best that life has to offer.