Lots of people have illnesses, injuries, or circumstances that can change and limit their lives. I know, I was one of them.
When life happens, you must make the best of what you face.
Otherwise, the illness or accident wins, and you lose.
After my injury, I laid around feeling sorry for myself for two years. During one of my hospital stays, I was in a room with someone who had similar injuries as mine, and he’d basically given up – he was overweight and facing the amputation of his remaining leg. I asked my doctor why, in all my misery, I had to share a room with this individual. With a straight face the doctor said: “because I wanted you to see what might happen if you continue lying around feeling sorry for yourself”. That shocked and depressed me, but the impact of that statement helped shake me out of my depression and lethargy. I learned that whatever happens in life, with a positive and optimistic attitude, anything’s possible. After that, I recuperated as much as possible and started seeing the glass of my life as half full rather than half empty. No matter what ails, scares, or depresses you, focus on what you have rather than what you might not have. And accept and work with that. You control your ability to do that! And when you do, that positive attitude and gratefulness rubs off on everyone around you. Be the optimist whose light shines on other’s paths today.
Christopher Reeve (1952 – 2004): American actor, film director, author, and activist, best known for playing the title character in several Superman films. He suffered an accident while riding a horse and became paralyzed from the shoulders down. Despite that, he continued to act and direct and became an advocate for the power of positive thinking.
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