Living with a Disability — The Measure of a Champion Recaptured Part 2
Posted by Second Chance to Live on August 3, 2012
If you have not already read Part 1 of this article, please do so by clicking on the following link. Thank you. Living with Disability — The Measure of a Champion Recaptured Part 1
As a person living with a disability I need to remind myself that I do in deed have a disability – but that I am not my disability. I need to remember these realities, lest I fall back into someone’s denial system for me (please read my article, Traumatic Brain Injury and Denial—My Perspective as a TBI Survivor). Although I am not my disability, I do have specific deficits and limitations. Although I have limitations and deficits, I am not those limitations or deficits. Although you may have a disability, you are not your disability. Although you may have limitations, you are not those limitations. Although society may want you and I to buy into the notion that we will never be champions, the truth is that we are champions because we pursue excellence on a daily basis. We are a champions because we do not give up on ourselves. We are a champions because we get up more times than we fall down. We are champions because we choose to live our lives as empowered beings.
We are champions because we learn from all of our experiences. We are champions because we refuse to believe that we are a victim of our circumstances. We are champions because we are doing our best. We are champions because we live life on life’s terms. We are champions because we trust the process. We are champions because we know that we are not alone. We are champions because we celebrate small successes. We are champions because we take advantage of the opportunities that become available to us each day. We are champions because we follow our passions. We are champions because we refuse to be ignorant or arrogant. We are champions because we are accountable to other people and for ourselves. We are champions because we look for solutions. We are champions because we think outside of the box. We are champions because we are honest with ourselves. We are champions because we trust a loving God with our will and our lives to fulfill His plans and bring about the destiny for our lives.
We are champions because we are…You are a champion, because you are… I am a champion, because I am…We are champions NOT because we have been validated, approved or certified by other people.
Here is a great web site that has a list of people who were / are champions because they did not give up But They Did Not Give Up. Check the web site out and be encouraged my friend. The best is yet to come.
Here is my Contact page. Send comments and questions and I will respond to you.
Receive more articles like this one simply by clicking on Subscribe to Second Chance to Live by email.
Bookmark and Share Second Chance to Live with your friends through a Feed Reader Subscribe in a reader
All material presented on Second Chance to Live is copyright and cannot be, copied, reproduced, or distributed in any way without the express, written consent of Craig J. Phillips, MRC, BA All rights reserved. Expressed written permission is required to re-publish material presented on Second Chance to Live Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND
This entry was posted on August 3, 2012 at 10:03 am and is filed under ABI: Acquired Brain Injury, acquired brain injury and feeling alienated, Acquired Brain Injury and Suicide, adult children of alcoholics and traumatic brain injuries, Adult Children of Alcoholics living with traumatic / acquired brain injuries, Caregivers for people with traumatic / acquired brain injuries, celebrities with brain injuries, Codependency, Empowerment and Inspirational Speaker, Families impacted by brain injuries, fear of failure, Finding practical hope as a tbi survivor, finding your bliss, Fulfilling your Destiny, Harnish Your Adveristy, learning disabilities, Learning to Accept Yourself as a brain injury survivor, Learning to Love Yourself as a brain injury survior, life challenging experiences, living life on life's terms, living my destiny, living with a brain injury, Living with a Disability, Living with a Invisible Disability and feeling shame, living with a traumatic / acquired brain injury, Living with a traumatic brain injury and feeling shame, Living with an Invisible Disability, living with meaning and purpose, messages of hope and inspiration, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Military Personell impacted by Traumatic Brain Injuries, Military Traumatic Brain Injury Support Meetings, Motivational / Inspirational Speaker, No Longer a Victim, Overcome Being Bullied, Overcoming a Fear of Failure, Overcoming being Bullied, Overcoming Societal Stigmatization, Parents of children with Acquired brain injuries, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post Traumatic Syndrome and Suicide, Revealing your Destiny, Soldiers and Marines who sustained traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injury, stroke, Suicide and Hope, tbi adults, tbi children, tbi families, tbi veterans, Traumatic Brain Injury and being Bullied, Traumatic Brain Injury and Comfort, traumatic brain injury and frustration, Traumatic Brain Injury and Hope, Traumatic Brain Injury and Learning, Traumatic Brain Injury and Significance, Traumatic Brain Injury and Suicide, Traumatic Brain Injury and What is my Destiny?, Traumatic Brain Injury and You, traumatic brain injury feeling alienated isolated, traumatic brain Injury in adults, Traumatic Brain Injury in children, traumatic brain injury in schools, traumatic brain injury Iraq, Traumatic Brain Injury Research and Resources, Traumatic Brain Injury Self-Esteem and Self-Worth, Traumatic Brain Injury Support Groups / Meetings, traumatic brain injury treatment, Veterans Living with Brain Injuries. Tagged: Celebrating Small Successes, Do not Give Up, Measure of a Champion, Olympic Champions, Qualities that make a Champion, Summer Olympics 2012, What makes a Champion?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
paulinelogan said
Good Saturday morning to you, Craig~
Thanks for your wise thoughts on what being a champion means. Each of us is a chamption whenever we rise from adversity or disappointment and take another step forward. I also appreciated the link to “But They Did Not Give Up.” I liked the French quote at the end of that link: “One sees well only with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eye.”
Thank you for enriching my life, Craig.
Godspeed to you!
Second Chance to Live said
Hello Pauline,
Thank you so very much for taking the time to write to me. I appreciate you doing so and for your thoughts. You are a blessing to me. Thank you. I like those quotes too, Each of us is a champion whenever we rise from adversity or disappointment and take another step forward and the other quote, “One sees well only with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eye.” Excellent! Thank you for sharing these quotes with me Pauline.
I will say so long for now. Thank you for your friendship and for staying in touch with me Pauline. You are a tremendous blessing to me!
Have a pleasant evening and God bless both you and your family Pauline.
Craig