In my speaking, I tell the story of what happened in the aftermath of being told by the doctors that I would be blind for the rest of my life. It didn’t take me long to realize that I had a choice – to go home and give up, and be angry, bitter, dependent and depressed for the rest of my life… Or to go out there and see what life still had to offer me. Obviously, I chose the latter option.
Often I have been asked how that decision was so simple for me – why I felt it was the only decision that was possible for me to make.
I believe there were 3 main factors that influenced that decision.
- A naturally positive attitude that fuelled my desire to keep moving forward
- My refusal to let the blindness dictate my options, and to take back control of my life.
- My belief that my skills, strengths and resources would help me to deal with the inevitable day to day challenges of being blind.
In the next few articles on this thread, I will look at each of these in turn – starting with my positive attitude.
