Independent living: Healthy attitude can change your life

Developing a positive attitude coupled with an enthusiasm about life is not easy. In fact, it is always a work in progress, especially when you have a disability.

There are many roadblocks, potholes and obstacles that can trip you up along the way that could have tripped me up and robbed me of my enthusiasm, such as: the fact I could not play shortstop from Little League to high school, that I could not be understood by my teachers and classmates in elementary school, and that I didn't obtain a steady, secure job until 1997 at the age of 31, six years out of Tompkins Cortland Community College and 11 years out of Lansing High School. Lastly, I have to deal with working in a field where communication and being understood is essential and I have a speech impairment. I could go on and on, but you get the point.

I share the above with you, not for you to feel sorry for me or take pity on me, but to let you know that I know developing a positive attitude and enthusiasm about life as a person with a disability is not easy, but it can be done, and the development of a positive attitude and an enthusiasm about life are two essential elements to get more out of life.

Yes, I believe that anyone looking to develop a positive attitude and be more enthusiastic about life can do it -- so it's not easy, but if you really, really want it and are willing to work at it, you can do it. I think it all starts with what you choose to focus on.

My dad telling me in third grade that I would never play shortstop in Little League, I would never play shortstop in high school -- that absolutely devastated me -- I mean it hurt. I loved baseball and still do and the hurt did not go away, but I quickly turned my focus to being the best manager and first base coach I could be and further developed an enthusiasm for baseball and the biggest game of all life.

I took something that was just absolutely devastating to me and turned it into something positive, developed my enthusiasm beyond baseball, and helped many people. Do not let what you can't do interfere with what you can do. Letting that happen will surely have a negative impact on your attitude and rob you of enthusiasm. Change your focus -- change your attitude -- change your life.

One last thing about baseball before moving on: Do I hold any bitterness because I could not play? "NO." I wish I could have played, but I found my way in the Lansing Baseball Program and I'm happy with my place in Lansing baseball history.

Bitterness robs you of enthusiasm, enjoyment of life. If you hold any bitterness over something in the past or something you could not do in the past or can't do now, I plead with you to go talk to someone about it.

In closing, I would just like to say a healthy, enthusiastic attitude about life is within your reach. You can do it and working toward it is time well spent.

source: theithacajournal

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