Sick and Tired

So what’s the politically correct word for handicap? Disabled? Or physically challenged? I say, “what does it matter?”

The real question is what do you do when you’re part of this group. As one myself, I wanted to sprinkle a bit of insight to those who are tiptoeing their way, riding their wheel chair or using their white cane to settle in the workforce. If that’s you, here’s my advice.

The door is open wide, but the journey requires diligence, commitment and wisdom. These qualities compliment the world we live in with technology that advances faster than our minds can fathom. What does that mean for us who have physical limitations? To me it means opportunities now beg to be taken.

This blind writer has tapped into computer enhancements to build a successful career in the language interpretation field, inspirational speaking arena, as well as in writing. The weapon I’ve used to defeat failure has always been one that’s cost me nothing, was easily available and has proved to be vital every time. It’s called “positive attitude.”

I continue to use this weapon as I have during my seventeen years I’ve served as an over-the-phone Spanish court interpreter, trainer and coach. I impart teaching sessions in this field to sighted interpreters across the country, Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.

Often my employer sends important tasks to me rather than to my sighted counterparts. And though I may have no clue what process I’ll use to complete the task, my attitude is always openly receptive, optimistic and gracious.

This frame of mind sparks my creativity, opens alternatives I might not have considered otherwise and fills me with determination to forge on until the end.

When my employer honored me with the highest award for Professional Excellence, gratitude prompted me to help others on the journey to success.

And when mentoring folks with physical challenges, I first assess their frame of mind. The answers to these questions usually determine either potential success or prompt failure:

--Am I willing to look at this opportunity with determination to do what it takes? Or am I focused on what accommodations I can demand? Am I searching for ways to use my creativity to attempt ways never tried before? Or am I set on the task as it’s always been done before?

--Am I committed to take extra steps to obtain training, study material and practice on my own time to reach success or do I insist that the employer adjust the task to fit my abilities?

--And finally, how do I react when the desired results are not achieved? Do I still cling to my positive attitude or sink in self-pity dismissing valid alternatives?

Doors once closed to the disabled are now open, but the choice lies in our approach and willingness to move ahead through the rough terrain riding on the vehicle called positive attitude.

Often this attitude is the bridge from obstacles to opportunities, from challenges to untapped channels, and from hurdles to higher levels of success.