Saturday, November 19, 2005
It's All in the Attitude
Not too many months ago my business partner and I had the wonderful opportunity to interview a young woman for a position we were trying to fill for a client project. (Please bear in mind, we were conducting this interview virtually rather than face-to-face.)
Just recently I had the chance to have an amazing conversation (via IM) with her about cooking a turkey dinner for her husband’s office. OK, so you may be wondering why I considered a conversation about turkey cooking so amazing…because Jenn is in a wheelchair and she was cooking that turkey in a (as she would call it) “normal kitchen” where she had to (from her wheelchair) bend over the sink and bend over the turkey to de-bone it.
When I commended her for her efforts, her response was, “I love to cook so when I had the accident 11 years ago it didn’t stop me.”
I consider Jenn an inspiration and when I told her that she was, she said…
“Well thanks.....the way I figure it is life goes on, I have my brain and the only disfiguring injuries I had were road rash on my back, hand and a small wound on my neck....so I am VERY lucky.”
I then asked her a few more questions because I was not only touched by her courageousness, but her amazing attitude.
Me: How did you develop such a wonderful attitude?
Jenn: Well, I don’t know that I ever really developed it. I just had/have it. I have always had a great family and friends who kept me going for the hardest times. People have to stop focusing on the bad things. That is why people get so depressed and negative about life. They need to look at what they have, like I did and build on that. I am also very competitive and have a hard time letting things get me down. I guess I am just not going to let society tell me that just because I can’t walk, I can’t live a normal life....or at least as normal as I can. But that brings another question that I still don’t know the answer to. What is normal?
Me: Have there been times, particularly after your accident, where you felt like throwing in the towel or where you thought, "why me?" If so, what did you do to combat those feelings? If not, how come?
Jenn: Oh, there have been more times than I care to count that I have been to that point. But it has always been my friends and the thought of what it would do to those who love me IF I were to "throw in the towel." Why me? Because this is just the way things are for me and how it was supposed to happen for me. I am a Christian and I believe that God has me like this for a reason. I normally talk to friends, simply try to get my mind off of what is bothering me, any number of things that I can’t think of off the top of my head but I guess over all, I try my best to stay positive. I am not perfect by any means; I just make the best out of life with what I have.
I wish to thank Jenn for sharing her story with me and allowing me to share it with all of you. Again, I wish to commend her for not only her strength, but for serving as a reminder that it is, sometimes, all in the attitude.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and experiences.
Until next time, be well…
Pam
Posted by Pam at 4:18:32 PM in Creating Change (93) | Permalink | Comments (1)
Comments
Truly amazing. That lady needs a blog of her own. People in similar situations need the inspiration. People who have it better need to realize just how lucky they are.Ken
Posted by Ken on 21/11/2005
