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There are many challenges that come along with a spinal cord injury or other causes of paralysis.
But there are also blessings.
Every day the challenges we have cause us to be more creative to just do things that other people take for granted. Sometimes just getting around requires planning, preparation, and creativity. For instance, if you are going to an unfamiliar place you have to think about where you can park, what the road or sidewalk is like, what the access is like into the building etc.
Or if you have limited hand function like me and you need to do something that requires fine motor skills you have to think of another way to do it. Whether it’s plugging in your cell phone to the charger or putting a cap on a water bottle.
Able-bodied people do not need to think about these type of things.
Many times a day those of us that are thriving with paralysis must use our creative imagination to do a variety of things.
World famous physicist Stephen Hawking once said “Disability need not be an obstacle to success.”
I agree.
So how exactly does a disability help you be more creative?
Adam Green from The Society of the Neuroscience of Creativity says:
“Research shows that when people try to think more creatively, they almost always can -- and those effects are both significant and repeatable. Green points to an “age-old adage” in neuroscience that “cells that fire together, wire together.” The idea is that the more you use your brain to do something, the stronger the connections between the cells involved become.”
So the fact that we have to regularly be creative in our daily lives makes us more creative in all areas.
But it’s not just creativity that comes with a disability.
Along with creativity paralysis leads to persistence. Every day we must persist in order to survive and thrive.
It takes persistence to get out of bed.
It takes persistence to get off of disability.
It took persistence to progress through rehab.
It took persistence to eat, brush your teeth, transfer, and many other things that we all had to learn how to do after our injuries.
But there’s more.
Along with creativity and persistence, disability forces you to adapt and overcome consistently.
Doing this regularly makes you more and more perseverant.
Perseverance is a crucial character trait for success in life.
Life is difficult. Whether you are paralyzed or not.
The perseverance that you must have to thrive with paralysis can help you in many ways.
Let’s look at how the creativity, persistence, and perseverance that you have been given through disability can be used for the good of others.
Creativity is an essential skill for a successful entrepreneur. The necessity of being able to adapt and overcome is also crucial for being a successful business owner.
If you have never thought about owning your own business because you are disabled. Flip that on its head. Instead because you are disabled why not start your own business?
One of my favorite books to get you started is by Pat Flynn called “Will It Fly”. This is a great book to get you looking at your experiences differently and how they can be applied to starting your own business.
Use the skills, gifts, and abilities that you have been given to bless others.
Creativity, persistence, and perseverance are gifts that you can use positively in the world whether it’s through your own business or a variety of other areas of life.
Also, I want to encourage you to check out our Free E-Books by clicking the images below:
