This is Day 10 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
Gratitude is often equated with the act of thanksgiving (and also sometimes with the holiday too), but it really is so much more than that.
Gratitude is about finding the good amongst the bad. Seeing the ugly in the beautiful.
This is Day 9 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
I am sitting and writing this on Thanksgiving day. It might be an apt day to do this (although, if I was better at counting, today and tomorrow would have been flipped).
Friendship might be one of the most important things. People you connect with. Who matter to you. Who you matter to. I know that I have found incredible strength in the friendships I have developed over the years. Read more
This is Day 8 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
Today is all about strength. Much like hope, this can be a misinterpreted virtue.
An article shared on LifeHack about the 13 Things Mentally Strong People don’t do is particularly pertinent here. Because most days I avoid all those things. I don’t often feel sorry for myself (#1). I usually don’t waste energy on what I know I cannot change (#4). I don’t resent other people who can do what I cannot (even if I envy them some days) (#9) and I never give up after the first failure (#10) – I am a strong believer in the saying “fall down nine times, stand up ten.”
But some days, the feeling of strength is fleeting.
I spent a lot of time on airplanes this fall. The change in pressure is enough to trigger a flare and my anxiety over someone bumping my hyperactive nerves in my left leg can be a bit much. Standing still in line is one of the hardest things I can do, so I take a ride through the airport so I don’t fall while standing waiting for the TSA. At least by now I am used to the looks I get.
When I was flying to Las Vegas, I waited so long for the wheelchair escort through security that I barely made last call to get on the plane. As I walked down the aisles on the Southwest plane, I was praying I wasn’t going to have to ask someone to give up their window seat, with its protected left side. Every one that looked open had a small child in it that I could only see as I got closer. The flight attendants saw my panic and when I found a seat (they knew I came to the gate with help), not only did the crew help me get situated, so did all the passengers around the seat. Getting off the plane everyone offered help and empathy.
My seat partners asked about the nerve condition and the remote I used to change the settings on my spinal cord stimulator. They remarked on how strong I was to be so young and have to deal with so much.
I thought, I’m not strong. I just am. This is what I have to do to live.
But the more I think about it, it is that being. That refusing to be defined by some crappy nerves and robot parts makes me strong. That choosing to let go of resentment of what I used to be or what I thought I would be makes me strong. That I make my own happiness makes me strong.
Today, I leave you with these words:
Remember to share what makes you strong on Twitter, Instagram and Google+ with the hashtag #100positivedays. Also, you can sign up to be emailed a recap each week of the challenge.
This is Day 7 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
Hope is the reason for this site. The reason I fight. I have to hope that things are going to get better. That tomorrow is going to be a better day than today.
Because the tears I choked back this afternoon when I could feel the pain flaring in my leg cannot be the reality that I face every day. I can’t think about how much it hurts or how I couldn’t sleep. I can’t sit and pray that my friends don’t notice that I look like hell. Or avoid them because I know they will.
This is Day 6 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
Scents can have an incredible impact on your mood. The smell of Thanksgiving dinner or fresh baked cookies can evoke memories and positive thoughts about home and family. The pleasure of taking a moment to stop and smell fresh flowers can instantly perk up your day.
This is Day 5 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
This is one of my favorites. Not going to lie. Life is not an isolated experience and sharing it with someone, or many someones is the fastest way to make your life a little more positive.
This is Day 4 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
Celebrating personal victories is important. All too often we focus on our struggles. What we can’t do.
This is Day 3 of the Positive 100, a countdown to Rare Disease Day 2014 and an exercise in being positive despite it all.
Memories come in all sorts of flavors. Some sweet, some bitter. Some faded away with time and some as vivid as the moment they occurred.
But memories are a gift. They were all a moment. An experience. I’ve sure had a lot of them.
Kindness. Today’s positivity is all about paying it forward.
Today is all about a smile.
There has been scientific research done about smiles. If you smile when you talk, you sound happier to someone on the phone. If you force yourself to smile when you are having a bad day, you can improve your mood. Read more