By Amen Dilawar
For many who are facing a disability, it’s easy to focus on what you’re no longer able to do. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For many individuals, disability didn’t stop them from making their mark on the world.
Regardless of what pulls people back, they can still continue to push forward and seize the pleasures of life. We must do the same, because you have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.
Inspiring people who overcame their disabilities:
Helen Keller: As a young girl, Helen grew up unable to hear or see. Despite that, she became a celebrated author, speaker, and activist for the deaf and blind. She did a lot to set an example for the rest of the world. For instance, she was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, which is a big deal. Since that wasn’t encouraged for the severely disabled back then, she proved everyone’s expectations to be wrong, and did what she wanted to do.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: When he was nearly 40, Franklin D. Roosevelt was exposed to polio, a disease that dramatically limited his ability to use his legs. Already an accomplished politician and government servant, FDR become governor of New York and, in November 1932, was elected President of the United States. He remained in office until his death in 1945, becoming the longest-serving president in U.S. history. Even with a terrible disease that held him back, he still continued to achieve the things that he aimed for.
Stephen Hawking: Hawking was still in school when he was diagnosed with ALS, a form of motor neuron disease, shortly after he turned 21. Although given only two years to live, Hawking went on to become a celebrated physicist, author, lecturer, and professor. His life was the subject of the film The Theory of Everything in 2014.
Bethany Hamilton: This young athlete lost her left arm to a shark attack when she was only 13, but was back in the water only one month later. She won her first national title when she was 15 and is a professional surfer and motivational speaker today. The traumatic event that she had to suffer at such a young age turned her into a powerful person. Even though she Is missing one arm, she still does what she values and loves the most.
As I have noted above, a lot of successful people had problems beyond what most of us experience. However, they overcame those hardships and reached for the stars. The thing that matters is that your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. No matter what, keep going, because tough situations make for stronger people in the end.
Sometimes if we are undergoing a devastating moment, we lose hope and motivation. But hope and motivation are the two most important things to hold on to. This attitude can be applied to our current situation, because we must not become discouraged. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring. Even though the spread of coronavírus sometimes appears to be getting worse, we can still hope for the best, and remember that no storm lasts forever.