The struggle

28 May 2015 Unknown 0 Comments

I just got a new manager this week at work. Nine years ago he had an accident that changed his life and landed him in wheelchair. He told us a little about how it changed his life and the most profound things are how it impacted his attitude.

He said he had to consciously choose to be happy.

He had to choose how he was going to live his life. They had to move to a house that was wheelchair accessible and I'm sure there were so many other things they had to change.

It had to be a conscious choice!

When he told us this, it made me think of some incredible people who don't have legs or arms, or have mental disabilities. These people have so much less opportunity than people without those disabilities, and they so many of them do more than most people. I've seen a legless woman do gymnastics and mentally handicapped people memorize more digits of π than I can.

Why are people with disabilities so able to do amazing things? Because they made a conscious choice. See, us normal people without extra difficulties can make it through life without really making hard choices, without struggling. But those people have to choose. They are forced to choose and that's what has made the difference. And when they choose to struggle instead of hide away in their homes and do nothing, they blossom.

The cost is struggle

The choice we have to make is between taking the easy way, and taking the hard way, struggling. And without the struggle, we'll never be amazing at anything. The cost of being amazing is a hard struggle.

My boss has had a hard nine years of struggle but because of that he's become a very happy person. He's already an inspiring person to me in just the week I've known him.

I've been inspired to make sure my creativity is a conscious choice. I've been inspired to take the hard road and be willing to struggle to become great. Creativity is not free and you don't go through the struggle without choosing it.