You Are Better Than Your Disability

Image designed by author. Please click here to view on Flickr.

Just like people without disabilities, their disabled counterparts are better than they think. Please read more.

Disclaimer: The author and GAM Productions are presenting the information herein solely for informational purposes. This blog post does not serve as a substitute for consultation, advice, and/or treatment that involve a healthcare professional. The parties mentioned above shall not be held responsible for any injury or injuries that may affect the reader of this post. Neither GAM Productions or the author is considered a healthcare professional or provider.

Furthermore, GAM Productions is not a life coaching firm. The organization's owner does not work as a life coach. Again, this blog post is educational and does not provide lifestyle-related advice. Therefore, you need a certified life coach for this purpose.

Finally, GAM Productions is not an educational institution or law firm. You should consult a licensed practitioner of law if you need legal advice. Once again, this blog post is purely informative and cannot function as legal advice. The owner of GAM Productions does not work in the legal profession.

GAM Productions is a fictional organization.

Prologue

Many of you are familiar with the adage "You Are Not Your Thoughts." Let's modify that five-word statement to involve disability (please refer to the title of this post). Did you know that a person with a disability should not be his or her limitations? As you will learn, mindset and self-advocacy are essential for anyone to thrive in life, especially if you live with disabilities. The same can be said about believing in yourself. You will also discover an inspirational quote. The remainder of this post will act as a tutorial for helping people with disabilities thrive in life.

Believe in Yourself

Of course, you must believe in yourself to be successful. Anyone who wants inspiration should listen to a Sesame Street song about it. According to Big Self School, an "inner nurturer" has the objective of "encourag[ing] you" and providing assistance with "believ[ing] in yourself." Big Self School adds that people generally give their "inner nurturer[s]" far less attention than "inner critic[s]." I wrote in a July 2021 blog post that an inner critic is usually a bad inner voice that can affect a person's life. In an article for BetterUp, Allaya Cooks-Campbell writes that expanding your "self-compassion is the only ... way to" silence an inner critic altogether. The next paragraph will introduce the reader to a psychological concept that might influence how a person deals with the situation at hand.

Have you ever heard of "self-efficacy"? According to Verywell Mind, the concept "is a person’s belief in their ability to succeed in a particular situation." Basically, Albert Bandura defines the principles of self-efficacy "as determinants of how people think, behave, and feel." Bandura adds that "self-efficacy" is a fixture "of the self-system comprised of a person’s attitudes, abilities, and cognitive skills." That means it influences how an individual looks at a "[situation]" and his/her reaction thereto. 

The following two sections explain what mindset and self-advocacy are.

Mindset

As mentioned in the "Prologue" section (see above), mindset is an important component of a person's lifestyle. Kendra Cherry tells Verywell Mind that "mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself." Not only that, but also "how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation." Cherry also writes that "a growth mindset" is the most effective type of "mindset" that psychologist Carol Dweck discovered. If you have this mindset, Maggie Wooll tells BetterUp that you would think "that skill and intelligence are something that people can develop." Moreover, a growth mindset means that you "believe that while people have inherent qualities and traits, success comes from constant personal development." Wooll also includes a multitude of "tips" to assist with the "develop[ment of] a growth mindset." The next paragraph will cover another type of mindset.

Second, a person should learn what a "resilient mindset" is. According to BetterUp, "[p]eople with a resilient mindset see challenges as opportunities" to improve themselves. In 2016, I published a Tumblr post about resilience. It mentions that resilience is what allows you to improve after a bad situation. The image below (see Figure 1), which features in the aforementioned 2016 Tumblr post, includes a statement I wrote on "[resilient people]."

Figure 1

Image designed by author. Please click here to view on Flickr.

Inspirational Quote About "Goals" and "Methods"

If a person with a disability wants to thrive in life, he or she should consider living by the quote found in the image below (see Figure 3). According to The Minds Journal, the quote is classified under both "[m]otivational" and "[s]uccess." Remember, there is always a way to achieve whatever objective you set yourself. Dictionary.com states that "stubborn" means being rigid and having no desire to change. On the flip side, the word "flexible" means being open to change. If one option does not work, alternatives should be explored. Do not let your inner critic intervene and stop you along the way. (The concept is mentioned earlier in this post.) Overall, there is more than one way to do anything.

Figure 3

Quote found at The Minds Journal. Image designed by author. Please click here to view on Flickr.

Self-Advocacy

Just as mindset is important to your lifestyle, so is self-advocacy. In a June 2022 blog post, I explain what the concept of "self-advocacy" is. The concept is essential for inbound college and university students with disabilities, and the post mentioned earlier in this subsection explains why. The same post also reveals what a newly-minted high school graduate with a disability does not take to college with him or her.

Epilogue

The reader learned about believing in yourself, mindset, and self-advocacy while reading this post. You also found an inspirational quote to remind you that there are multiple ways to achieve you set yourself out to achieve. With the correct attitude and lifestyle, a person with a disability can be better than he/she ever thought. You will truly be better than your disability or disabilities.

Bibliography

"Believe in Yourself." YouTube, uploaded by Sesame Street - Topic, 12 July 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AYKs11KlY.

Cherry, Kendra. "9 Tips for How to Be Successful in Life." Verywell Mind, Dotdash Meredith,

20 July 2022, www.verywellmind.com/how-to-be-successful-in-life-4165743.

Accessed 21 Aug. 2022.

---. "Self Efficacy and  Why Believing in Yourself Matters." Verywell Mind, Dotdash Meredith,

22 July 2020, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-efficacy-2795954.

Accessed 05 Sept. 2022. 

---. "What Is a Mindset and Why It Matters." Verywell Mind, Dotdash Meredith,

29 Apr. 2021, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-mindset-2795025. Accessed 21 Aug. 2022.

Cooks-Campbell, Allaya. "Stop beating yourself up! Learn how to forgive yourself to move on."

BetterUp, 03 Mar. 2022, www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-forgive-yourself.

Accessed 14 Feb. 2023. 

"Flexible Definition & Meaning." Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, LLC, 2023,

www.dictionary.com/browse/flexible. Accessed 14 Feb. 2023.

moosesalt002 [Gregory Morton]. " Have you ever heard of resilience? Basically, it describes

handling issues in a positive manner. Please read on to find out more." Tumblr,

Automattic, 22 June 2016,

 moosesalt002.tumblr.com/post/146307720304/have-you-ever-heard-of-resilience-basically-it.

Accessed 27 Aug. 2022. 

Morton, G.A. [Gregory Morton]. "The Inner Critic's Sometimes Your Friend."

Unplug Your Mind Through Creativity, WordPress, 06 July 2021,

howtoshedstress.wordpress.com/2021/07/06/the-inner-critics-sometimes-your-friend/.

Accessed 21 Aug. 2022.

Morton, Greg. "How to Thrive in College with Disability." Blogger, Common Misconceptions

of Disability, 17 June 2022,

 disabledsalt.blogspot.com/2022/06/how-to-thrive-in-college-with-disability.html.

Accessed 21 Aug. 2022.

Rose, Amanda. "Be Stubborn About Your Goals And Flexible About Your Methods."

The Minds Journal, 2023, themindsjournal.com/be-stubborn-about-your-goals-and-flexible-about-your-methods/.

Accessed 22 Jan. 2023.

Shawn, Tracy. "You Are Not Your Thoughts." PsychCentral, Healthline Media, 29 July 2019,

psychcentral.com/blog/you-are-not-your-thoughts. Accessed 14 Feb. 2023.

"Stubborn Definition & Meaning." Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, LLC, 2023,

www.dictionary.com/browse/stubborn. Accessed 14 Feb. 2023.

"3 Reasons Your Inner Critic Doesn't Want to Leave Your Mind." Big Self School,

2022, www.bigselfschool.com/post/3-reasons-your-inner-critic-persists.

Accessed 21 Aug. 2022.

Waters, Shonna. "How to develop a resilient mindset: Recovering from setbacks."

BetterUp, 11 July 2022, https://www.betterup.com/blog/resilient-mindset.

Accessed 27 Aug. 2022.

Wooll, Maggie. "A growth mindset is a must-have — these 13 tips will grow yours."

 BetterUp, 26 July 2021, www.betterup.com/blog/growth-mindset.

Accessed 27 Aug. 2022.

Disclaimer

The author and GAM Productions are presenting the information herein solely for informational purposes. This blog post does not serve as a substitute for consultation, advice, and/or treatment that involve a healthcare professional. The parties mentioned above shall not be held responsible for any injury or injuries that may affect the reader of this post. Neither GAM Productions or the author is considered a healthcare professional or provider.

Furthermore, GAM Productions is not a life coaching business. The organization's owner does not work as a life coach. Again, this blog post is educational and does not provide lifestyle-related advice. Therefore, you need a certified life coach for this purpose.

Finally, GAM Productions is not an educational institution or law firm. You should consult a licensed practitioner of law if you need legal advice. Once again, this blog post is purely informative and cannot function as legal advice. The owner of GAM Productions does not work in the legal profession.

GAM Productions is a fictional organization.