I wasn’t aware that I was going anywhere until, I decided to look back and see from where I’d come. For over 45 years, I have been recovering from a severe brain stem injury that I sustained while I was a student. From being a patient who was on life-support in a neurosurgery intensive care unit in Ann Arbor, to the Rehabilitation Institute in Detroit, I have continued to crawl out from some horrendous circumstances, one step at a time.
Immediately after my trauma, I needed to learn how to walk, talk, think, and take care of my most basic needs. If I considered the magnitude of what I had to accomplish, I would have given up. But I didn’t think that way. I did not focus on long-term goals. Rather, I chose to concentrate on things that I could accomplish immediately. I built one success upon another. I have continued to very gently push myself toward excellence.
After returning to undergraduate school at the University of Michigan, I gradually began to re- learn how to reintegrate into the mainstream by simply doing that. Because I didn’t know what Rehab Professionals might have said I couldn’t do, I went ahead and did. After my brain injury, I completed college and attended graduate school in social work, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
My employment history is very short. I worked briefly in two alcohol treatment programs before getting fired and giving-up. I then applied for Social Security Disability. Just because I was now considered 100% disabled by the federal government, I did not quit trying to attain goals. I did what I could do. I could establish relationships and talk with anyone.
I found a job that I could perform at a local head injury support group meeting. I could be a brain injured peer counselor & help others to reintegrate into the mainstream, because I had done that. My experiences and education would only enhance my credibility.
After having read a book that introduced me to coaching, Therapist as Life Coach, Transforming Your Practice, I realized that was in fact what I had been doing. I chose to further my knowledge of coaching by registering as a student of the International Coaching Academy.
Since that time, I have participated in another student’s Mind to Succeed program. After that experience, I have been able to identify & achieve goals that I previously did not consider. The lessons taught in the Silva Life System were obviously at the root of this program. I’m very pleased with myself and I see no reason to stop trying to excel.
Am I pursing excellence? I honestly don’t think in those terms. I simply so what I have always done since I was hurt. I try to do a little better today, than I did yesterday in all areas of my life. I’m better at some skills than others. I’ve learned that I must be interdependent with those in my environment and be grateful for all my privileges. When I do that, I feel good about myself. When I feel good about myself, I can contribute to the global community.