Appreciate the Little Things

As I spent Thanksgiving by myself this year, I had some time to reflect on not just 2022, but my life since my accident. Part of me grieved the things I lost due to my disability. Those things aren’t in my life for a reason; I gained new skills and insights that appeal to me more now.

I purposely choose not to entertain things I used to enjoy because I know it would only disappoint and depress me more now. If I choose to focus on what I cannot do, I become bitter and ungrateful. Instead, I choose to concentrate on what I can do and try to get better at it.

Because not everyone in life gets a second chance, last month a childhood friend died in an accident, leaving behind his new wife and children. I can choose to grieve forever or learn to be grateful for the gift of today that I have. 

” When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. “ 

Philosopher Marcus Aurelius

I have learned to be grateful for the small victories since my accident. Things that I once took for granted until I lost them.

• Being able to smile.
•  Eating on my own
• Simply walking

For a disabled person, it’s the small victories that give us hope, bigger goals are more challenging and harder to accomplish. After relearning how to talk and smile, I was content not to return to college or my old life, I chose to focus on the simple things of life.

Appreciate the Little Things

Audre Lorde stated, “We are all more blind to what we have than to what we have not.” Before my accident I was so busy with getting from school to work and having a social life that I never bothered to tie or untie my shoes, I just slipped my feet in and out.

I took for granted that I could tie my shoes and chose not to until I had to tie my shoestrings. It two weeks for me to retrain my left hand to tie and untie my shoes, and button and unbutton my shirts. Still to this day, it takes me more time to accomplish those tasks than the average person.

Brain injuries affect people’s fine-tuned motor skills drastically, so we must celebrate the little things that we can accomplish. The same principle applies to our writing careers. We will never achieve our goals without first making small achievements because we won’t be prepared for the bigger picture of a writing career.

Below are some small steps writers can take from author Jerry B Jenkins

1. Don’t wait to call yourself a writer.
2. Don’t quit.
3. Write from your passions.
4. Work at it every day.
5. Create your water’s website.
6. Look for opportunities.
7. Seek like-minded writers.
8. Network, network, network.
9. Focus

Jerry Jenkins also advises writers to never start their careers with big projects like a book, they start with smaller projects like articles, reviews, or a blog. One of the takeaways I learned from going through rehab is to start with smaller goals before attempting larger tasks.

Large endeavors can be too physically or mentally overwhelming for persons with brain injuries before they are ready to attempt them. Smaller victors keep us motivated and help us get stronger in the process.

Before trying to walk after my accident, I had to do physical therapy in my hospital bed and work my way up to trying to stand for certain periods. A month and a half of lying flat on your back causes the body and muscles to become weak.

I can still remember the excitement and gratitude I felt the first time I was able to walk from my bed to a chair in my room. After months of getting around only a wheelchair, I was very grateful to be walking again.

“The best way to show my gratitude is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.”

Mother Teresa

Grateful

As I look back to those months following my accident, I am grateful for the hard times I went through, because not only did they make me stronger, they help me realize how much of a gift the simple things in life are.

Cartoonist Bill Keane said it best, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” Trust me, I no longer take for granted the simple little tasks of life. I learned to appreciate what most people don’t think twice about.

I have to work twice as hard to do what most people can do without putting much thought into it. I have fallen and failed a lot, but I understand disappointments and setbacks show us where we need to get stronger and improve.

This year I didn’t achieve my main goals of landing an agent or getting a book contract, but I can still celebrate the small victories.

• Attending another writing conference and speaking in a class about my book.
• Publishing my first article for Focus on the Family.
• Growing my YouTube channel to over 1000 subscribers (over 450 new this year to date).
• Growing my Twitter account to over 3000 followers.
• Getting a chance to speak on PJnet.tv.

These victories may not be all I wanted for this year, but they are special and I consider them a gift that I even had the opportunity. Nothing in this life is guaranteed, so I urge everyone to treat each day like it is a gift.

“Life is precious, and when you’ve lost a lot of people, you realize each day is a gift.” Sometimes the best gifts come when we learn to appreciate the little things.

Meryl Streep

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.