Starting to Dream Again
How rebuilding a future begins after you've learned to survive disability
Looking Beyond Survival
We talked previously about how people adjusting to an acquired disability can, at their own pace, begin to re-enter society. As this process becomes easier, and as you become more comfortable taking up space in the world again, your thinking often begins to shift.
Instead of focusing entirely on getting through the day, you start wondering what comes next.
That’s an important transition. Survival thinking gradually gives way to a forward vision. You begin to imagine goals, opportunities, and possibilities that extend beyond simply adapting to your disability.
The Gym I Thought I Couldn’t Use
I went into my conversation with the two women who owned the Curves gym in my town with some specific ideas about how I wanted to participate. I figured there were perhaps two machines on the training circuit that I could use, and I was prepared to accept that. I was really more interested in the cardio and physiotherapy benefits of the aerobic stations on the circuit, using the steppers.
Truthfully, I could have gotten those benefits at home. What I really wanted was to meet people and make some new friends.
I was nervous about what the owners would say. But they walked through the circuit with me and showed me how I could use most of the machines. I just needed a little extra time to get in and out of them.
By the spring, I was using all of them.
I miss that gym.
What I remember most isn’t that I eventually used every machine. It’s that I walked in assuming only two were available to me. My disability had already taught me to lower my expectations before anyone else had the chance to.
The owners saw possibilities I hadn’t considered yet.
What Do You Want to Try Next?
One of the most rewarding parts of returning to community life is that it opens your mind—and sometimes actual doors—to other areas of interest.
Maybe that’s:
Work
Relationships
Community roles
Creativity
Travel
Learning
Contribution
As you begin looking beyond survival, here are some questions worth considering:
What are you curious to try now?
What doors still feel closed?
Which of those doors might actually be negotiable?
What would a satisfying next chapter look like?
Starting to Dream Again
Recovering a sense of direction can be both empowering and energizing.
You may find that some of society’s assumptions about disabled people no longer fit. You may need to reject ableist narratives about what disabled people can do, where they belong, or how they can contribute. You may discover that some of the limitations you assumed were permanent are actually barriers that can be challenged, negotiated, or worked around.
There is no reason you can’t identify a goal, make a plan, and begin working toward it. Disabled people have just as much right to ambitions, dreams, and meaningful goals as anyone else.
You can contribute. You are valuable. You deserve to be taken seriously.
And even if you’re not entirely sure what comes next yet, you can start exploring the possibilities.