“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” ~ Blake Leeper, Gold Medalist 400m Relay, 2012 Paralympian, soon-to-be first double-amputee American Olympian, and yogi. He amazes, inspires, and motivates me.
Inspired: The Only Disability in Life
Month: March 2014
Inspired: Loving What We Do Is As Good As It Gets
“It’s a secular blessedness, to love what you do over a very long period of time. That’s as good as it gets.” ~ John Arras, Professor of Bioethics at UVA
I read this quote in our UVA alumni magazine and it warmed my heart. I feel blessed every minute of every day to do work I love. My days are long and busy, and they are most certainly blessed.
Inspired: You Don’t Need to Accept Bad Behavior at Work
I spend a lot of time mentoring young people, especially those just starting their careers. Yesterday one of my mentees told me a horrific story about the behavior of her boss and co-workers toward her. The stress and abuse are affecting her health. I encouraged her to look for a new job. “I need this job. I left my last job because of an abusive boss after 6 months. I can’t leave this one so soon, too. It will look horrible on my resume.”
You know what would be really horrible? Developing a long-term health problem because of working for awful people who are rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional. Everyone deserves dignity; it’s a birthright. If you’re being treated badly, speak up and if your concerns are dismissed, leave. I’ve never been able to tolerate bad behavior and poor treatment, whether it was directed at me or others. I refuse to let it happen on my watch. I walked away many times without knowing what I would do next, and I always figured it out. Here’s the bottom line: you matter. If you don’t matter to the people you work for, then you need to move on. They don’t deserve you.
Inspired: Take Only What You Need – A New York Real Estate Tale
I took my first trip to see potential new apartments yesterday and with a lot of amenities I don’t need. They are decent deals for what they offer. However, what they offer doesn’t match my needs. Over lunch, I remembered a very wise piece of advice that my friend, Susan, told me about job hunting that applies to so many parts of our lives: don’t compare your options to each other; compare them to what you want. The hunt for a new home continues.
Inspired: It’s Time to Keep Your Eyes Focused Ahead
Toward the end of season 1 of House of Cards, a restaurant owner loses his business. The person foreclosing on him asks if he’d like to take a memento. “I’ve never been one for looking back,” he says. We can’t let our past circumstances impede our future. It can strengthen us, teach us, and inspire us. We can’t let it stop us. We’ve got to move up, on, over, and through. The past isn’t changing. The present is what it is. The future is for us to design.
Inspired: Believing is Seeing
Some people need proof to believe something is true. I’ve often found that if I believe first, then the truth finds me. When I look for goodness, signs that I’m on the right path, hope, and inspiration, I’m more likely to find them if I believe that they can actually be found. And in the rare instance when what I seek I can’t find, I recognize that there is a gap that I am empowered to fill. If I think there needs to be more joy, laughter, peace, kindness, or empathy in a situation, I can create it. It all starts with belief and the greatest belief is this: I have what I need, the world needs what I have, and my only goal is to find the place and time where my gifts can do the most good.
Inspired: A New Home Will Give Me New Eyes
“In the choice to let go of your known way of being, the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.” ~ Danna Faulds, Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga
No one ever said that letting go was easy. In a little more than a month I’ll be in a new apartment, probably in a new neighborhood in a different borough, and all my patterns will be turned upside down after spending almost 7 years on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
There will be plenty of good things about this change, and there will be plenty of things that make it feel uncomfortable and foreign. I’ll be a stranger in my own life for a while and there’s no getting around that. I’ll see my beloved city from a new vantage point, literally and figuratively.
I’m a bit in denial and also very excited for the newness, the adventure, and the exploration. I’ve decided that I’ll find some way to celebrate all of it – the good, the bad, and the confusing. I’ll laugh and smile and marvel at the fact that I’m still just as capable of turning my life upside down as I was 20 years ago, letting the chips fall where they may, and reveling in it all.
We all need a good shake-up now and then. Perhaps I’ve had more than my fair share, though I wouldn’t change any of them. I’ve never regretted change; the changes are what have made my life what it is and for that I am very grateful.
Inspired: Who Are You in the Morning?
I woke up at 3:30am. Phineas was crying in his sleep so I got up and sat with him for a bit. He calmed down quickly. It’s impossible for us to hide who we really are in those hours between dusk and dawn. There are no secrets then. No facades. No brave faces. We have all our fears, insecurities, and joys right there on the surface. We’re just being; no doing. I hope someday the person I am at 3:30am is the person I am at every hour. I’m getting there but I’ve got some more work to do. Thanks for teaching me that, Phin.
Inspired: Life is Like Pool; You Have to Look Where You Want to Go
When you play pool, you don’t look at the cue ball. You look at the ball you want to hit with an eye on where you want that ball to go, and plan your actions backward from there. The same is true for life. Begin at the ending and work your way back to where you are. Then you’ll know where to start so you can get where you ultimately want to go.
Inspired: Spring is a Time to Fly
Spring always makes me feel like flying. I shake off my heavy coat, put aside the boots, and open up to the warmth. To fly, we have to let go – of the things that weigh us down and the fear that holds us back. Shrug it off. Let Spring transform you, inside and out. Then, get ready for take-off. The world is waiting for you.
Christa Avampato 