Three Tips for Making This YOUR Year to Live More Empowered (no matter who you are)

Please enjoy this repost of helpful tips for an empowered New Year.

To live more empowered. Sounds good, but what does that actually mean for living your life, particularly when you or a loved one lives with a disability?

For decades now in disability circles, agencies, and now even government funding requirements, there’s much talk about people being empowered, as it should be. If you look up the definition of empower, you don’t get much – “to give power or authority to; authorize, to enable or permit.”

But what about the meaning of being empowered, in regards to life with a disability?

As with nearly all perspectives on disability, everyone has their own unique take on what this means. For some, it means advocating for more equal rights and universal access. For others it’s about independence and having as few services as possible. Still for others, it may be about obtaining employment, getting off of government benefits, making friends, and having fulfilling relationships.

For me – and the guiding principle of Radiant Abilities – to be empowered means living the life you want, which may include any, all or none of the above. In terms of a disability, living empowered and living the life you want, means that you don’t feel held back by your disability and that it can actually be the launching pad to your happiness and fulfillment.

As the year begins, we often feel a renewed sense of motivation to make this year better than the last. If feeling more empowered, however you define it, is what you want to experience this year, here’s some tips to guide you. They’re divided up for people living with disabilities, family members, and professionals in the disability field.

For people living with disabilities:

1. Always define yourself and keep coming back to that, particularly when you feel judged by others. When you live with a disability, people will always have opinions about you. None of them actually define you, there just thoughts of others.
2. Focus every day on what you want, your goals, how you want your life to be, rather than the barriers your disability pose. What you place your mental energy on expands and strengthens.
3. Take time every day to just forget about your disability and immerse yourself in something you enjoy. You just need this time to “lose” yourself in pleasure and being who you are.

For family members of people living with disabilities (these tips are for empowering YOU, not your family member):

1. Most important – every day carve out some time, even 15 minutes, to take care of yourself with some quiet time. Put your oxygen mask on first…
2. Create an affirmation for yourself, write it or put it in your phone so you can look at it frequently. An example of an affirmation, a positive statement about yourself, is “I am a gentle, kind, patient [fill in the attribute] parent."
3. Develop a support network for yourself in your parenting journey and use them, seek advice, go out for coffee.

For professionals within the disability field (these tips are also for empowering you, not who you serve):

1. Schedule your vacations for the year. The quality of your work depends on the quality of your time off.
2. Write down your why. Place it by or on your computer, laptop or phone. Your why is the reason you got into this work to begin with. It will always be your guide, go back to it frequently.
3. Work with people you like. There’s way too much work to do for drama to get in the way.

Cheers to a more empowered you!