I am a trooper for what I have achieved (or especially because of where I started out–please see my post The Power of Humor in the ‘Coping Mechanisms and Other Crutches’ category), and I see the ways creative thinking can be the key to transforming even a huge misfortune like physical disability. It hasn’t always been my own creative thinking that guided me either. My brother Ted  teaches me most clearly to identify the problem first, then think freely to open my mind up to solutions. Please see my post My Brother’s Inventions in the ‘Pop-a-wheelies’ category.

Identifying the problem is probably an easy step to skip in the heat of anxiety about the problem. But you have to know what to zero in on and solve. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But I know I still get caught in the quagmire of possibilities or stuck in the trap of hopelessness quite often. What is the problem you need to solve, and what is the result you want? The solution might be simpler than you think, but anxiety is a powerful interference. Instead, stop. Think.

After you have defined what needs to get done, you can see most clearly what else can accomplish that. Think freely–I sometimes imagine make-believe gadgets that could do what I need, and then I break my ‘dream machine’ down into smaller parts that are actually real. Narrowing my fantasy gadgets or solutions down is like fitting them into boxed reality.

Transforming misfortune doesn’t always mean making something happen either. It may be changing the way you look at things–good news, since it’s totally under your control. In my case, I saw that having a disability myself helped me empathize with my students who were also disabled or impaired.  My weak voice, also, could be helpful in putting a student at ease–and was in many cases–because a correction given softly is less intimidating. One autistic student used to jump up and down and clap his hands when he got to work with me!

Problems, of course, are not always linear with definable steps and a clear-cut solution, but this is a topic for another post.