Skip to main content

Adjusting Focus

Over the last few days I have had circumstances come up in my professional life and my health which has given me time to meditate and adjust my focus. I have once again been able to reflect on the fact that my disability can play the role of humbling me which is a good thing because I know to achieve at the high level that I want to achieve I need a lot of people's help so I cannot afford to let an unrealistic ego get in the way.

During this time of reflection I have had the honour of being part of another acting project while simultaneously having to deal with minor health issues. This contrast in situations has made me realise that you must go through some adversity before you achieve success.

As an example I was recently anxious about some medical things and to keep myself calm I repeated the mantra: is there anything wrong in this moment? No. Then you're okay. 

And you know what? I was okay.

This experience highlighted to me just how powerful the practice of staying in the present can be.

I have also been using my downtime to study the stoics such as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. What I have got out of the philosophy of stoicism no matter what happens it is up to you whether or not you see it as good or bad.

So I will distill my river of thoughts into three changes I'm going to make. First I am going to stop trying to achieve everything all at once and just commit to the artistic and speaking projects where I can do the most good.

I am going to simplify everything like the stoics and try to be the most egoless person I can. So as I finish this piece I encourage anyone that reads it to think about what areas of their life they can adjust their focus.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Defend Our NDIS

 Defend our NDIS; people have had enough of cuts and changes to the NDIS. The Every Australian Counts campaign has organised a national day of action and events across Australia to take place on 28th of April.  I have been involved in the NDIS from the initial trial phase through to today. People may remember that I was involved in an advertising campaign spruiking the benefits to come once the scheme was up and running.  ‘You’re in charge! Yes we are, aren’t we!’ For awhile this was the truth for participants like myself. I have been very lucky and received 90 percent of what I need from NDIS.  The question is would I have received the same benefits if I was not a skilled disability advocate?  People with disabilities want the original version of the scheme that was promised without having to fight for a reasonable request. It would be a more efficient scheme if the government put the millions of dollars in legal fees into service delivery instead.  According to the Australian Service
3 comments
Read more

A Vision for an Inclusive Australia (DRC Final Report)

 The final revised version of the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) into violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation was published on 2 November 2023.  The Royal Commission ran for four years with hundreds of people with disabilities testifying at hearings and thousands more supplying the Commission with written submissions.  The final report titled Our Vision for An Inclusive Australia  made 222 recommendations to improve laws, policies, structures, and practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society. That supports the independence of people with disabilities and their right to live a life free from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.  The report covers 12 volumes ranging from:  Voices of People with Disability  About the Royal Commission Nature and Extent of Violence, Abuse, and Exploitation Realising the Human Rights of People with Disability  Governing for Inclusion Inclusive Education, Employment, and Housing Enabling Autonomy and Access Criminal Justice and People wi
Post a Comment
Read more

United in Action (International Day of People with Disability 2023)

 International Day of People with Disability is here again. It is a day to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities while at the same time reminding the world that people with disabilities need access to equality.  This year's UN theme is United in Action to rescue and achieve the sustainable development goals for, with, and by people with disability.  Around this time every year I am blown away by the giants in the world who live with a disability and I am using today's post to highlight just a few.  First let me tell you about Natalie Wade, a passionate lawyer who works in the area of disability rights law. Natalie is also the coauthor of Disability Rights in Real Life Handbook  as well as being the inaugural orator for the Disability Leadership Oration . This will air at 5pm AEDT on ABC TV and ABC iview on the 3 December 2023.  The next person I wish to highlight today is Elly Desmarchelier, a brilliant disability advocate, writer, and national spokesperson for
Post a Comment
Read more