http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnqnSwJap8c

I’ve been sent this video this evening which is very inspiring.

It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly resilient and adaptive human beings can be, especially in the face of traumatic and often devastating events.

The human spirit and desire to fight is evident in so many walks of life, so often accompanied by the passion, love and camaraderie of others to insure others success despite the odds.

Often out of awful circumstances people not only go on to liver normal lives, but they often go on to create extraordinary lives for themselves, often excelling anything they would have ever considered possible before the accident or traumatic event.

‘One thing about championship teams is that they’re resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity.’
Nick Saban

I like to look at things from different perspective and something that jump out for me is that I think in a sense we are all adaptive athletes.

These athletes stand as a metaphor for all of us, because they are not a minority in a world of able bodied human beings, but rather the majority of disabled human beings all of whom inherently possess incredible resources and resilience to succeed regardless of what is thrown at them.

The man in the wheelchair who drags the sledge is the women who can’t get out of bed because she is clinically depressed. The women PB-ing with one arm is the man who says ‘he can’t’ because he’s been brought up to think he is worthless. The man pressing with no legs is the person who fears rejection. The man with half a torso is the women who desperately wants to join in, but hates her body and instead stays in and eats to escape her emotional pain. The man dragging himself along the floor is the young girl who thinks life is not worth living and contemplates taking the pills to silence the pain forever.

These great people are physical representations of all of us and what can be achieved. That there is always a way, regardless of what has happened to us.

Not only this they represent another part of us. The part that stands for something, that refuses to give up in the face of adversity. The part that has great resilience that throughout history has withstood incredible hardship and atrocities.

‘There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.’
Malcolm X

The video also stands for something else we have in common as human being.

The sense of community and camaraderie. How through hardships and adversity, by having a strong network of people, or indeed just one person believing and telling us, ‘you can go a little faster, you can be a little stronger, you can survive this and come out of it a greater human being than you went in’, can generate a power of human potential that is hard to stop.

Ignition of the human spirit is emotional, psychological and physical rocket fuel.

‘The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.’
Ulysses S. Grant

Do not look at these people as different from you, but the same.

Use their symbolism to inspire you to tackle your own disabilities, whether they be Physical, emotional or psychological.

But just as importantly, if not more so, use their actions to make you search for your own inherent strengths and to use them to get some momentum to get up and make a declaration for something more than you think is currently possible, because these athletes are evidence for you to believe it can be possible.

Get around those who say it can be done. Not because it’s the right thing to say, but because they care about you. Those who don’t pull punches, but instead tell you it’s going to take work, some blood sweat and tears…..but that they have your back because they know you have theirs.

What’s currently holding you back that by seeing yourself as an adaptive athlete, could allow you to do something differently today that would make you stronger person come tomorrow?