It’s A Matter Of Focus

Today I’d like to share an illustration I use when I talk to groups about Rich’s Ride.

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Leonard was the latest in a series of physical therapists who tried to help me adjust to life with paralysis. We had an unspoken agreement: they worked hard while I complained and made excuses for not working at all. More than a year after my accident I still invested more energy in seeking sympathy than working to get better.

Leonard tolerated this unproductive waste of his time for a few weeks, but as he got to know me his patience diminished.

Readers of Relentless Grace will recall Leonard’s role in a particularly humorous and pivotal episode. However, his gruff wisdom impacted the unlikely outcome in many ways. One bit of insight altered my entire perspective on my injury.

One day as I complained about the physical tasks I couldn’t accomplish with my damaged body, he stopped and sat down in front of me with a blank sheet of paper. On one side he drew a circle around “10,000.” He said, “I want you to imagine that this circle represents all of the things you could do before your accident.”

Then he turned the paper over and drew a similar circle with a pie-shaped wedge removed.  “You just lost a lot of things, and you may never get many of them back. That’s horrible, and you have every right to be angry. But now you need to make a decision. “You can spend the rest of your life griping about the two thousand things you lost, or you can focus on the eight thousand that remain.”

Realistic Optimism—A Matter Of Focus

Leonard’s 8000/2000 principle became the working example of what I call REALISTIC OPTIMISM.

Accidents occur. Evil exists. Difficult circumstances are part of life, and ignoring problems doesn’t make them disappear.

Realistic optimism isn’t about naïve denial of challenges. It’s about choosing to see the opportunity within a challenging situation. Understanding and grieving the loss of the 2000 is necessary and important, but we move forward only when we turn our attention to the promise and possibility of the 8000.

I’ve learned that I don’t have to pretend to be happy about my injury to see the good that remains. I wish I could still ride a bicycle; I’m grateful that I can enjoy riding a hand cycle and that my passion can help others.

I’ve also learned that the 8000/2000 principle contains a universal lesson that isn’t about injuries or wheelchairs.

Dreamers aren’t intentionally oblivious to the 2000. They simply choose to concentrate on the 8000.

It’s a choice. It’s a matter of focus.

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