Do Things Differently – Lesson 50 | The Optimist's Guide to Life

Wow I have reached my 50th Guide to Life post on my blog, I hope I don’t run out of ideas. :)

So this post is about doing things differently, something many of us don’t enjoy doing. If you do something in a different way than you are used to, you may think that only increases your chances of failure. But it truly does much better things for you. By doing things differently you can look at life from a different perspective. By doing things differently you can possibly find your true calling that you never knew existed before. How do I know this? I’ve been doing things differently my entire life.

When I get up in the morning I cannot get myself dressed or into my chair. I need to rely on either my parents or my nurse to assist me in all of that. Once I am downstairs, my parents or my nurse have to help feed me breakfast and give me my medicine. On weekdays, my nurse has to drive me to school and stay with me at college the entire day. My nurse and my parents mostly have to be my arms and legs for me. If I need a drink of water, someone has to get it for me and put a a straw in it so that I can drink it. If I need a snack, someone has to get it for me. If my arm falls off of my armrest, someone has to put it back on the armrest for me. If I want to use my computer, my little brother has to help me put my hands on the table and push the table closer to me so that I can reach my laptop. If I need to be dropped off somewhere, my parents have to drive me there.

But there are also many things that I do on my own differently. When I am typing this blog post, I have to use the part of my fingers on the back of my hand instead of the part on the palm of my hand since my hands are so tight. When I eat, I have to avoid foods that are too chewy or tough to eat since I have the risk of choking. When I want to turn the page in a textbook I try to turn it with my pencil by sticking it in between the next two pages and moving it to the left. When I want to do anything at all I have to think of different ways of doing it and be patient with myself. These things may change my appearance, such as my feet splints and my wheelchair, but they also make me a stronger person.

I’ve been able to learn how to be patient with myself and people around me. I’ve been able to learn what the truly important things in life. I’ve been able to learn how to look past someone’s appearance and see the person they truly are inside. I’ve been able to listen to people when they talk about a problem they are having since I have been through a lot myself and I know how good it feels for someone to just listen. I’ve been able to keep on trudging on through life even when it seems there is nothing worth living for. I’ve been able to turn failure into a lesson to be learned, and many of those lessons I share here on my blog in the past 49 posts. Finally, I’ve been able to learn that Optimism is the best thing for not only me, but everyone else. Hence, my blog was able to begin and become what it is today. My blog was able to reach over 14,000 visitors from around the world in what will be a year in only two weeks. Now if doing things differently can make my life better, imagine what it can do for you.

Below is one example of how a group of singers were able to Do Things Differently:

Do you ever Do Things Differently? Comment below to answer.

This Post Written by
The Optimist's Guide

My name is Anthony DeVergillo and I am 19 years old and have been living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a muscle-deteriorating disease, for my entire life. I believe that everyone has a disability, whether it be visible or not, and we must learn to overcome what holds us back! :)

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Anthony, you can't imagine what this blog means to me. I hate to admit for many years, i was a little spoiled brat that took many things for granted and didnt really see how beautiful life could be because I was too busy with my "woe is me" act. My mom passed 6 years ago and I really started to transform shortly after. Thakfully, I started my own business with Arbonne and it has truly taught me patience, love kindess and understanding. I feel myself growing everyday but reading your blog just opened my eyes even wider. Thank you for sharing this with me. I will come back to this when I need to be inflated and I will share it with others.

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Anthony&#39;s Abilities

I am so glad that this blog means that much to you! Your comment is the reason why I started this blog, to inspire people with Optimism and my personal experiences. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this heartwarming and personal message, it truly made my day! :)

Anthony - Great post. I really enjoyed how you showed that there is more than one way to get things done. And even though the method may be different - things still get done. It is also great insight for you to point out that taking the "path less traveled" can actually enrich your life. At the end of the day, life is about choices: we can choose to focus on what we can't do - or in the alternative - we can choose to focus on what we can. The latter is a far better and happier path. Great job! Ted

Hello Super Nurse's husband! I am so glad that you enjoyed my blog post so much (and at least you commented on it, its so hard to get Liz to leave a comment haha). I strive every single day to take the "path less traveled" and focus solely on what I can do, and I hope that you try to do the same. Stay Optimistic Mr. Super Nurse! :)

Afurnishedlife

Couldn't agree more. Each failure is an opportunity to learn and grow. Found your blog through ode magazine and can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for everyone!

I am so glad that you agree with my Optimistic outlook on life! I try every day to learn from my mistakes and failures and learn lessons from them so that I can live life to the fullest, and I hope you try to do the same. :)

You got it Anthony, this year has definitely been a year of change and doing things differently and I thoroughly agree it gives you new perspective and makes you try new things. Thanks i enjoyed this article and love your optimism!! Cathy M.

I really miss you being my nurse Cathy! I also loved visiting your father whenever we could make it there, and I loved his outlook on life, even though he had trouble with what comes with age. I'll never forget singing his favorite Frank Sinatra songs with him. I also love how you comment on every single one of my blog posts, it means so much to me, and it's one of the reasons why, I do things differently. Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars, let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars, in other words, please be true, in other words I love you...

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