A Maze…Navigating Through Pathways And Complexities

Welcome and thank you for joining us as we continue the journey of what it has looked like for me, returning to work and continuing to work with a (dis)ability. Some things we learn from our own personal experiences and some things we learn from the experiences of others. The reality is that there isn’t enough time, or life, to experience everything, our own selves. And to be honest, I wouldn’t want to. Learning what to or not to do through the observation of someone else’s experience has worked in my favor, and it can in yours too. 😊 I learned a lot as a Vocational Counselor…pre-(dis)ability. I have and continue to learn a lot as one living with and managing a (dis)ability. And, currently, as an Employment Counselor, I am continuing to learn, as I help others navigate through their workspace maze. We are life-long learners, often navigating through our own personal mazes of life.

I am naturally an introvert, but the purpose I’ve been created for…helping others…doesn’t allow me to keep my experiences to myself. If I’ve gone through something that can make the pathway less rocky for someone else, then for me…it’s worth the share. I am so grateful to My Employment Options (MEO) for presenting and supporting the opportunity to blog about my journey via the Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style), back into the workspace. Our hope is that it will be helpful information, encouragement and inspiration for those with (dis)abilities and their support network.

As I was thinking about what to share in this blog, a maze came to mind; how life and navigating a (dis)ability can be filled with multiple paths to get to a goal, destination, or simply a way out. I feel like I was in a maze when trying to figure out a pathway back into the workspace. I didn’t have the luxury of focusing on this or that, I had to multi-focus on this and that in order to keep moving forward. Often, just like navigating through the complexities and twists and turns of a maze; I wasn’t always sure if I was on the right path or if the path I was on would take me where I wanted to go. What I found was that some of the paths didn’t take me where I wanted to go…but where I needed to go, in order to get to where I wanted to go.

If you’ve been in a maze before, through physical structures or the complexities of life situations, it can be a time of confusion, fear or even hopelessness. Sometimes, we have to encourage ourselves to keep going, because if we just stop in the middle of the maze, we can find ourselves sitting just outside of the opening, or the opportunity we’re seeking. Never do we want to take up residency in the midst of a maze. It wasn’t designed to sustain or cover us, and so we have to keep moving through it…making our way out.  I realize that because I kept moving, even when I thought I couldn’t take one more step…I found that there was more on the inside of me than I thought. I also found, just like within a maze, that because I kept going, I ran into people, places and things that helped me navigate my way through the maze of returning to the workspace.

Along my path, I ran into the Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style), I couldn’t see my way out of SSDI into the workspace, but because it’s what we do, they guided me through the process. They didn’t do it for me; they didn’t carry me, they walked and taught me, through the process. I’ve learned, after making it outside of the maze of gaining and maintaining employment, post-(dis)ability, that you cannot find what you stop looking for. The maze is what it is…it doesn’t shift…and may require that when we take a path that isn’t a thruway, being okay with turning around and trying a different path. And if we’re on a path that seems like the end is not near…it’s a maze, so we can’t really know how close we are to making it out of…and into our desired goal or destination.

Sometimes, when we’re in a maze, it can feel scary and as if we’re all alone. I can tell you with absolute certainty that when I happened upon MEO, during my maze of an experience back into the workspace; I no longer navigated the maze alone. I had access to my Employment Counselor and Certified Benefits Specialist, while inside the maze and even after making it outside and into the working world. The mazes of life are less complicated when you have someone to walk them with you, and when you have someone who can see what you cannot see, a different perspective, in that moment. That’s what my Employment Counselor did for me. I could call her on her direct extension, schedule on her calendar or send her an email…I had access to her when I needed her. I probably should apologize for how much I called and emailed her, as a client. 😊 Currently, as an Employment Counselor, my clients not only benefit from my personal experiences, as one with a (dis)ability and having navigated my way through the workspace maze, but they also benefit from all that I’ve learned from my own Employment Counselor and Benefits Specialist. They have both journeyed with me through the twists and turns, helping me find my way out of…and into…

Remember, if you have a (dis)ability; the (dis) may attach itself to some of your abilities, but not all. It is not an all or nothing situation. It is not all inclusive. Do what you can do, to the best of your ability…let that be your focus as you work your way through your own workspace maze and be sure to look for, and accept, help along the way. And once you’ve made it out, please look back and share what you’ve learned to help someone else make it through their maze of an experience.

It’s always a pleasure and I learn something new about my own journey with each of these blogs. Thank you for stopping in and sharing part of your day with us. Please take good care of yourselves, keep looking up and take a different path if you need to, but don’t give up…the exit to your maze and into opportunity, may be just around the corner!

**If this is your first visit to our blog site, please feel free to visit previous blogs. If you’re interested in more information regarding applying for the MEO Ticket to Work Program…click here: https://myemploymentoptions.com/apply-now/