A Realistic View…From The Ticket To Work Vantage Point (MEO Style)

Hello and Welcome! Thank you for joining us again, or for the first time! Our hope is that there is something about my journey through the Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style) that will encourage or inspire you. And, perhaps, even pique your interest and curiosity about how it all works, to work with a (dis)ability.

Those of us with a (dis)ability, seen or unseen, can dress ourselves with limitations far beyond our (dis)abilities. Others may limit their expectations of our abilities, but that’s not always what hinders us from moving forward. Placing limitations on ourselves, that has the greatest impact. I can speak to it, because I did it to myself at some point in my journey before believing, and even seeing myself working again. How can we be it…if we can’t see it…if we can’t even imagine working again?? I encourage you to imagine what working again looks like for you.

When I started imagining what it would look like to work again, I realize now that my imagination was just that…my imagination…and not always grounded in reality. But that’s okay, because it was the imagination that got me to try and the ‘try’ got me to a realistic pathway back to the working space, which led to a destination beyond my imagination in so many different ways. Sure enough, sometimes we have to make adjustments to the healthiest of imaginations, but it’s the desire and determination that come with it that gives us the push we need to try.

Once I took that step, I needed support and as you know, my support came through the Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style)! I say to you from the depths of my heart, MEO (My Employment Options) has blessed my life, AMD (After My (Dis)ability), in ways that were not a part of my wildest imagination. So, I am happy to share my journey, through this blog, which also serves as my forever gratitude for the MEO Family.

Although the (dis) may reign strong in some areas of our abilities…the reverse is also true. Some of our abilities reign strong, even in the midst of our (dis)abilities. I found myself, in what I call the discovery phase of my (dis)ability, totally focused on what I couldn’t do or where I couldn’t go without being affected and suffering the consequences of the effects. My (dis)ability wasn’t going anywhere, so eventually, I had to learn what I needed to learn about it and its effect on my quality of life. I’ve got to tell you; it looked pretty bleak and very different from how I lived my life BMD (Before My (Dis)ability).

I could have settled, but that’s not my nature. So, I prayed every day and even asked the question, “Is this it? Is my life as I know it over?!” I can tell you, today, that I’m living the answer to that prayer. The answer is, “No!”, that was not it and my life was not over as I’d known it. It was just different in some ways, but not all. I had a choice to make, and it was going to take persistence from within and support from others to do what I desired to do and knew could make a difference in my quality of life, if I could just get there.

I have found that it takes a lot longer when I try to do things by myself. We can’t live long enough to learn and know everything. So, becoming a master at our resources catapults us to the next level…the information we receive through the resource matters. The quality and integrity of the resource makes a difference. The resource that I chose for my journey back into the workforce, mattered. It provided me with the guidance, support, and reliable information I needed for my particular path forward. It was my realistic view…from the Ticket-To-Work (MEO Style) vantage point. My Employment Counselor and Benefits Counselor could see things that I couldn’t see. Although I couldn’t see what they saw, at the time, I took the step anyway with a heart filled with hope that a better quality of life was on the other side…and so it was! However, those first 2.5 years at the start of my journey back into the workspace were rocky…that’s where the support of the TTWP showed itself as a difference maker! Don’t just take my word for it, click here for some other MEO Success Stories.

I had done Vocational Counseling type of work BMD, so I could have very easily come in with the attitude that I knew the best course for my path forward. But the reality was, I was in uncharted territory AMD. The view is different when you’re inside, looking out. More often than we may like to admit…we need someone who’s on the outside looking in, to tell us what they see. And if we are honest about it, sometimes our self-esteem and self-concept is so low, we may not even be able to look up, without some help, to see what is possible. On my journey back to the working space…my EC (Employment Counselor) was that person, as well as the third leg of my MEO TTWP tripod…my Benefits Counselor.

In order to become the best version of ourselves, we need support that can see what we cannot see. When we’re flexible with an open mind, we can find ourselves working beyond our imagination.

Thank you, as always, for sharing your time with us. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I hope you will return for some more motivation, inspiration, and/or information to help you start, or continue, your navigation within the working space. Take good care of yourselves…it always starts there!!

**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/