Don’t Know If I Can…But Willing To Try

Welcome or welcome back! Thank you for stopping in, or returning, on this journey with us. I continue to look back at what it took for me to navigate my way through the maze of managing my (dis)ability well enough to work and find a job that was a good fit for me. I wasn’t able to navigate those waters on my own. My gratitude for the Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style), runs long and deep! It took and continues to take determination, grit and flexibility to navigate the I want to work again and keep working waters.

One of the most valuable lessons that I’ve learned on this journey back into the workspace, is the ability to be flexible and to try, even when I think I can’t. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my first job back into the workspace got me into what I call the theatre. It was where I needed to be to get the training and technological upgrade that was necessary, before getting back on the stage. I had been off the Vocational Counseling stage for some years and things had changed. I wouldn’t say that I was outdated, but my skills for navigating multiple software programs, navigating between monitors, etc, certainly were…moreso than I knew, or would admit, at the time. 😊

And never had I been introduced to the CRM System, Customer Relationship Management System, omgoodness…that process requires lots of patience with yourself and that you give yourself some grace during training.  Learning the CRM System, initially, was as challenging as learning the job itself. But the beauty of believing I could, even when I didn’t think I could, built the foundation needed for most (Work from Home) WFH jobs. I didn’t know at the time; how much sticking with it, until I got it, would work in my favor. Flexibility brings about opportunity!

As I think back, had I hopped directly back on the stage, after not performing for some years, I can’t imagine the challenge of trying to catch up and keep up, at the same time. Being flexible about the ways in which I was willing to reenter the workspace provided more options. Our choice of entry points back into the working world require being honest with ourselves, about ourselves. And while considering the reality of our (dis)ability, acknowledging the strength of our abilities.

I had a choice; I could be like a tree that doesn’t bend and breaks if a strong wind blows its way. Or I could be like a tree that has some elasticity to it. One that blows with the wind, no matter the direction; and then there are those times when the power of the wind can make a tree dance in a circle or bend so far down that you think, surely, it’s going to break…but it doesn’t. As I watch the trees outside my windows, once the wind has calmed itself down, they once again stand tall, showing no signs of flexibility…but yet, I know they are…because I’ve seen them dance.

Some of us who have (dis)abilities may look and even feel like we are not flexible…and maybe we haven’t been…but this journey requires it. At least it did for me. Not being able to do what you used to do, is a humbling experience. It can break your spirit if you let it and if you’re not flexible. I had to develop what I call my flexibility statement, ‘I’ll do what I have to do, until I can do what I want to do’; My stay up statement, ‘Be like a duck, let it roll’ (water rolls off their backs); My keep looking up statement when I’d get …thank you…but…application responses, ‘If I didn’t get the job, then it wasn’t for me. I want a job that’s a good fit and I can still manage my (dis)ability.’

I am so grateful that with everything going on, I managed to stay focused enough to press through and not give up. That did not happen in a vacuum, and I wasn’t able to do it on my own. That’s where My Employment Options made its debut onto the pages of my story. All I can say is, I didn’t like the chapter I was in and MEO helped me turn the page. I had to navigate being in the workspace theatre for a while, before being invited to the stage. While in the theatre (my first job back into the workspace) I received the training and technological upgrade I would need, once I got the opportunity to get on the stage and perform the work that brings me joy and that I know I was created to do…helping others through their ‘what in the world’ moments. I’ve walked the path of SSDI and the maze of returning to the workspace…and now, every day, I’m privileged to walk beside others as they make their way through to the working world.

Some of our (dis)abilities may look the same in nature, but because we were created as distinctively unique individuals, the diagnoses may be the same but can affect us differently. We may assume we can’t do a thing, because with our type of (dis)ability, we believe we shouldn’t be able to and so we don’t try. I thought I wasn’t technical most of my life. It took a gentle nudge from my Employment Counselor (EC) that made me try. That try became my receipt that I’m actually a bit ‘tech savvy’. 😊 If I hadn’t been encouraged to try, I may never have tried. And if I hadn’t tried, I may very well have lived my whole life thinking that I couldn’t do something that I could not only do, but do well. What is it that you think you can’t do, but can’t know for sure, because you haven’t tried…is it returning to the workspace??

Trying tells us a few things, if we can, how we can, how much we can, where we can. The Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style) answered all of those questions for me. It provides a safe place to try and succeed…to fall and get back up or rest a little while, when you need to.

This is the end of our time for today, but we’ll be back next month to share some ‘lessons learned’ along the journey back into the workspace. It’s nice to get into the theatre and then transition to the stage. Focusing on our abilities, can carry us where we want to go; need to go; or in certain seasons…can go. Thank you as always for visiting our blog. Take good care of yourself the best you possibly can, so you can be the best you possibly can! Until next time…

**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/