Fueling Hope…With Determination…

Welcome, as always, and thank you for joining us for this month’s blog as we continue to explore some insights into my journey back into the workspace via the Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style). Re-entry into the workspace is not an easy process for those of us with a (dis)ability, but it is doable with hope and the determination needed to fuel or refuel it.

When I think back over the last ~8 years, since my re-entry back into the workspace, it still seems unbelievable. Managing a (dis)ability, especially in the beginning, can be overwhelming and destabilizing in so many different ways. When it just shows up in the midst of our lives, we don’t know if we’ll recover and if so, to what extent. All I could do in that moment was believe and hope that what was happening to me…would not always be.

It can be difficult to believe beyond what you see or feel, especially when your body is impacted by the (dis) in your (dis)ability and the (dis) is trying to occupy or impact your abilities. Some of us are wired with determination that leaves us, and others, scratching our heads. Because, no matter what it looks like, we keep pressing. It’s what I had to do and if I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be reading this chapter of my story. I would still be living on my SSDI, which was appreciated, but had diminished my lifestyle to one of existing. I don’t have words for how hard that was.

Learning how to manage a (dis)ability isn’t easy and can be a challenge on many levels, but I reminded myself that there was a reason why I was still here. Because, given my (dis)ability, it could very easily not be the case…and that hasn’t changed, but how I manage it has. After overcoming the fear of trying to do things that might negatively impact my (dis)ability, I studied it and got to know it, along with the different avenues and vehicles it uses to create roadblocks and detours in my abilities.

I learned to focus on what I could do, that gave me the confidence to believe that just maybe I could work again. Because of having a long history of working with individuals with (dis)abilities, being on the other side of the table and needing the help that I was so accustomed to giving, was also unbelievable at times. But, at the same time, I drew strength from those that I had previously worked with, who amazed me, with their sense of hope and determination.

If you’ve been on this journey with me throughout this blog…you already know that my first job back into the workspace was an, ‘I’ll do what I have to do until I can do what I want to do’ type of situation. 😊 In all fairness, I learned so much and grew, significantly, during that time. I learned how to manage my (dis)ability so that I could work and because it was my first time working after years of being on the sideline…it became my self-esteem booster.

While working my stepping-stone back into the workspace, I was asked a question one day by a friend. She asked, ‘What do you really want to do?” So, basically, she was asking me to make a decision about the kind of job I wanted. I didn’t give her an answer at that moment, because I realized in real time that I wasn’t sure. I thought about it for some days and concluded that what I really wanted was to get back to Vocational Counseling. That was my passion. And so, while still working at my customer service job, it became the bridge that carried me from SSDI to Employment Counselor…from where I was…to where I wanted to be.

No matter what it looked like or felt like, at times…determination was the wind beneath my wings when filling out countless applications and receiving countless thank you…but responses. However, sometimes opportunities come from places we least expect, through people who see us and look beyond our (dis)abilities and appreciate our abilities. That’s my story and I hope it is…or becomes your story too!

Sometimes our hope gets lost, within us, and it takes determination to sustain us, until it returns. There are people, places and things that help fuel our hope. My hope to work again was fueled by my belief in the possibility; by my Employment Counselor (EC) and Certified Benefits Specialist – People; by My Employment Options – Place; And by The Ticket-To-Work Program – Thing. They’ve all worked together to make a difference in my life, and the lives of all they serve. They gave me the opportunity and platform to try. My journey back into the workspace wasn’t a route that I would have drawn up for myself, but it led me to where I wanted to be, back into the Vocational Counseling space, here at MEO. My work pre-(dis)ability was specialized in the area of counseling, which made finding the job I wanted to do, and had to do from home, more complicated, pre-Covid. But had I given up, I would have stopped in the middle of the bridge, or worst case scenario, never attempted to cross it. Even when hope seems to leave you for a moment…let determination propel you forward, until you’re filled with hope again.

If you want to work again, please be encouraged to try. If you’re working, but you know it’s not your last stop…remember, it’s just a bridge. And if you tried, but it didn’t work out…take good care of yourself and try again when you’re able.

It has become my hope that these blogs will help someone find their hope…with determination to do so. As always, thank you for stopping in. We appreciate the time you take to read these blogs!! Until next time…take good care of you!!

**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/