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Inspiring and empowering people to maximize their quality of life in spite of a chronic health condition or a disability |
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STEPS TO CHANGE |
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Issue # 5 September 2004 |
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This ezine is 100% opt-in. You are receiving it because you subscribed but may cancel by using the link at the end of this message. |
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IN THIS ISSUE |
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A chronic health condition can be a catalyst for personal growth and self-discovery. Are
you ready to break free of the bindings that are holding you back from
discovering your
own personal level of optimal health? We all have one – no matter what the condition is that ails us. I
challenge you to want to discover yours! I take people from an overwhelmed existence to a comfortably paced lifestyle.
Contact me today for a fr~ee sample coaching session and get started on living your maximum life. |
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TRAVELS WITH TRISH |
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Yes, you're right, it's been a while since you've heard from me. My apologies. My MS has had me laid up a bit these past few months but I'm back on top of my game and grateful for it. I've revamped the newsletter format, I hope you like it. If on the other hand, you decide that you no longer want to receive this publication, just email me and let me know. I'm writing this while away on our annual retreat at Opeongo Trail Resort in Combermere Ontario. I recommend it highly. This place is definitely a little piece of heaven for me. I always seem to find serenity here. I hope you managed to find a little serenity this summer yourself. Here's to little pieces of heaven and serene spaces in our lives! Till next time, take care and God bless. ~~ Trish :-) trish@changingpaces.com ~~ 905-967-3014 ~~ www.ChangingPaces.com |
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FEATURE ARTICLE |
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INDEPENDENCE REDEFINED When you’re generally healthy, you tend to take your God-given free will and autonomy for granted. But when your health renders you reliant on mobility devices, caregivers, doctors, medications and/or insurance companies, you instinctively want to fight for every inch of physical and emotional self-sufficiency that you can. It’s humanly natural to want and enjoy the liberties of self-reliance but I’m going to challenge you to broaden your perspective and definition of independence. I know a lady who has MS that often has difficulty walking. Her devoted husband used to accompany her everywhere, walking faithfully by her side so that she would always have his arm to hold onto for support. She was hesitant to use a cane because she perceived it as a symbol of disability. One day she was challenged to think of the cane as a symbol of independence. With it she’d be able to go anywhere without relying on her husband to be by her side. It was nice to have him willing to be that support but wouldn’t it be nicer to able to get up and do and go wherever she wanted without having to rely on him? She thought it through and picked up the cane. She’s been on the go ever since. Does using a cane make her less independent? I think not! There’s another lady I know that now uses a power wheelchair full-time. She’s raising four young sons from that device. Imagine that! When she made the transition from a walker to a wheelchair and I asked her about the adjustment, the first thing she talked about was having more energy to spend time with her boys. No more hard work mobilizing from room to room with the walker, only to be fully exhausted by the effort by the time she got there. Does using a wheelchair make her less than self-reliant? I don’t think so! I have clients who get home care. They might need help with bathing or dressing for instance. If they were unwilling to accept help from home care, they’d be reliant on family members to help with these tasks. Instead they utilize the services of people who are professionally trained to provide this vital support. This helps them to maintain their dignity as well as prevents their family members from caregiver burnout. Does accessing home care services make them less than autonomous? Absolutely not! I personally haven’t the stamina, balance or energy to do my own house cleaning because of my health. At one point, my husband would dutifully handle the task. But he works long hours and I felt like this was a burden on him so I hired a cleaning lady. Now I’m responsible for overseeing that the house gets cleaned and my husband doesn’t have to worry about it. Does this make me dependant? Not on your life! They say that the highest form of emotional maturity isn’t independence but interdependence. When you’re able to value the presence and skills of others in your life as well as being open to using the tools that others have created to make your life easier, that’s when you know that you’ve learned to be interdependent. They also say “No man is an island”. Who’d want to be anyway? |
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FEEDBACK FORUM |
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| "You've
been a major influence for me Trish. The coaching has enabled me to
believe in myself and make major changes in my life. You have a natural
talent for knowing just the right things to say and sense what I’m
thinking. Your vast knowledge and experience shows in the brochure you
put out and the advice and connections you have.
I started a new life because of the confidence I’ve built from the coaching. When I connected with you I felt like I had an Angel helping me, good things started to happen. The progress happened in small steps until the final leap when within a week I purchased a new home and separated from my husband. Now I’m excited about life, I’m living again. Angels do exist." AC - an accounting supervisor living with multiple sclerosis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I greatly appreciate all the encouragement and suggestions for visualizations etc. that you have given me for the past months. Motivation is hard for me and I have been improving steadily since I started with you and I am very thankful for that." LD - a medical office assistant & home schooling teacher living with multiple chemical sensitivities & chronic depression |
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CHUCKLES TO LIGHTEN YOUR DAY |
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PECANS
IN THE CEMETERY On
the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside
the cemetery fence. One
day, two boys filled a bucketful of nuts and sat
down by the tree, out of sight and began dividing the nuts. "One
for you, and one for me. One for you, and one for me," said one of the
boys. While they were
counting, several nuts dropped and rolled down toward
the fence. Another
boy came riding along the road on his bicycle, and as he passed, he
thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery.
He slowed down to investigate,
and sure enough he heard, "One for you, one for me.
One for you,
one for me." He
knew just what it was. He
jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just
around the bend he met an old man hobbling with a cane. "Come
here quick," said the boy, "you won't believe what I heard!
Satan and
the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls." The
man said, "Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to
walk" The
old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' the truth.
Let's see if
we can see the Lord." Shaking
with fear, they peered through the fence, yet
were still unable to see anything. The
old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter
and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord. At
last they heard, "One for you, one for me.
That's all. Now
let's go get
those nuts by the fence and we'll be done." They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the boy on the bike. |
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FR~EE RESOURCES |
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TeleSupport
Group
Support
for People with a Chronic Health Condition
(membership
is a $10 per month value – yours FREE)
What's
a TeleSupport Group? Glad you asked that! It's like an in-person support group meeting in that there is a facilitator (me) and there'll be participants (yes, hopefully you) and we'll be getting together to share the challenges and successes we've experienced living with a chronic health condition. The differences are that you don’t have to leave your house, you don’t have to drive to some distant location and you don’t even have to get dressed! How
do I join? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TeleClass
3
Strategies for Living Well with Chronic Illness
(this
event is a $30 value – yours FREE)
Are you ready to break free of the bindings that are holding you back from discovering your own personal level of optimal health? We all have one - no matter what the condition is that ails us. I challenge you to want to discover yours! Class
Description: Over the course of one hour we'll explore 3 great strategies that you can incorporate into your life right away that will help you live well with chronic illness. The key messages that you'll take away with you will include the ABC's for finally taking control. Class notes will be provided by email following the session. How
do I register for the class? Call me today at 905-967-3014 or email me, provide me with your first name only and I’ll provide you with the bridgeline to join us for the next class. I hope you can be with us for this interactive event. Contact me today - you'll be glad you did! |
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WORDS TO CONSIDER |
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"The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." ~~ Allan K. Chalmers "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." ~~ Martin Luther King Jr. "Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes." ~~ Mahatma Gandhi |
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ABOUT TRISH |
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Trish Robichaud is a Maximum Life Coach living with multiple sclerosis. She's grateful to be been blessed with a God-given, instinctive ability for seeing assets in people and then reflecting those assets back to them. This enables her clients to confidently reach for and unleash their full potential. She facilitates TeleClasses and a monthly TeleSupport Group at no charge to participants as well as publishes a free monthly electronic newsletter. Her background is in business with training in supportive counselling and life skills facilitation. Together with her experience advocating for people with disabilities, this makes her ideally suited to coaching others through their life and vocational transitions. She can be found on the web at www.ChangingPaces.com. |
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| Copyright © 2004 Trish Robichaud, All rights reserved |
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