Dare to Dream
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You are Special and Deserve It!
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Life is never truly easy, for anyone. Sometimes it feels like everything is going our way when out of the blue a bomb drops.
Maybe your job or family life is struggling, or maybe your health. Then you can feel overwhelmed and defeated.
But don’t fret. We all go through these moments. We all have valleys we must trudge through. What I have learned through life is that the valleys don’t last forever and soon you’ll be on top once again.
The problem being on top is that you never know when a valley will strike again, when you get gut punched and feel the wind knocked out of you.
If you realize that this is just how life goes, the sooner you can prepare yourself to handle those moments.
Not like you will ever be totally prepared but at least not naive to the fact that it happens. If you practice positivity, and strengthening your character, you will be better prepared for those moments. They won’t control you and every aspect of your life.
Our job is to learn from them, to build up our resilience and character to better handle those situations.
As an amputee I have these moments a lot. As soon as my socket feels great, I’m out being active, life is good….. BOOM!
My socket doesn’t fit anymore, it’s too loose, or there’s a crack that’s hurting my leg, leaving painful raw spots every step throughout the day. That’s when I need to dig down deep, realize that this too shall pass, and I must carry on. My family depends on me to function. I have goals I want to achieve and a life I want to live… to the fullest.
If you are struggling right now, life has served up some lemons and a swift punch to your gut, don’t fret. You can get through this.
We all deal with these moments, wishing they would just pass us by, but if you can see these as learning moments, to better serve you in the future then you are on the right track. Each trial we go through breaks us down to build us back up, preparing us for the next, making us stronger. But it’s up to you to rise to that challenge, it’s not just given to you. You won’t just rise up because you sit around pouting about your circumstance. You rise up and build character if you FIGHT! You have to use those muscles to get back up, you need to speak positivity into your soul, you will struggle otherwise.
Take a look at today’s Call to Action for steps to take to work on your resilience today.
This week I want you to prepare for the storm.
How you do it might be a little different from me, but a basic strategy is:
I hope this helps you get through your week, and your future. Fight the good fight, Warrior! You and your family are worth it!
As always,
Be Healthy,
Be Happy,
Be YOU!!!!
Much love,
Angie
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No one knows what our future holds, and for sure, I never expected to become an amputee, but here I am. And quite frankly I am a better person for it, have met amazing people through it, and grown in ways I never would have if I never went through it.
I found acceptance of my circumstance BEFORE going under the knife, and that has helped me embrace, love, and move forward as an amputee, even through neurological pains, physical healing, and never-ending phantom sensations. Not everyone gets that chance though, and I get that. Some of you went through horrific accidents, war, and illnesses like cancer or diabetes. Some of you have anger at the person or circumstances that surround you, and put you where you are today. That is understandable, but are you holding onto that anger, bitterness and resentment? If so, you are also not allowing yourself to truly heal and move on…and there is so much more out there for you. A better life, and happier place to be, healing!
I know that I can’t speak to your situation, but I’ve had smaller issues in my life, times when people have wronged me, and I couldn’t let it go. I held on to the anger, the frustration, and couldn’t stop grumbling about how rude and wrong the other person was. I have had to let that go, walk away, both physically and mentally from that person and that wrongdoing, for the sake of my happiness and my family. It’s not easy, and still, to this day, I can still allow myself to go back there and remember how angry I was. But what does that accomplish? NOTHING!! It just wastes my time and energy, that’s all.
Forgiveness is hard, and it takes practice. You can feel like you are over it one day, and the next day be just as angry. Allow yourself time to heal and practice forgiveness. Just don’t give up, it is well worth the time and energy to forgive someone or your situation in the long run. You will find your happiness return, and an ability to live a more peaceful, centered, and happy life. When you do heal from that situation you will find that you can then begin to heal on the outside as well, and move forward in life, instead of being stuck in the past, and in anger and resentment.
Once you have decided to move forward and let go of the past, then you can truly heal. You may find that the pains you are physically or neurologically experiencing will lessen or even dissipate over time, or at least become manageable.
Trust me when I say that forgiveness and letting go of negativity is the cornerstone to feeling better and getting your life back on track. What have you got to lose? At worst, you’ll stop being overcome by anger and hate, at best you can heal and start living your life again, truly living your life again, not just surviving.
Are you just surviving? It’s time to start living and healing! Don’t waste another moment on those negative things. Bring closure and forgiveness into your life so you can begin to heal, from the inside out!
This week’s call to action will be hard for some of you. It will definitely take more than a week, but today is a stepping stone in the right direction for your well-being and happiness.
Today you begin to forgive the person, circumstance, or yourself for where you are right now. I know it’s hard, but if you are listening to my podcast then I believe you want to live a better life…and this is the first step in doing that. You cannot expect to find happiness and peace amidst anger and resentment. Let it go!
Find a mantra to repeat whenever you feel the anger taking over. Even a simple: ” I forgive you” that you can repeat out loud or to yourself, everytime your mind goes back to that negative space.
Don’t stop! Keep repeating until you live it! Remember, our brains are powerful and will believe whatever you feed them. If you speak positive, then your brain will follow your lead. Keep at it. Reach out to me to let me know how it’s going.
It won’t be easy, but good things take hard work. Your spoils await you on the other side of forgiveness. Keep at it, I know you can do it!
It’ll be well worth your time and energy now. Believe in yourself, believe in a better tomorrow! Start TODAY!!!
As always,
Be Healthy,
Be Happy,
Be YOU!!!
Much love,
Angie
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If you can dream it, you can do it.
We’ve all heard that saying before and maybe even been told that by someone trying to cheer you on. It’s true, to an extent. Dreams become reality when we have the vision to imagine them, and the mental and physical strength to follow through to accomplish them. Dreams aren’t easy to accomplish, but they are attainable with the right tools to get you from point A to point B.
Once I knew I was going to amputate my leg I knew I needed to set my sights on goals and dreams that would help me heal and live my life. I created a vision board that my PT suggested so I had inspiration every day to accomplish my goals, and my “whys” for setting them.
This is an example of my vision board that I looked at every day for months prior to my amputation. I was feeding my brain positive signals about the plans I had for my body after the trauma. What we tell ourselves fuels our brain to follow suit. Mindset is based on positive thoughts, positive talk, and mental strength. If you feed your mind negativity, you won’t see anything but negative. If you feed your mind positive messages and possibilities for success, you’ll find success knocking at your door.
I don’t know about you but I want to live a full, healthy, happy and fulfilling life. If you’re not living that kind of life right now, ask yourself, “What’s holding me back?” I bet it’s negativity, excuses, and lack of planning.
You can do this! You need to dare to dream. DREAM BIG!!! don’t shortchange yourself or your life. You want something? You want to achieve a goal? Go after it!
It’s time to create your own vision board. Take a look at mine above, google search Vision Boards and see other examples. Then set out to create your very own. Dare to dream. Dream big and don’t limit yourself. Put it all on the table, no matter how big or small the dream. Add quotes that motivate you. Add pictures of you getting back to your activity that you once did, or pictures of an activity you want to try. Throw on some pictures of your “whys” as I have found that doing it for myself is good but accomplishing something for a bigger picture is even better. My example was skiing. I wanted to ski again for my boys and husband. My husband and I always talked about skiing after he retired and I wasn’t going to let losing my leg get in the way of our youthful dreams.
Once you’ve created your board, place it somewhere you will see every morning and every evening to keep you motivated!
You’ve got this! I know you can do it. Believe in yourself.
And as always,
Be Healthy,
Be Happy,
Be YOU!!!
Much love,
Angie
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Hi there! Remember me?😉
I’m back from a much-needed break and ready to bring you some amazing episodes! Won’t you join me by subscribing to my website, podcasts, or YouTube channel??
Here we are 3 1/2 years after my ELECTED amputation and I had someone ask me, “How hard was it for you to decide to amputate? Because I’m about there, myself, and I’m scared.”
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I’m back after a much needed 3-week break. Traveling is so much fun but can be really hard when you’re dealing with a “disability”. I’m going to take you through my vacation, what I packed, how I adapted, and the pitfalls- because of course, there are always a few. If you’re planning on traveling anytime soon or you wished you could travel but you think it’ll be too hard in your circumstance listen in today and hopefully you’ll feel ready to tackle that vacation sooner than you thought and with confidence!
This trip was a biggie. We were gone almost 2 weeks, stayed in 6 different places, walked miles upon miles, battled Disney goers, high humidity, and major storms. We saw towns from Civil War era, ate regional foods, visited old plantations, swam in the sea and visited another country. It was amazing, but it had it’s tricky moments for me, as an amputee, and pushed me to my physical limits on a daily basis…. and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I am grateful to be able to walk again, enjoy family rides at Disney and Universal, play on the beaches, and feel the complete exhaustion from a day filled with miles and miles of walking.
Attitude is what allowed me to push forward and being prepared for all sorts of pitfalls gives me a better chance of enjoying my time as we traveled. 
Make traveling a little bit easier by making a check list of all the items you would need for your journey. Make sure you include all the items you would need in case of an emergency. Plan for every situation you can foresee happening, and you’ll be well prepared to enjoy your trip.
Once you create a complete list of items you’d need for any situation then you can print and laminate it. Place it where you can use it for each trip and use dry erase markers to check off the items as you pack them. Never leave home without your essentials again!
And as always,
Be Healthy,
Be Happy,
Be YOU!!!
Much love,
Angie