Non-disabled people often will view someone’s success based on their job title, and although I do think that a well-paying job does make someone a success, I don’t think that alone is what makes you successful. When you are disabled, a lot of the time, you don’t have the best job because sometimes your dream career is not possible with your disability, or you may not be able to find a job easily and have to take what you can get but does that mean disabled people aren’t successful? There are a lot of different ways you can view success, and I don’t necessarily think that someone is a more successful person by their paycheck. Disabled people have to overcome things that come naturally to non-disabled people, and even though I don’t have a job, that doesn’t necessarily mean non-disabled people are more successful. I have to learn how to do almost everything in a completely different way and even though something may seem small to non-disabled people, it is a huge win for me because some things take years to learn. What does it mean to be a successful disabled person?
When you work a job even if it’s not the best one– Non-disabled people often view success in your career by how much money you make and how high your role is in the company. If you are the CEO of a company and your business is doing well, I would say you are a successful person but as a disabled person, I don’t think it stops there. When you are disabled sometimes it’s difficult to find your dream job and you have to settle for something that you don’t love and that is okay but if you are able to work a job and perform well without complaining it is a success in my book. Success isn’t only defined by your paycheck, but I actually don’t think success should be determined by how much money you make because a job even if it’s not the best one is better than none at all. If you are disabled and aren’t able to keep a job it doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t successful because some employers are ableist and will fire you for no reason but if you are lucky enough to find a decent employer and can hold a job long-term it’s a win in my book because that is not always easy to do. You don’t need to have the largest paycheck because working any job with a good attitude is always better than not having any at all and struggling to pay your bills.
How you treat people- Successful people sometimes do make a lot of money but if you are going to brag to others who make less than you, I think you are an arrogant person, and won’t necessarily see you as more successful. A successful person isn’t only defined by how much money they make but it’s also about how you treat people because if you are going to treat disabled people like they are lesser human beings you are not a successful in my book and are contributing to disability stigma. A truly successful person that cared about disabled people would not treat me like I was a lesser human being because my legs don’t work as efficiently and would talk to me like they would to a non-disabled person. The way you treat disabled people or anyone in life matters because if you are going to be rude unnecessarily you are just a mean person, but I wouldn’t necessarily agree that you are more successful than me. The most successful people in my book are humble and don’t brag about how they were able to buy three mansions today.
When you learn how to do a task independently– Disabled people sometimes need more help than non-disabled people and that is okay because sometimes your disability prevent you from doing some tasks well. You can’t change your disability and shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for help but it is rewarding when you learn how to do a task independently that you previously needed helped doing. It doesn’t have to be something big because even something as small as dressing yourself is a huge win for disabled people. Non-disabled people sometimes will have impressive college degrees that a disabled person will never have but you shouldn’t let someone’s doctorate degree make you feel bad about yourself because disabled people go through challenges in their life that non-disabled people will never experience and that should count for something.
If you did a little exercise today– When you are disabled exercise is more difficult because fitness is not accessible and even if you can find a way to exercise with your disability it is more difficult to motivate yourself to exercise when there are so many barriers. Exercise is just as important for disabled people as it would be for non-disabled people and if you were able to move today give yourself a pat on the back because it’s not easy. You don’t have to do the hardest workout on the Internet and if you were able to move your body a little more than you did yesterday it’s more progress than you would have made if you did nothing. If you are disabled, don’t compare your exercise routine to someone without a disability because that is an unfair comparison and if you were able to get some exercise in today even if it’s not as much as you would have wanted you should be proud of yourself. You are doing better than people who sat on their couch today because they were too lazy to exercise. Every workout is not going to be your best one and you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself when you can’t lift as much because some movement even if it was only five minutes is better than none.
There are a lot of different ways people can view success, and when you are disabled, it is not always defined by your paycheck, because a lot of disabled people don’t make a lot of money but that is okay as long as you can pay the bills and live comfortably. Success looks different for disabled people because a lot of us can’t work as many hours without losing our disability benefits, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that non-disabled people are more successful than we are. I have experienced more pain in a year than most non-disabled people experience in a lifetime, and I don’t complain about it constantly, which I think should be viewed as a success. I may never be rich and be able to buy a huge house with ten bedrooms like non-disabled people can but I will always be forced to work through barriers because we live in an inaccessible world, and when you are able to work through these challenges, it sometimes can feel just as much of an accomplishment as getting a college degree would. Success has many different meanings and if you were able to prevent a migraine for a week when you usually get them, you should be proud of yourself because you are obviously doing something right! How do you view success as a disabled person? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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