Can other people’s expectations change your reality?
I just finished a recent This American Life podcast and it really touched me. As a disabled person, I could relate to the main subject of the hour, Daniel Kish… I mean, of course, in my own way. My doctors were once taken aback by the fact that I live in an apartment building with a flight of stairs I must utilize in order to get in or out.
“But, but… you have sensory deprivation and you could fall! How do you handle it?” they’d ask, alarmed.
“I walk slowly and use the railing,” I responded, repeatedly, totally nonplussed.
My reality is, no one had ever told me not, too, so I just adjusted. I never run. I step slowly, deliberately, eyes trained on each step. My expectations of needing to get in and out never changed, even though my ability has. And listening to this episode titled “Batman” has confirmed that there is A LOT OF POWER IN THINKING. Check it out: