“You’ll Bounce Back”

The Nightmare Returns

I had 5 seizures last month within a week.  It took me over a week after that to feel like I was myself again.  During that difficult time, I questioned myself often.  I wondered if this would be the time I would never come back to normal.  There were so many voices in my head with questions. Some of those voices tried to convince me there was no hope for going back to what had been.

Words from Friends

Speaking to friends helped to create some normalcy for me but I knew in my heart they could tell I was not myself.  I decided the best thing to do was to pretend everything was going to be all right.  With some of my friends who have known me and my epilepsy for years and years, they knew from experience how to play along and I needed that.  However it seemed a little different when I got on the phone for my weekly meeting with my career accountability partner.

She and I have been successfully encouraging and each other for almost 2 years now and I can’t imagine what I would do without her.  I shared with her last month that I had experienced this disaster and that I wondered if I would be able to continue on with my speaking career.  Her response: “Don’t say that.  You’ll bounce back, you always do!”

A Surprise Result

At first I was surprised that she was not more understanding but I quickly realized that was exactly what I needed to hear.  I didn’t need someone telling me they felt sorry for me and all I had to go through.  I needed someone to remind me that they have seen me succeed through this difficulty before and they have no doubt that I will recover in full.

I replayed her response over and over in my head for the next couple of weeks.  Every day after that I seemed to see progress and now I can say that I truly feel I have “bounced back”.  I used her words to drown out the voices who wanted to give up and I am so thankful I did.

Remind Yourself

What voices are you listening to today?  Remember to listen to the voices from those who believe you will succeed and not those voices in your head who keep telling you failure is your only option.  Listening to those who believe in you is not the easy choice because the voices in your head give you an excuse to give up.  The voices who believe in you require you to do the work that leads to that success.

Remind yourself over and over while you take each small step forward after a fall, “You’ll bounce back” and you will.