I see a therapist every other week and in between sessions I keep a list of things I want to discuss with her. After the appointment, I move those items we covered down and add things as they come up for the next visit. After a few months had passed in 2017 I realized that the listing had become an account of action I had taken, issues I had addressed.
One of the biggest struggles I have faced since my vision loss is my tendency to downplay my achievements. I am inclined to just keep moving and if there is any reflection at all it still often lies in a comparison to how I would have accomplished a task when fully sighted as opposed to recognizing how far I’ve come since I was totally blind. I think all of us are so busy we don’t have the time or energy to think about all we have done, until a birthday or anniversary or new year rolls around. And then we jump to conclude that 365 days have passed with nothing to show for it. Which, of course, is never the case.
Maybe doing something similar to what I have stumbled upon would help you to acknowledge all you have tackled during a period of time. If you work from a To Do List as most of us do, instead of crossing something out once you’ve finished it (does anything feel as good as that?), move it or mark it in such a way s that it remains visible to you. This way you will have a record of what you probably don’t even realize you have done. It will be there. Take it from someone who knows: anytime you can see something you couldn’t see before it’s a beautiful thing.
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