Disabled job seekers heard about the transformative power of positivity while at the Disability Resource Fair in Gibsons on Sept. 29, put on by the Open Door Group.
Guest speaker Sarah Doherty, a former U.S. national disabled ski team member and creator of Sidestix, gave a talk that detailed how she turned setbacks into wins through finding the positive.
Doherty lost her right leg at the age of 13, when she was riding her bike and a drunk driver hit her. She could have let the event define her in a negative way but instead she focused on what she could do, rather than what she couldn’t.
“The only constant thing in life is change,” Doherty said, “but also the only constant choice one has is in their attitude and it’s attitude that really determines one’s ability to cope, to adapt and to basically have a really good quality of life.”
She said she didn’t want to make people think she was constantly positive, however. “I’ve certainly got behind some large, dark rocks but I have been able to get out from under those things and discover my basic positive attitude,” Doherty said.
That attitude carried her when she first lost her leg as a teen and her large family (Doherty has eight siblings) expected her to get by on her own as much as possible.
She had to learn how to function again but decided to focus on what she could do, rather than what she couldn’t, which eventually led her to join the national disabled ski team.
In order to be active in other ways, Doherty realized she needed some tools and over several years and trials she created Sidestix, an adaptable forearm crutch that can be used on any terrain.
With one of her prototypes, Doherty became the first amputee to ever climb Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.
She said none of the great things she’s accomplished in life would have been possible without positivity. “I think a positive attitude really expands your view on life, it gives you peripheral vision to see more choices and to see really innovative ways you can adapt,” she said.
She encouraged those at the Disability Resource Fair to consider the power of positivity.
“I think adapting really is about looking at more possibilities, seeing that the only choice you really have is a better attitude. You can make life less hard by figuring out ways you can leverage what’s going on in your life,” she said.
In addition to Doherty’s talk, guests toured a number of booths from organizations like Community Living B.C. and the Community Resource Centre to learn about ways organizations could support them in their search for meaningful employment.
