Do you approach life’s challenges from the glass is half-full or the glass is half-empty perspective? Or, are you like Jennifer’s friend Nora and think, “This isn’t the drink I ordered.”
None of us really have a choice in the challenges we face, but we all can choose how we perceive and respond to them. Call it optimism vs. pessimism. Positive vs. negative. Hopeful vs. helpless.
As we looked into launching our blog nearly 14 years ago, legendary MS blogger Michael Gerber (and our friend who passed away in 2019) taught us a priceless lesson about how to maintain an open outlook in life through the three words he used to name his blog: Perspective Is Everything.
Yes, perspective IS everything, especially when you are living with a chronic illness like MS.
Join us for this episode of A Couple Takes on MS Podcast where we discuss (note we said “discuss” and not “debate”) what it takes for each of us to stay positive in living with this disease while also granting ourselves the grace to get angry, sad and overwhelmed.
Here are the links we reference for you to follow up on:
• Talk of Toxic Positivity Was Toxic to Our Positivity – Our Multiplescerosis.net essay addressing our fear that our optimism was offending others who also are living with MS.
• Picture this: My inside look into MS, Botox and bladder control – Jennifer’s photo essay chronicling her journey to receive treatment for an MS symptom that frustrates even the most positive of people.
• Wartburg College – The institution where Dan earned his bachelor’s degree in communication arts in 1995 and will pursue his master’s degree in leadership beginning this fall.