What I Learned About Limitations From My Friend in a Wheelchair

The truth is we all have limitations in life.

For some of us, these are physical limitations. Maybe an injury, for example, or a birth defect. For others, limitations are more emotional, spiritual or mental. Some limitations are self-imposed and some of them are put on us by something outside of us.

Either way, We can have two approaches to limitations. We can either let them define us or we can choose to overcome them to achieve the things we desire.

Take Jordan, for example.

I first met Jordan when she attended our Storyline Conference last year. It was part of what was, for her, an epic journey from Orlando, Florida to San Diego, California. For most people, getting on a cross-country flight wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

But it was for Jordan.

This was the first time Jordan had flown in ten years.

Jordan was born with a neuromuscular atrophy disease that began to show its face when she was six years old. Over the last 18 years, she has dealt with the slow loss of the major functions in her body. Which, among other things, has left her confined to a wheelchair.

Traveling is not easy for Jordan.

It involves being carried down the jetway to her seat and finding a way to load her $30,000 wheelchair under the plane.

If anybody understands limitations, it’s Jordan. But this is what makes her story so inspiring.

At a new year’s party with her friends, Jordan decided this year she wanted to travel across the country to the west coast, where she was born. As part of that trip, they wanted to attend the Storyline Conference in San Diego.

When I met Jordan in person, I nearly cried.

First of all, I realized how many “limitations” I claim in my own life that aren’t really limitations at all. If Jordan could overcome her physical limitations to get to the conference—as well as her anxieties about flying—why was I wasting time complaining about things like bad traffic or a full schedule?

Second, it made me think about how even the things in our lives that really do limit us (Jordan can’t get out of her wheelchair, for example, without significant help) can become the most extraordinary parts of our stories if we allow them.

It’s really a matter of attitude.

And Jordan had one of the best attitudes of anyone I’ve ever met.

I will never forget the story of Jordan flying all the way across the country to come to the Storyline Conference. Her story reminds me of the stories of so many who come together each year to learn how to live a better story.

What would it look like for you to take a risk, despite your limitations?

Even seemingly small decisions can have big results.

For more about Jordan’s story, check out this short (20 minute) video.

Join us at Storyline Conference this year, despite your limitations. We’d really love to have you.

What I Learned About Limitations From My Friend in a Wheelchair is a post from: Storyline Blog