As the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games open in Vancouver, Life As A Human is proud to feature athlete Aimee Mullins’ talk at TED about embracing adversity.
American Aimee Mullins is a record-breaking Paralympic athlete (breaking sprinting records in 1996) who was born without fibular bones. As a result both her legs were amputated below the knees when she was only an infant. She has since built her career as a model, actor and women’s activist. Her passionate involvement in sports and the new generation of prosthetics has inspired her to speak to audiences about her experience with adversity and how she came to embrace it.
In her TED talk, Mullins brings forth the idea that language has a powerful influence on how we may perceive ourselves in the world. She invites us to shift our thinking in order to reshape our limiting perceptions and to embrace adversity as a blessing that helps us to discover what we are truly made of. Perhaps it is through adversity, she suggests, that we find our very sense of self.
Mullins says the empowering support of others is a contributing factor in the level of one’s success. As she states, quite beautifully, “All you really need is one person to show you the epiphany of your own power, and you’re off.” And the opposite holds true in that “the only true disability is a crushed spirit.”
I hope Aimee Mullins’ words will inspire a shift in thinking in all who watch this thoughtful video. Enjoy!
href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTwXeZ4GkzI
Photo Credit
“Aimee Mullins” © Lynn Johnson, San Diego, CA, 1997
Video Credit
Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity @ TedTalks
Recent Kylen O. Lefave Articles:
- Forgiveness: Beyond the Myths to Healing
- Mean People Suck
- How to Deal with the Stress of Living in Uncertain Times
- How to Tackle Procrastination
- My Own Personal "Cheers"
Outstanding. Wow.
Hey Kylen,
Thanks for this. It is always so inspiring, indeed humbling to hear people like Aimee Mullins. Not only does it speak powerfully about changing our limiting perceptions, it also speaks volumes about the human spirit.
I don’t know if you have heard of Nick Vujicic. He was born with no arms and no legs. Have a peek at this short video .. it always moves me very deeply and reminds me that none of us have any excuses …
http://www.synaptici.com/2009/may-you-always-finish-strong/
Thanks again Kylen for your empowering article!
Cheers,
Gil
wow! thanks for sharing this link Gil!
really helps put all of our lives into perspective, doesn’t it?
no excuses, indeed!
much bliss
~kylen