THE STRENGTH OF MY

By: Vahen King

The truth is we just want to show strengths. Our value is often attached to how many views or likes we receive. We want to ensure that our Facebook post and insta-story capture our best smile or thrilling adventure. It’s a picture-perfect world, and we only want to portray this résumé full of all our strengths and “filtered truths.” What if I told you that your weakness could actually be your most powerful strength?

Ever since I was a little girl, I had big dreams to inspire the world. After graduating college, I received an engagement ring from the love of my life, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world, with a great future ahead of me. However, one week to the day after my prince charming proposed, my life took a drastic turn.

I was rushed to the hospital, and I started losing feeling and movement in my body rapidly. The doctors were afraid my lungs would collapse, and they would lose me. By evening, I was paralyzed from the chest down, with no use of my right arm. I was later diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, caused by a virus that attacked the myelin sheath in my spinal cord.

This virus took my independence and nearly destroyed my life. I hit rock bottom, and I hated my life, and my new identity. I was no longer able to walk or take care of myself, and dependent on the use of a wheelchair. I was now a person with a disability, wondering if my life would ever be of value and I struggled to find hope.

I tried to portray confidence, as I adapted to my new normal, by never allowing people to see how I was really feeling. Not knowing how to ask for help, I was trapped in this prison of all my fears and insecurities, and pretending I was “fine.” This mindset left me frustrated and feeling worth-less, and it was keeping me stuck. I reached a point of desperation, and I had a choice to make, to stop living or push forward and start living. And push forward I did. Was it easy? No, I assure you it was not. I hated being a person with a disability and everything that came with this life. So having people see me in a wheelchair was often more than I could handle.

Through my long journey of finding hope and courage in my life, I started to realize that I couldn’t control what happens to me, but I could control how I responded. You see, when you focus on all the things that you’re not or try to portray someone you’re not, it will always limit you, and hold you back. However, once you learn to embrace ALL of who you are, and the things you don’t like about yourself, it will enable you to maximize your potential and go farther than you ever dreamed.

I know it’s possible for you to overcome insurmountable obstacles in life, because I found the strength to overcome them in mine. I know life isn’t easy. It’s hard to push forward. But I also want you to understand that my successes were not found through highlighting my strengths or “filtering” truths, but instead by embracing my weaknesses and not being afraid to let people see the real me.

If I was still at home sitting on my couch consumed with fear or self-pity, I wouldn’t have been able to become an author or international speaker. If I continued to hate myself and not wanting people to see me in my wheelchair, I assure you, I wouldn’t have been crowned the first ever Miss Wheelchair Canada or win the prestigious title of Miss Kindness World.

Because I choose to embrace the things I didn’t like about myself, I was able to become a Model of Diversity, and win the Women of Inspiration “Influencer” award. Yes, Transverse Myelitis, was my biggest weakness, but has become my most greatest strength. What I thought was the end of my dreams, actually set me on the path to fulfilling my wildest dreams. And this is just the beginning.

It’s because of my journey of overcoming my fears and insecurities, that I realized I had this passion to help others to the same. And as a result, I founded a non-profit organization, Going Farther. I am now helping both men and women of all ages and abilities see past their self-perceived limits, embrace their weaknesses and go farther than they thought possible.

What fears or insecurities are holding you back? Do you feel trapped in trying to maintain this mask of “filtered truths”? I want to challenge you to look at the résumé of your life, with all your failures and weaknesses, and see that it holds the potential to access more strength than you even knew existed. So instead of trying to hide your weaknesses, I want to challenge you to embrace them, and you too will discover the STRENGTH of your weakness.