I just came across this story about Olympic athlete Monique Vandervorst who won two silver medals in Bejing as a paralympian cyclist. She was paralyzed from the hips down since the age of 13. Apparently, last year, she fell off her wheelchair in an accident, and it unparalyzed her. Yes, you read that right.

Click on the story to see the photos of Monique standing proud and talking about competing as a fully able athlete in the 2016 games.

The story is nothing short of a miracle. And it’s just another reminder that sometimes in life, the impossible is possible. Sometimes people survive fatal illnesses. Sometimes people who are paralyzed walk. Sometimes people who can’t win, win. Sometimes things that seem unreachable—like love and dreams and hopes and happiness—can be reached.

The next time you’re talking about love or life or a dream you want to pursue and think, “This will never happen,” do yourself a favor: think again. Sure, sometimes the chances are slimmer than a lottery winning, but they are possible.

If it helps, think of it the way Jim Carrey’s character Lloyd does in Dumb and Dumber when Mary, the girl he loves, says the chances that he and she might end up together aren’t good.

Lloyd: “You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?”

Mary: “I’d say more like one out of a million.”

Lloyd: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”

That, my friends, is an optimist. And it’s the best way to see your path ahead if you want great things to happen. Your success in life and love depends on how you see your search. So from now on, stop thinking about how unlikely it could be that you’d get what you want. Focus on the fact that while you don’t know where it may be coming from or how it may happen, it is possible. Anything, really, is possible. Do you have one microscopic smidgen of belief that what you want can happen? A smidgen is all you need.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to let Monique’s story propel me. Reach for the impossible. You just might get it.

You might also like:
Vitamin Optimism: Lean on Faith

Big love,

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 12:40 am and is filed under Optimisms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.