• I have POWER, do you?

Andrea Buening

Survivor

May 16, 1997

– Car wreck – brain injury/shattered hip

– 7 week coma

– I didn’t drive for 3 years

– I didn’t work for 3 years

– I didn’t know my limitations

– I didn’t know my strengths

– I didn’t know how to make good decisions

– I had a guardian for 5 years

–I was full of fear

Build YOUR Confidence

Whether you have a guardian or not!

Learn to make good decisions.

A guardian can protect you.

Your guardian can teach you.

They need to be honest with you. EXPECT IT

and listen!

You should be allowed to make mistakes and

practice while gaining ability.

Help paying bills

Go shopping

Become aware of your situation

Learn how to ask for things and be assertive

Assertiveness is a lifelong struggle

Making good decisions is a struggle

All people are different.

Every Brain Injury is

different. My Life with a brain injury is not YOUR life

with a brain injury.

We started out as different people and we all

have different things that motivate us.

SO

DO YOU WANT TO BE ALL THAT

YOU CAN BE?

Your attitude can determine your

ALTITUDE

MOTIVATION

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.Arthur Ashe

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.

Robert H. Schuller

Preparation

“BY FAILING TO PREPARE,

YOU ARE PREPARING TO FAIL,” Benjamin Franklin

What sparks your interest?

You command your destiny. It’s up

to YOU to make the

choices that will make

YOU happy!

Do you want to enjoy

your life?

What things do you like to

DO?

Do you like to do them alone or

with a group?

What things do you want to

learn to do?

Having a brain injury doesn’t mean

you can’t learn. So, find

SOMETHING that you can be

passionate about!

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll

end up someplace else.”

Yogi Bera

Planning

FamilyYou knew the person before.

Do you feel they are totally different?

THAT’S BECAUSE THEY ARE!

Are there things that your survivor did before for fun that they might still be able

to do?

What opportunities can you encourage your survivor to try?

What excites your survivor?

PERSISTENCE

“Good intentions might sound nice, but it’s positive actions that matter.” -Tim Fargo

Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there. -Bo Jackson

Even if we have a GUARDIAN, we

still have choices.

POSITIVE choices create positive outcomes

We HAVE to keep our minds active

Your mind needs exercise

Exercising our minds wears us out

Play cards, board games, crossword puzzles, chess, SEQUENCE, and trivial pursuit. Any games! Computer games work too but we don’t all have computers.

EVERY day

Make a schedule for the next day KEEP IT WITH YOU and mark off things as they are completed

Go to bed at the same time

Wake up at the same time

Get some exercise in the morning!

Think Good things, not bad things

AccountabilityTakes courage

“accepting responsibility for YOUR behaviors and mistakes rather than pointing fingers at

someone else.“

• Accepting responsibility for your behavior– No more excuses

– Accept the consequences of the choices you make

– If you don’t like the consequences, change your behavior

• Meeting/exceeding expectations– Know what is expected.

– Meet/exceed these expectations.

– Volunteer to assist whenever possible.

– Encourage feedback on how you are doing.

– Use the feedback offered to improve performance

AccountabilityTakes motivation

“accepting responsibility for YOUR behaviors and YOUR mistakes rather than pointing fingers at

someone else.“

• Admitting your mistakesDo you accept responsibility for your mistakes or

do you blame others?

DO NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP!

• Admitting your limitations of knowledge.People attempt to "fake it" when it would be in

their best interest to admit, "I don't know the answer, but I will find out."

Roadblocks To Success

and How To Overcome Them

Fear• What are you afraid of

today?

• Confront it

• Take an action

• And FREE yourself

No Goals• Know Your Passion

• Find your purpose

Lack of Energy• Create Energy by:

• Exercising daily

• Doing the things you love to do

• Resting enough

No motivation to be better than where you are

• Define Complacency• If you don’t like where you

are, YOU must change it (any way you can)

• Strive for excellence

EVEN IF IT’S HARD, force yourself to be aware of yourself, your needs, and your surroundings.

Roadblocks To Success

and How To Overcome Them You have CHOICES!

If you are in a Bad ENVIRONMENT• You can surround

yourself with support,

take criticism as guidance and think about it.

• Control the amount of doom

and gloom in your life –ATTITUDE is a choice

Take care of your HEALTH• Exercise daily

• Eat a well balanced diet

• Join a health club/apply for

a scholarship

If you had bad experiences during childhood

• Anyone can overcome their childhood

Be around people who are positive role models

• Study their behaviors• Change your behavior that

you know is unacceptable

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF!

Roadblocks To Success

and How To Overcome Them

PROCRASTINATION

Spoils one’s chances of success

Waiting for the “time to be right”

Don’t wait! The time will never be “just right.”

Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have.

LACK OF PERSEVERENCE

Most people are good “starters”

• We can be poor “finishers” of what we begin

• People are prone to give up at the first signs of defeat

• Don’t stop or resign yourself to defeat

Roadblocks To Success

and How To Overcome Them

Having a NEGATIVE PERSONALITY You have power to share, so use your winning/positive

personality instead of negative character.

You DESIRE TO GET “SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.”

Progress takes WORK

You might sit on your sofa wishing for a million dollars 23 hours of every day. You might not pay your bills. You lose your house due to non-payment and you get hungry. People don’t get something for nothing.

Desire is necessary but it is only the beginning – an action plan as well as ACTION are both essential

Roadblocks To Success

and How To Overcome ThemLACK OF ABILITY TO MAKE A DECISION

People who succeed know there are no failures – only

tests.

People with brain injuries need to think before they act

and talk over decisions with someone they trust

INABILITY TO TAKE RISKS

The person who makes no decisions, takes whatever is

left by default. By NOT choosing, you ARE choosing to

let someone else choose for you. Over-caution is as bad

as under-caution.

What to do: Make small decisions first. Remember, there

are no failures!

Roadblocks To Success

and How To Overcome Them

LACK OF CONCENTRATION OF EFFORT

What to do: With laser focus, continue on that

path that brings you happiness

Don’t get sidetracked

LACK OF ENTHUSIASM

Are you a happy person?

Do you try hard to succeed?

What do you do that makes YOU happy?

Roadblocks To Success

and How To Overcome ThemINTOLERANCE

When a person is unwilling to accept new beliefs, ideas, beliefs and behaviors

How can we expect others to be tolerant with us if we aren’t tolerant with them?

Be open to any idea, statement, judgment, or opinion that comes your way.

Respecting what someone else believes doesn’t mean you believe the same things. Always be open to alternative views. You just might learn something about yourself along the way

GUESSING INSTEAD OF THINKING

People don’t work to find facts and seem lazy

People prefer to act on opinions

Check your facts and do your research.

Thinking is your most powerful tool because what you think, you will be!

SUCCESS!

• “Success is getting what you want,

happiness is wanting what you get”

― W.P. Kinsella

ResourcesMaria Romano

• http://givebackorlando.com/resources.html

Brain Injury Association of Missouri, Caregiving

• http://www.biausa.org/brain-injury-family-caregivers.htm

The Independent Living Center

• http://www.ilcenter.org/

LIFE, by Andrea Buening

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_motivational4.html

Your turn!