“I don’t think I can do that”

Have you ever said to yourself “I don’t think I can do that?” or what about “that is just not my gift?” We have all set limitations and goals for ourselves over the years. Goals like losing weight, finding a more fulfilling career, getting in better shape, learning about a new hobby, etc. Just as damaging of not acheiving a set goal is putting limitations on what we can do.

A great quote I read recently by the late Henry Ford is “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way, you are right.” It really comes down to what we believe we can do. It really is a matter of attitude when we are faced with situations in our lives.

When talking about goals in our lives, the great artist Michelangelo who was most famous for his paintings and sculpture said this about setting goals: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it. But, that it is too low and we reach it.”

What Matthew has and continues to teach all of us is that there seems to be no limit to what he will try to accomplish. If we relied entirely on what “the experts” had told us he would amount to, we would have reached those goals years ago and presumably be wandering around aimlessly at the present. Matthew is only as dissabled as we tell him he is. Likewise, we are only as limited as to what we will believe others tell us about ourselves. Matthew continues to defy the limitations and labels that have been put on him. Have you experienced this as well, especially if you are a parent, sibling or caregiver of someone with special needs?

Please take some time to view the video link of Matthew as he “sings” in sign language along to the opening song to his favorite DVD series called Signing Time. Matthew has learned not only how to sign, but also how to read and spell from these DVD’s. This video shows Matthew for the first time using compound words of more than two words together. Theresa could barely hold the camera as her heart was about to burts out of her chest. Even though the signs are subtle, he is clearly signing the words to the song. Celebrate with us!

There are a few other clips there that you can take a look at. The other clips are part of other stories that I will share in later postings. The link below should take you there. If it does not, cut and paste the following link to your web browser.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ourgiftmjt#p/a/u/0/0P4PWfqUbHw