Today, our class was lucky enough to be visited by a very motivational man. He is a service user at Newlands Park Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre in Durban. He was admitted to Newlands due to his addiction to drugs and he is currently nearing the end his stay there. This was his first time speaking to people about his condition and he was open and honest in his delivery. I admired the way he stood up in front of a group of people he didn’t know and shared his story.
I should probably mention that at this point I am not feeling as motivated and passionate about Occupational Therapy as I have always been (Apparently, a completely common phenomenon for an OT student). I am struggling with the work and am demotivated by the lack of progression in my clients. However, after listening to the massive change that one (very small) Occupational Therapist made in this man’s life my spirits were lifted. He was a reminder of why I started studying Occupational Therapy in the first place.
More important though, were the valuable life lessons that I learnt from this man’s talk. The first lesson is we are all responsible for our lives or as he put it “our life is in our hands.” It is up to us to set goals and make the appropriate changes to achieve those goals. The second lesson is believe in yourself. He says it is important not too care too much about what people think. A skill I could definitely apply to my life. He says “if people don’t like me, it is okay, because I like me!” Food for thought indeed! I only hope that I can take a leaf from his book and apply these valuable lessons to my own life.
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