LIFE’S ONLY DISABILITY: A BAD ATTITUDE

Courtesy of Aish.com

Life’s Only Disability: A Bad Attitude

A short video about 21 year old Matthew Jeffers, who wrote the following heartfelt letter entitled “A Reason To Win” to the Ravens football team during their slump, encouraging them to go on and win:

"My name is Matthew Jeffers. As my favorite team continues to battle through tough losses and heated criticism, allow me to share some thoughts with you. You are in uncharted territory. You have had the gift and pleasure of consistently winning for years. You have maintained a level of professionalism and inspiring play for so long that we fans have lost touch with what it feels like to have our feet in the mud. And I'm sure it is an even worse feeling for you, the ones on the field, than it is for the ones in the stands. So, how can you get out of the mud?

   "Allow me to let you in on a little secret. Life doesn't care about streaks. It does not care about three-game losing streaks or four-game win streaks. It does not care if you want to win or if you need to win. At the end of the day, life seems to be simply unfair. We don't understand why G-d puts us where we are and why we are tested with various problems, adversities and tragedies. But we need to come to accept them.

    "I am short-statured. I am 21 years old, but I stand only at 4'2". Over my lifetime, I have endured 20 surgeries, some small, others life-threatening. I have had a tracheotomy, I have had blood transfusions. I have spent summers in a hip spica cast (a body cast used to immobilize the hip and thighs in order to prepare for a serious surgery), and I've had to learn how to walk again. My last surgery was in 2003, and I acquired the naive mindset that I was free from the bondage of heartache. I had the mindset that I had 'done my time. 'And then, in February of 2011, my mother was diagnosed with a. stage-4 brain tumor. As I write this, the doctors are determining whether or not the next step should be hospice care.

"So you tell me: Is life fair? When you give every ounce you have, and all you have to show for it is a loss in overtime, is that fair? When families in Newtown, CT, go into their child's room but have no child to kiss good night, is that fair?

"We live in a world with much pain in it. No doubt about it. But let me tell you this: The only disability in life is a bad attitude. Let me say that again: The only disability in life....is a bad attitude.

"A positive attitude is the most powerful combatant to life's misfortune. It is the will to fight, to survive, to win. It is the secret weapon I use, and I think I'm turning out okay. When you play your next game, let it not be to win a division or to silence the critics or prove somebody wrong or end a losing skid. Let it be a simple dedication to that basic yet powerful notion that life can be conquered with the right outlook. And I promise you, I promise you that everything else will take care of itself. "