Keeping Up Your Morale–A Post from Audacity Magazine

July 30, 2020

Nathasha Alvarez is the founder of Audacity Magazine, one of my favorite publications, and she is someone I made friends with along the way.  She herself uses a wheelchair, but she doesn’t let that or anything else get in her way. In times past, I did some writing for her on her magazine, but today, I want to highlight a recent article that she wrote about how she keeps up her own morale in this time of pandemic and social hysteria. I am quoting the whole article, below.

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Remember—If I can do it, you can do it, too!

With love, compassion, and courage, I remain

Karen Lynn-Chlup

Now, let’s hear from Nathasha:

How are you? I’d ask you where you’ve been but if you are like me, you have been home for a very long time now. 

Have you noticed that when it comes to wearing a mask, we are told that it will help save the elderly and the disabled? You would think that this would be a great reason to wear the mask. But people aren’t willing to wear them. We can go into their arguments about freedom to do what they want with their own bodies so they don’t want to wear the masks. However, many of us hear “You don’t care about the disabled and the elderly. You only care about yourself.”

That’s exactly what we hear when people refuse to wear the masks. For many of us, it’s not a surprise that we are not being considered worthy of living. There are hundreds of articles about this topic. 

I am not going to deal with that because I have to focus on my morale. How do I keep myself positive and looking forward to the future when a majority of society including the government doesn’t really see us as worthy to live much less survive Covid-19? 

The answer is simple but not easy especially when you feel really low. You have to feed your morale the way you feed your body. You can’t deprive your body of necessary nutrients and expect it to be at its best. 

How do I feed my morale? 

“cheesy self talk”

I’ve been doing that since I was a little girl. People wonder why I think I am so gorgeous. It’s because I have been telling myself that since I was a little girl. I learned that from my mom. I looked in the mirror after getting ready for the day and I would say, “Gosh you look great!” 

I can’t even go to a department store without looking at myself in those mirrors that are all over the place and smile at myself or wink at myself. 

It might be conceited but I live in a world that doesn’t see a three feet tall female in a wheelchair as a sex symbol so if I might as well be one to me. I take care of my looks for me. I pamper myself for me. If I don’t love me, how can someone else love me for me? 

But that’s not all…

I listen to people who have been to the bottom and made it to the top. Their stories fuel me. They give me inspiration. Lately, I’ve been watching GoalCast videos in the morning while I exercise. It helps my morale. I realize that I am not alone when it comes to struggle, strive, and success. We all have a story.

Journaling

I am building my success story one audacious moment at a time. Like many stories, if there is no conflict, it can get boring. So I am happy when I must face a challenge because once I deal with it, I can add it to my success story. 

I don’t compare myself to others. The only time it happens is when people point out my differences. Now I wear my differences proudly. 

Every day, I feed my morale a good serving of self love, motivation and challenges to overcome. 

It’s a healthy diet. One that I need when I have to hear people say that disabled people aren’t worthy of saving during this pandemic. 

What do you do to keep your morale up? 

I’d love to add it to my list. 

Thanks for being here! 

Love, 

Nathasha 

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Keep smiling! 

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One comment on “Keeping Up Your Morale–A Post from Audacity Magazine
  1. Kathryn Kramer says:

    The article reminds me of the self-celebration near the close “Margarita with a Straw,” a film from India. It’s a slow start but I highly recommend it.
    Hundreds of my students have enjoyed it!

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