Adjacent our
Goodwill in Ashtabula Harbor there is rather a steep bank of steps, near the
illustrious lift bridge, that lead up to Lookout Point. These steps have been newly made, but their
basic tiering
had been there even when I first came to Goodwill quite a few years ago, having
been hired to work in an instructional capacity. I would periodically take class groups on a
field trip outing to “walk the steps”—a useful aid in the natural environment
to illustrate the premise being taught: namely, how to take “one step at a time
to make it to the top,” or—in more formal language—to attain a goal.
I remember
one person in particular with whom I conducted this exercise some 20 years ago,
who had difficulty ambulating due to a traumatic brain injury (TBI, for
short). He sort of walked with a shuffle
in halting steps. He was a participant
in this group outing.
I remember he had been very
hesitant while still at the base of the steps.
Admittedly, the path to the top really did seem quite overwhelming from
that vantage point.
Now, to arrive at the crux of my
story: He was willing to try. I took his
arm and advised him to focus on one step at a time, just doing the best he
could, not particularly worrying about the classmates in advance of us.
I remember his first few steps were
halting and fearful, until he gained a sense of his footing. Then his stride became more confident. Arm-in-arm, he made slow by steady progress,
up to about the half-way point.
We paused there, and I encouraged him
to look behind him, to see how far he had come.
This was a fateful moment, because then I asked him, “Do you want to go
back down, or continue to move upward?” Even a person with a brain injury could
understand the wisdom of his choice, to want to continue the ascent, much
easier now with so much of it already accomplished.
If there is a moral to this story
with a universal application it is this: The only way for any of us to make it
to the zenith of our personal ambitions is one step at a time—and, in
actuality, that first step is often the most difficult.
We have our entire lifetime to get
there, as we choose to keep going. A
person can do this at any age, with or without a TBI.
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