“If I wait to do something until I’m motivated, I will never do it. I have to start before I feel like it and then persist.” These words were on another TBI survivor’s Facebook page and it is so true. At the last Brainstormer’s Collective many of us spoke of trying to accomplish something and then getting distracted so it never gets done.

Lately, I haven’t felt like doing anything. I’ll sit down at the computer to begin writing but stop to check Facebook for a few minutes, find an interesting article and get involved in commenting on it. Before I know it, an hour or more has past! This happens with other things as well. It doesn’t help that I have many uninteresting things to do. That’s one good thing about having a place of employment – even if you don’t want to do something, you have to do it or you’ll lose your job! I have to be more self-directed which is a challenge.

My therapist suggested I keep an item close by as a sort of memory prompt that I’ll feel better if I go ahead and do the activity. It sounded like a good idea at the time and I even thought about using a small stone for this purpose. However, I thought later, “How in the world is touching a stone going to help?”

Two days ago I was desperate so I decided to try it and it my surprise, it actually worked! Oh I still wasted time but much, much less. I have no idea why it worked but whenever I touched the stone, it reminded me to get done what I had set out to do so I could “rest my brain.”  (Deactivating Facebook helps as well.)

I do think many folks with brain injuries have to spend time “resting their brain” which our society sees as “wasting time.” I need to remember this isn’t true for me or for most folks with brain injuries. I think to a lesser extent many people need to spend time “resting their brain” which our society does not allow. I believe this is something folks with brain injuries (and other disabilities) can teach the rest of the world.