Loading ...After losing the use of both of his legs in a skiing accident, Chris Waddell quickly adjusted to life as a paraplegic. His passion for skiing continued despite the injury, and within a short time, he earned a spot on the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. Waddell’s life was an inspiration to millions as he travelled the country, delivering motivational speeches, conducting interviews, and appearing on national TV shows such as “Dateline” and “Oprah.”
Challenging Assumptions
Chris now operates a foundation, One-Revolution, that exists to create social change through visibility and opportunity. Achieving that goal means doing damage to some widespread assumptions. One assumption, even if it’s never stated, goes something like this. “You are in a wheelchair. Therefore, your life is somehow worth a bit less.” We assume that we’re supposed to feel sorry for people with disabilities. We assume that we’re not supposed to stare at people with disabilities. Somehow people with disabilities cease to exist in our mind. Separation develops. Awkwardness grows. Chris Waddell’s skiing accident placed him on a journey of battling flawed assumptions and ultimately accomplishing a revolution of perception to improve people’s lifestyle.
Crossing Barriers
Chris Waddell’s life has been about crossing barriers. One barrier was obvious. “Half my body was taken away,” Chris explained. Overcoming that barrier and accomplishing amazing athletic feats has been nothing short of heroic. But Chris Waddell, like every one, had other barriers to cross, too. Kilimanjaro, although it was a physical barrier, was an experience in which Chris overcame mental barriers.
“The mountain beat me into submission,” he explained. “I intended to do it completely unassisted. But my plan didn’t work.” Those who were supporting Chris on the hike had to carry his handcycle over few dozen yards of boulders. A few dozen yards isn’t much compared with the thousands of feet that Chris ascended on his own. The experience taught Chris a lesson. “By trying to do it unassisted, it meant that I didn’t need anyone. By not needing anyone, I was just reinforcing the perception that disabled people are different—that we don’t exist.”
In Chris’s goal to flip the paradigm of disability on its head, he realized that he had succumbed to the very same assumptions that he was challenging. Although he crossed the barrier of Kilimanjaro, he also crossed a truly crippling barrier—the barrier of a flawed self-perception.
Overcoming Disability
Chris Waddell learned how to overcome disability, and his goal is to help others do the same. From Chris’s story, we understand two ways in which a person can overcome his or her disability.
First, you’ve got to have something you love. Chris had a passion. It was sports. For others it may be their children, school, a friend, or a hobby. Having something to love means having something to live for. It means having goals to achieve. It means that you have a journey to enjoy. As Chris learned on his path to the top of Kilimanjaro, it was not just about the summit. “It was easy to look at it and say, ‘The summit is all that matters.’ But, even though it sounds cliché, it really is the journey that ultimately matters.”
Second, it’s all about people. Chris Waddell tells others to surround themselves with positive influences—upbeat people who push you, encourage you, and challenge you. Life is about other people—not just an unassisted climb up a tall mountain. It’s about having other people on the journey, too.
In the end, overcoming disability isn’t just about the disability. It is what you do with what you have that is more important. “What happens to you is not as significant as what you do with what happens to you,” said Chris. Too often, we buy the line that says, “You need to accept your fate in life.” To that statement, Chris asks, “Really? Why?!” Dream. Fight. Pursue. “I went as hard as I possibly could. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to give it all I got.” That’s what Chris Waddell did on Kili. That’s what he’s been doing with his whole life.
Going Beyond Disability
Today, Chris’s life is about helping other people. One of the ways he does so is through his educational program, Nametags. Nametags is an examination of life’s labels—false labels, denigrating labels, cruel labels—that we put on others and ourselves. Disabled people wear that label—“cripple”—and all the baggage that comes with it. Chris’s goal in the Nametags program is to “start a conversation that might last a lifetime.” “Differences,” he says,” are the potential for genius, not a reason to be separate.” Chris Waddell will be speaking about Nametags at the Kids Rock The World event in Park City, Utah on May 15.
By: Daniel Threlfall
Chris Waddell
