by Linda G. Tessler, Ph.D., Psychologist, Bryn Mawr, PA

5. Create Balance
Situation
You're working so hard at living with your learning difference, you are forgetting to just live.

What can you do? What must you do?      Answer: Create Balance In Your Life.

Like everyone else, you need to eat well, exercise, develop hobbies, feel passionate about things, spend time with friends, keep appointments, and just live life. Because of the slow, laborious pace of working and living activities that serve the mind occupy a disproportionate amount of time. You must make equal time to nourish your emotional self.

Three principles that are important to creating balance:

1. To achieve, we need to organize. Disorganization costs time and increases stress. Since it's overwhelming to tackle all aspects of disorganization at once, work on one problem area at a time. Develop a system of organization you can maintain. For some individuals, organization can only be achieved with a professional coach.

2. Do your most difficult or unpleasant tasks first. For example, students should do homework before watching TV. Also be aware of your high and low energy periods during a day. Do your most difficult task first. As much as possible, do your hardest tasks first during your high energy hours.

3. Individuals with learning differences walk a "frustration tightrope." Frustration is a motivator when it inspires you to work hard and to keep trying new ways to solve problems and handle difficult situations. On the other hand, if you encounter too much frustration, you're bound to give up. You need to strike a balance on this frustration tightrope. Each person must find his or her equilibrium; the level of frustration that spurs you to challenge yourself.

In Conclusion

Living with a learning disability is not easy. The above "cues" are guiding suggestions to help manage the endless obstacles that school, work and daily life place in your way. They are not a cure-all; nor are they a salve for the many pains and pitfalls you encounter. They are, however, based on years of study and personal experience living with a learning disability. They are presented with the absolute conviction that every person with a learning difference can achieve their potential.

Take a look again at these five cues: Take Action; Prioritize and Pace Yourself; Maintain a Support System; Look Inside - Like What You see; create Balance. It should be clear these cues are applicable to everyone and anyone. Those of us with learning difficulties face the same challenges as everyone else. The intensity of these obstacles is a matter of degree. The way we overcome them is a matter of personal style. One of the gifts of a learning disability is that if we manage it, it will make us stronger.

REFERENCES

Erikson, Erik H. Childhood and Society W. W. Paton & Company Inc. New York, NY 1963

Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Corey Learning Center 1989

Goleman, Daniel Emotional Intelligence Renaissance, Los Angeles, CA 1995

Tessler, Linda G. Descriptions of Characteristic and Coping Strategies of Nine Famous Self-Perceived Dyslexics. Bell & Howell Information Company Ann Arbor Michigan 1988

©Copyright Tessler, Summer, 1998

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