"Where?" you might ask? Right where you are.
hi!
I'm Sarah, Vertical Blonde, and I've been there.
Maybe you're discouraged, or struggling to make your goals reachable while living with a disability. Maybe fitness is a challenge or just being a self advocate.
I'm here to tell you there is hope! My story is here to inspire and encourage you to transform your obstacles into opportunities!
Join me in this journey redefining our circumstances and growing vertically!
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Sarah Foley is a writer, transformational speaker, Tony Robbins Breakthrough coach and creator of The Icon Collective
Don't ask "Why me?".
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Instead ask, "What's Next?!"
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YOU MAY HAVE HEARD MY STORY HERE!
MY STORY
Turning Obstacles into Opportunities
I am just a girl chasing my dreams and trying to get out of my own way to get there. I grew up feeling really pulled to be in front of an audience, but with nothing to really talk about. I love the feeling I get from watching others light up and knew I had a light inside of me that was waiting to be ignited.
In 2012, life literally flipped me upside down. While riding on ATV’s with my boyfriend of 6 months, I went off the trail, hit a ditch and flipped over several times. I broke my back, paralyzing me instantly. I was in disbelief it happened, but I figured I would walk out of the hospital. To my utter surprise, I didn’t. My body had not regained feeling or function below my ribcage and it was time to go home.
" In 2012, life literally flipped me upside down."
Over the next four years I desperately tried to stay strong, but the truth was I was dying behind closed doors. I constantly heard I was everyone’s inspiration, and I was just trying to get through the day without peeing my pants or breaking down in tears. I married that boyfriend, had a son, and we had a lot of fun, yet it was when life took us to Maui that I started to heal.
I had finally hurt long enough and was ready to make a shift. I began diving into therapy, actually facing what had happened instead of pretending it didn’t. I found a therapist who practiced IFS, Internal Family System, and I worked to unpack the feelings, emotions, hurts and traumas of my life. The pressure of trying to avoid all of these heavy things was weighing me down. Once I moved towards healing and acceptance, the pressure lifted.
" I realized accepting what had happened didn't mean I couldn't get better, it simply meant I accepted the fact it happened which opened me up to deciding what I wanted to do with it."
I realized accepting what had happened didn’t mean I couldn’t get better, it simply meant I accepted the fact it happened which opened me up to deciding what I wanted to do with it. I dove into physical fitness and reframed my relationship with my body. I began loving my body, taking care of it, nourishing it and doing things that gave me vitality. I took back my power of deciding what kind of relationship I wanted to have with it, and the universe provided all of the right people to guide me in this journey. I met a trainer, therapist, life coach, aerial dance instructor, support groups and personal development communities.
I had an incredible mind and body transformation. After posting my before and after photos, the messages began pouring in from other female wheelchair users desperately wanting to know how to get rid of their wheelchair tummies and feel beautiful in their own skin. The Disability Icon Adaptive Fitness program was born, and the program itself has gone through its own Vertical journey. It is now an easy to use app, offers weekly group coaching calls and a private Facebook group. The very best part is the women that truly make the program successful.
These are the real icons of what life can look like with a disability. They are joyful, self-aware, empowered and wanting to change not only their own lives, but the lives of women like them. There is nothing more beautiful than feeling seen, supported and accepted by another woman who just gets it. The community is growing and taking on a life of its own.
The personal development work I’ve put into myself and taught to others is what I’m crazy passionate about. The Vertical Mindset is realizing we get to use all of our circumstances to our advantage once we choose to heal and accept them.
We elevate our lives by going inward and listening to the voice within, trusting ourselves and taking the next right step towards the life we want. What if everything in your life was placed there by perfect design? What if everything that felt like was going wrong, was so right? It is by shifting our perspective in this way, that our entire world opens up!
" The Vertical Mindset is realizing we get to use all of our circumstances to our advantage once we choose to heal & accept them."
We elevate our lives by going inward and listening to the voice within, trusting ourselves and taking the next right step towards the life we want. What if everything in your life was placed there by perfect design? What if everything that felt like was going wrong, was so right? It is by shifting our perspective in this way, that our entire world opens up!
I have chosen to view all of my circumstances as stepping stones towards the life I want. I have learned the most important person to listen to, respect and make proud is myself.
I have made the very conscious decision that it does not matter what happens in my life, it is how I choose to show up and the woman I become in the process that will define my life.
My disability has made me who I am. It has made me an incredible mother, it has shifted how I show up in all of my relationships and it was the catalyst towards living the life I was meant to live.
I believe that for you too. I believe with healing, acceptance, choosing to only see solutions and possibilities, and choosing who you want to be, will open you up to the life you were made for.
You were put on this earth with passions and struggles which create your purpose. It is often through our pain where our purpose is born. Choose to use it all to your advantage and choose to Live Vertically!
" I believe healing, acceptance and choosing, will open you up to the life you were made for."
The Vertical Mindset is realizing we get to use all of our circumstances to our advantage once we choose to heal & accept them.
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Ready to join me?
Start with the Vertical Mindset!
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READ THE BLOG
Live It Up Vertical Blog
My blog is not just about living life in a wheelchair, its about living life without letting it hold me back.
Check out my blog for practical tips on overcoming your obstacles, having hope, and so much more!
