Lessons from Beethoven: Disability Is Not Inability

Life can be unfair and saddle you with a disability that turns your world upside down. However, you shouldn’t throw your hands up in despair as you can trounce over the limitation and lead a good life. In Sydney, people can enjoy the benefits of disability support.

No one lends credence to the adage that disability is not inability. Gleaning from the life of Ludwig Van Beethoven, his lack of hearing did nothing to suppress his musical talent. Although he didn’t start deaf, he started losing his hearing at around the age of 26 and was almost totally deaf at the age of 44. His deafness didn’t cause him to despair; he went on to become one of the greatest musicians of all time.

Reconcile with Your Situation

Accepting such a life-changing occurrence is a bitter pill to swallow even for the toughest people in the world. It took Beethoven up to four years to come out clean about his worsening problem. In the two years following the onset of his deafness, he shunned social gatherings because he didn’t want people discovering his secret.

After all, he was a musician, and hearing is crucial to the ability to compose and perform. Nevertheless, he found the courage to confront his disability and soldier on with his music. His illness might have dealt him a terrible blow, but that didn’t stop him from creating beautiful music that still lives on today.

Learn New Skills

smiling man in a wheelchair

As Beethoven grew old, his hearing ability deteriorated, forcing him to rethink the way he composed music. During his early days, when he had the full range hearing abilities, he used higher notes. As his hearing deteriorated, Beethoven shifted to lower notes that he could hear more clearly.

Such transitions indicate the ability of the human mind to adapt and learn new skills even after suffering great misfortunes. With a little effort, you can overcome any disability that you might be grappling with and learn new skills. The process of learning a new or different set of skills might be uncomfortable but will pay off in the end.

Keep a Positive Attitude

Learning experts extort the brain’s ability to learn new skills regardless of age. Beethoven yet again embodies the saying “What your mind can conceive, you can achieve.” His housekeeper revealed that as his hearing deteriorated, Beethoven would sit at the piano with a pencil in the mouth.

He would touch one end of the pencil to the soundboard of the piano to feel the vibration of the notes. His strategy worked out quite well as high notes returned to his compositions later in life, suggesting that his imagination took over from his fading hearing. With a healthy and positive attitude, you can push your learning abilities to unprecedented levels and achieve great things in your life.

When life deals you a terrible hand, you shouldn’t curl into a ball and mope about it. You can take the lemons and make them into a spectacular range of lemonade that will have people marvelling at your abilities. With a great attitude and proper training, you can overcome any form of disability and achieve great things in your life.

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