By Bob Lyons; Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor, 10-1990

After prayer and reflection, I have decided that my accident is a continual challenge to improve myself. Only by the Grace of God, I have noticed gradual, yet steady improvements in the cognitive, emotional, physical, social and spiritual aspects of my wonderful, at certain times challenging life. My plan is to always try my very best in every situation I face. This way I will be showing God by my actions just how grateful I am to still being alive! 

Since my nearly-fatal closed head-injury in 1990, logic tells me that I am not that person I was. However, I have absolute confidence in my God-given abilities that God has spared me for a reason, perhaps many good reasons. So I have decided that I will try my very best to constantly be both evaluating and, where possible, improve my life. 

I have been keeping a daily journal since 1986. As a Certified Public Accountant, I used this to record billings, addresses, appointments. Due to my injury I will be required to take anti-seizure medication for the rest of my life. Each & everyday, I plan what I hope to accomplish that day. I consider myself to be an organized person. Awhile back I developed a system of organization, which vastly improves my organization. Basically it is this: I will write down various activities and tasks that I have hoped to accomplish that day.

During the day, I will glance at my Day-timer (my daily journal), & I will update the listing of activities I hoped to achieve that day. I will show that I have done something by entering an actual checkmark besides the entry. Toward the end of my day, I will review my journal. If I haven’t done something that day, I will put a circle besides it. I will then turn the page & write down to do it tomorrow. Every evening just before I say my evening prayers & go to sleep, I will write near the bottom of my journal, my “fraction of accomplishment.” Using this system, I get a good feel for what I did that day, as well as have activities planned for tomorrow. This system is one of the many ideas God has shown me to make subtle, yet still significant improvements in my life.