I have a decision to make regarding the back injury I sustained while in the Army. I have the right to appeal the Army’s finding that I was 0% disabled at the time of my discharge. There is no risk for me making this appeal – the worst that can happen is that they deny it and I’ve spent some time filling out forms.
Tonight I’d like to talk about why I don’t want to make this appeal.
Despite my back injury I am completely able to do my job. I make good money doing work I enjoy. While extra benefits would be nice, I don’t feel like I need them.
The biggest reason why I don’t want to make this appeal is that I feel that I am giving up responsibility for my life. I feel that the moment I say something like “the Army is responsible for making my life work with my injury” that I am letting go of my own responsibility. I’m worried that that simple change of mindset is enough to change the way I see the world in more situations. That I’ll be looking for more situations where I can hold someone else responsible.
Writing it out, my reasoning sounds a bit out there. It is unlikely that my personality would change like that through one decision.
But I know that if I hold on to my responsibility that I will reinforce the part of me that I want to thrive. And I firmly believe that we are all of the thousands of decisions we make a day.
Tomorrow I’ll talk through the things that make me want to make the appeal.