Dear LoveYourBrain Community,

No matter when it happens, a brain injury feels like a setback. We had been traveling the arc of our life just fine, and suddenly it's been interrupted. In addition to the physical changes to our bodies, how we create meaning and structure also changes. What we knew and trusted about ourselves becomes uncertain. One way we can begin to restore our identity is by finding purpose.

Purpose may sound like a single, knowable thing, as if it's a destination we either reach or don't. But the finding is as important as getting to purpose itself.

Initially, we look around for something familiar to grasp onto or a new way to make sense of what happened. Sometimes we begin by remembering an activity, a skill, or a project we loved and charting a new way back to it. Or we may seek to directly confront our injury in a bold or creative way.

In all of it, we will move more slowly than before. We probably have to set different expectations. But that doesn't make each step toward reclaiming purpose any less meaningful or restorative. Quite the opposite: each step is all that matters.

This is very much the story of how LoveYourBrain came to be. In the years following my brother's TBI, we found ourselves recalibrating—seeking spaces where we could re-examine our truths, which relationships to nurture, what vulnerabilities to share, and how to connect more deeply with others who held a similar desire. To move through my family's pain—and to share that journey with others—became our purpose. 

Adam with Gabriela O'Shea who started the Expect a Bike Ahead campaign in her town to alert drivers to bikes on the road.

Since then, I've seen so many people with brain injury and caregivers within LoveYourBrain revitalized and empowered when they begin to explore their identities in this fluid way. One step at a time, we rediscover that life holds boundless possibility for new direction, meaning, and ways to relate to life.

Where are you finding purpose? Take one small step.

Adam

Adam Pearce (he/him), LoveYourBrain Co-Founder and Executive Director

Build a new foundation for finding purpose

LoveYourBrain Mindset On Your Own

Tap into your superpower: your mindset. In this self-paced version of our free six-week program, you’ll access LoveYourBrain's unique blend of meditation, yoga, and education designed for people with brain injury and caregivers.

Includes: 4 weekly emails, videos, and educational material.