And suddenly, I knew what I had to do. We have a running joke among my friends that, “V is always the one who is going to save the world”. (Ok, I will admit that there are a few of us that fit that description!) But it was as if the second the clock chimed midnight on the start of this brand new year, lightning struck whatever part of my brain controls that urge and sort of expanded it. I remembered all that I had done and accomplished in the first ten years post-brain injury. And then I suddenly knew that I could actually use my next ten years for the greater good. I made it to double digits post-ABI. I had lived through the unthinkable. I had literally been to the brink and… came back. Why? People actually ask me that all the time. Why would I want to come back to a world that is so divided… so hostile… and so broken?

Simple. To fix it.

In whatever small ways my single-person acts can contribute to this sense of a greater good, then I hope I will have the strength to continue on with them long past the next ten years.

And so, this is the year that the Positivity Project really gets kicked into high gear. This year, I want to take this out of just my neighborhood and immediate community, and expand it as far as I can… to other countries if possible! This is the year that I challenge every last one of you to make that difference… help your neighbor… smile more… and create a positive change in our world.

Stay tuned to http://PositivityProject.webs.com for updates throughout this year. In fact, sign up (it’s free)! Then follow the blog and contribute. Directions are on the site 

Game on. How will YOU change the world tomorrow?

~Veronika

Author's Bio: 

As the head of the AVM Research & Awareness Fund at two of Toronto's best hospitals, I am constantly searching for new venues in which to direct my fundraising. The Positivity Project is an awareness-raising event, but not necessary of the condition that I fundraise for... rather, I am trying to raise the world's awareness of a desparate need for more positivity.

I guess you could say that I am following my dream of becoming a "Professional Happy Thought" :)