Leading with courage, resilience and vulnerability, Brittany McCormick overcame great obstacles to uplift others
There is no life free of challenges. Setbacks and obstacles are guaranteed. All that we can hope for is the resilience to overcome. Brittany McCormick is an embodiment of the resilience, courage and vulnerability needed to succeed in life.
“I’m someone who conquers and overcomes daily. Why? Because I try. I push. Being an overcomer is not a once-off thing. It’s a consistency thing,” she shares.
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at one-year old, Brittany has faced a lifetime of obstacles. She learned to be resilient from a young age with the support of her family.
“My parents have to conquer and sacrifice a lot for me. When you’re younger, you don’t understand what your parents face. You don’t see the tears, the conversations, the risks, the money spent, the doctor visits and the bills that have to be paid.”
“The older I get, the more grateful I am for the person they’ve helped me become,” she shares her gratitude.
Her first big obstacle was making peace with her condition. She notes: “I wish I had accepted my condition a lot sooner than what I did. I tried to be like other people, but I would never be them. I was me.”
“My advice to people, especially young adults, is to do yourself a favour. You’ve got a long life. Accept it, love it, live it, learn from it, and conquer with it. I might not be someone’s perfect mould, but I can still make an impact,” she shares.
Rather than comparing, Brittany started learning from her sister and parents to enrich herself. They helped her understand her value, accept her condition and still push for greatness.
“My sister is my role model of how to be a powerful woman, because she’s a woman of power, grace, elegance and passion. She’s just phenomenal. She taught me so much, and still teaches me so much about life and the ins and outs and learning and growing,” Brittany reflects.
When she was little, her father would refuse to park in the accessible bays urging Brittany to think of those who may face greater challenge and require the space more. This helped Brittany focus on what she can do rather than what is lacking.
When she found herself struggling to accept setbacks or the slow progress towards her goals, her mother stepped in with some motivation. She recalls: “My mum pulled me aside one day when I was really struggling to find myself. My mum said, ‘Brittany, your heart is whole. You have a purpose. You’re fighting for what is right, and that is the most important thing. You will have your breakthrough.’”
This encouragement has helped Brittany reach for her dreams and keep challenging herself despite how difficult it might seem. She considers herself fortunate to have mentors so close to home. She encourages others find their own mentors whether these be family, friends, co-workers or community members who inspire and care deeply.
“Find that person for you. Know that when you speak to them, they’re not going to judge you. They might speak with concern, but they’ll never judge. There is a difference between judgement and guidance. Remember that,” she encourages.
The wisdom of her family has shaped her greatly, but just as important is the independence and self-expression her parents encouraged, which she wishes for other children with disabilities.
“There are people that will sit me down and break things down for me so that I can understand it better. If I could give any advice to any parent, please do that. Break it down for your children. Talk to them. Take the time to learn what works best,” she shares. “My parents believe in really allowing me to have a voice as an individual.
From a very young age, my parents allowed me to be a decision maker. Obviously, in controlled environments.”
From this loving, nurturing environment Brittany felt encouraged to seek more from her life. At age 15, Brittany came across a video of motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, which brought her to tears. She watched it nearly 20 times in one afternoon. A chord was struck. Brittany felt inspired.
“I’d never done motivational speaking before. I just knew I loved it. I always wanted to change lives, but I didn’t know how,” she recalls. Brittany took some courses on motivational speaking and started to pursue her passion.
“Having purpose and knowing that you’re making an impact and changing people’s lives are the greatest blessings that you could possibly give the world; that’s a legacy,” she shares.
Brittany might have known without a shadow of a doubt what she wanted to pursue in life, but getting there wouldn’t be easy. She reflects: “Don’t think it’s an overnight success. Your greatest success is the gradual steps that you take. I think that’s always a difficult one. People do want to have it happen today. I say that because I was there.”
“I thought, ‘Oh, great, I’m qualified and I’m going to walk out six months later and have the biggest success rate; the biggest salary’. I’m still growing in my career, and I’ve been doing this for three years,” she adds.
While her business has grown enough for her to be sought out, Brittany often had to pursue speaking opportunities initially. This required the courage to ask for what she want.
“It’s all about asking and understanding that even if the answer is no, you’re not a failure. You’ve succeeded greater than the person before you, because you had the courage to ask,” she shares. “It takes great vulnerability and courage to say, ‘This is what I believe I’m able to do’.”
Her courage has allowed her to pursue her passion, but also raise funds through her philanthropic work. In 2022, Brittany started a campaign dedicated to walking 100 kilometres to raise fund to purchase wheelchairs for people in need.
Brittany had primarily used a wheelchair while out in public (choosing to crawl when at home). In 2020, she challenged herself to walk on a treadmill. She was making good progress when her wheelchair broke while relocating to Cape Town in 2022. She spent 10 days without a chair, which Brittany describes as a “humbling” experience.
With a deep, personal understanding of the challenge of being stranded without a chair, Brittany decided to walk for charity. She launched a BackaBuddy campaign, walked 200 kilometres on her treadmill over 12 months and raised a whopping R57 000.
Towards the end of her campaign, Brittany experienced a great setback. During one session, her concentration slipped, and she fell off the treadmill. Falls are common and often severe for people with cerebral palsy as the condition impacts their balance, ability to recover and reaction time.
“A kid knows to put their hands out on the floor. My brain doesn’t work like that. It just shuts down,” Brittany shares. “It’s frozen solid for five seconds. You just feel like gravity is taking you. Imagine going skydiving and not knowing where the floor is. That’s what happens in my brain.”
Understandably, the fall shook her confidence. A similar fall in her past made Brittany switch from her walker to a wheelchair when out in public. However, this time around, she decided to overcome. It started with asking for help.
“It took great courage to say, ‘I need help to get back’. I had to hire a new therapist and reevaluate everything, my entire body. Now, we are working to get me back to where I was, but even better,” Brittany shares. She is now working to improve her core strength and balance while overcoming the mental blocks around falling.
“I need to be comfortable with falling in order to succeed,” she shares. Beyond the fall, Brittany also had to make peace with her non-linear growth.
“I’m learning that it’s okay to not be perfect like everybody else wants you to be, but it’s not okay to give up. Growth never looks the same. What looks pathetically slow to you could be a leap and bound for someone else,” she shares.
“I’m able to wake up every morning, brush my own teeth, shower, wash my own hair, do my makeup, and get dressed by myself. It might take me two to three hours, but I do it.”
She encourages people to be honest and evaluate where they are compared with where they would like to be, but from a place of kindness and gratitude.
“Don’t go, ‘I’m so far back, I can’t get back’. Rather say, ‘I’m there, I’m alive, I’m healthy’,” Brittany explains. Then find the perfect spot between comfort and risk to start challenging yourself to grow, going at your own pace.
“I’ve seen a massive difference in the way that I sleep, in the way that I move, in the way that I do functional exercises. So, I might not be on the treadmill just yet, but I’m far better off than I was a few months back,” she shares.
“It’s not only great for me, but it’s also great for the people who assist me,” she adds. Her friends and family can more easily assist her with walking as her stability improves.
While she credits much of this to the exercise, she acknowledges the importance of reaching out in the first place and being very honest, while also allowing others to be very honest with you.
“It’s imperative that you are open, raw and real with your therapist. Don’t hide it. Don’t hide your diet. Don’t hide how your body’s feeling. Don’t hide whether or not you’ve done your exercises. They are your wing person for however long you need it. Allow them to be brutal,” she encourages.
As Brittany slowly rebuilds her strength and confidence, she plans to run another campaign. This time, her focus will be on raising funds for QASA. Details of the campaign are expected to be released towards the end of May.
She concludes with a reminder for people to embrace what makes them different and instead focus on what they can offer: “You are uniquely you. Embrace it. Don’t try to change it. When you try to change it, you’re going to hit a stone in the road. You’re going to stumble and you’re going to fall. The moment that you embrace it, things will change.”
