How a Sudden Accident Broke Me — And Changed My Perspective on Life, Forever

The four life lessons it taught me.

On the cloudy afternoon of Friday May 19th, 2017, something happened that changed my perspective on life forever.

And it only took a moment.

It was just another Friday.

I left the office a little early — around 4 pm.

The plan was simple: go to the city centre, run some errands, head back home, take a shower, and then go to a friend’s birthday dinner.

I walked over to the nearest city bike station and pulled out my card, tapped it on the screen and chose bike number 22.

I rolled the bike out of its rack, took out my phone, tuned into my playlist, placed the phone back in my pocket and started paddling.

Along the way, just as I biked through a green light, and staggered over the bridge, I paddled.

Just another 10-minute ride.

Or so I thought.

I reach for my phone.

The palm of my right hand accidentally touches the gear knob.

It slides immediately. From the highest to the lowest.

I lose control.

The paddles spin in complete mayhem.

I can’t restrain them.

I only have one hand on the handle.

My left hand.

I slam the break.

The front break.

I sense my entire body leap.

Rising up with the bike’s back wheel.

I’m going down.

Face-forward.

Landing on my unprotected head.

So I impulsively stick my right leg out.

I crash.

I twist.

I hear a pop.

I black out.

30 seconds or so later, I open my eyes.

I find myself lying down on the street. In a fetal position. My two palms caressing a piercing and burning sensation rising from deep within my knee.

Two men lift me and gently place me on the edge of the pavement. A shocked circle of about ten strangers interrupted their stroll to surround me and offer their assistance. A woman asks if I need an ambulance. An older man snatches a water bottle out of his daughter’s hands, uncaps it and extends it in my direction.

I was in shock.

I was in so much pain.

What the f*ck just happened?

It all happened in a moment.

I came out of it with a spinal compression fracture, a torn knee ligament and a fractured bone. I spent two months on crutches healing the fracture, then I had a surgery on my knee to reform a new ligament. I spent three weeks recovering in bed unable to walk. Then I had eight months of physiotherapy training before the back pain from the spinal compression began to surface.

More physiotherapy. Three times a week, for three months.

All this, from a bike fall. All, within a moment.

Yes, it was a painful accident and one long recovery.

But there was more to the journey than just pain and destress.

There was growth — and a lot of it in fact.

With so much time to reflect, to journal through it, to take it all in, I came out of it changed, victorious, with a new perspective.

It was a pivotal moment in my life, because it made me realize this: any one moment in time can change the course of your life, forever.

Here are 4 important life lessons this accident, injury — moment — taught me.

1. Always Be Grateful

Be grateful. Right here, right now.

Because at any moment, you could lose everything.

One day before my accident I was running 8k. The next day, I was on crutches.

One day before my surgery, I was walking. The next day, I was incapable of doing so.

And despite all that, I was one of the lucky ones in this world.

Because while I lied down recovering in the comfort and warmth of my bed, there were 6.5 million refugees stranded around the globe searching for a shelter to live under. While I was having a fresh bowl of fruit every morning, I was seeing pictures of the 600,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing for safety — images of fathers carrying their children on their shoulders as they crossed, chest-deep, river streams, escaping the violence, desperately searching for food.

I began to see just how lucky I was in this world.

I have a home, food, health. Family and friends. They are safe, they love me. I have a job. I can afford to buy things.

I was lucky to be where I was. And I am still lucky to be where I am.

I became grateful through this journey and that instilled an entirely new source of positive energy in me.

So when things are tough, when everything seems to be collapsing in your world, take a step back, breathe, be grateful. Realize how lucky you are to be where you are.

Rather than complain about all the things that you don’t have, take a moment to focus on all that you do have. Rather than complain about all the things that you can’t do at this given moment, focus your attention on all the things that you can do.

I promise you, gratitude will allow you to start seeing things in a more positive light.

You will begin to see how things are happening for you, rather than to you.

2. Spend Time Alone With Yourself And Reflect More.

I journaled. At least every other day.

As I sat in my bed swiping though my phone, I became aware of how attached I was to my phone. To social media. To the lives of others.

What good does it bring you? The fear of missing out? The jealousy? The anxiety that you need to be out there doing stuff?

Why can’t you be right here where you are and enjoy it?

I decided to cut off social media for the month of my recovery. Instead, I focused my energy on reading and writing.

I tuned-in, because I realized I was almost always tuned-out.

And the more I wrote, the more connected to myself I felt. I was real, and pure, and honest. My emotions were raw. When I was in a good mood, the words danced in my journal. When I was in a bad mood, the words just spilled right out. They were angry. They were vicious.

Within the span of the month, I had written over 80 pages. And when I re-read it all, I uncovered a story of transformation. I realized that by writing, I was reflecting, meditating, and learning more about myself in the process.

3. Get started on what you want to do with your life, today. Not tomorrow, today.

We all have goals.

But how often do say we want to do something, year after year, but never get to it?

My accident made me realize this: change is inevitable — it’s the only constant in life. And change will either find you, or you will have to create it.

In that moment, through that accident, change found me. It was my wakeup call, that my time on earth is not infinite, so why am I not pursuing my true calling? Why do I keep on postponing things?

Why is it that, in-spite all of my life’s privileges, I’m still not following my dream of creating something meaningful for this world?

What’s stopping you from getting started, now — today?

Today, not tomorrow.

If you want to write, begin, today. If you want to paint, begin, today. If you want to build a company, do it, today. Begin the process. Start.

Create the change.

Don’t wait until tomorrow, because:

Change is the only constant in life, and change will either find you, or you will have to create it.

4. Injuries Can Be Silent, Anyone Can Be Suffering.

I still have lower back pain, and my knee continues to swell up after exercising.

Just because you can’t see an injury, doesn’t mean the scar isn’t there. Many injuries are fought silently. So be mindful of that. Understand that there are people in this world who are silently suffering.

Be mindful of that.

I believe transformation can stem from anywhere. The way I see it, my accident was a blessing. I came out of it renewed — with a growing sense of gratitude, deeper self-awareness, new winds of ambition and a better understanding of humanity’s silent struggles.

So, if you’re currently dealing with a difficult change, just ask yourself, what can I learn from this? How can I come out of it even stronger?

Thanks for reading! :)

P.S. If you had a traumatic moment that changed your life and transformed you, please do share your story. I’m curious to learn about your journey of growth.