67. Survivor Science Soundbites: Wrapping Up the Ego Paradox in Stroke Recovery

This episode wraps up our week exploring the ego paradox and how it impacts stroke recovery. Ego is tricky—it can push us to make great progress, but it can also hold us back when we get in our own way. Whether it’s the drive to keep going or the frustration of hitting limits, managing ego is an important part of the recovery journey.

I reflect on some personal moments this week, including a frustrating recording process (yes, four takes to get this right) and how those challenges brought my own ego into focus. I also revisit earlier conversations, like my chat with Jason Lopes, where we explored the balance between determination and self-care, and the fine line between pushing forward and overdoing it.

In this episode, I share a few strategies for keeping ego in check, like tracking fitness progress, journaling, and setting realistic expectations. I also highlight some great resources, like Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday and Mindset by Carol Dweck, for anyone who wants to dig deeper into this topic.

Stroke recovery is a marathon, not a sprint, and understanding the role of ego can make the journey a little smoother. Let’s wrap up the week with practical insights you can apply to your own path.

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Transcript

0:06

Our episode of survivor science soundbites. The I am recording this for now. The fourth. Time today. Texted. Difficulties up the wazoo. Holy crap. You would think I've never made a video or a podcast a day of my life. I am fired up. I am so. So. So tired of recording this episode. We will see if I can remember what I was talking about the first three times in this fourth. Rewrite of the episode. Anyways, as I calm. The Hawk down. I will do my best to recap the week and the ego paradox. Ego has been a. Big conversation this week. It is weird how I start these on Monday, thinking over the weekend, certain things. And then lo and behold, it becomes. The theme of the week. Uh, so. Remember. Ego. Plays a big role in stroke recovery. It can hurt us. It can help us. Specifically help us. But, uh, let me see if I can get to where I had some better notes from earlier. Again, this is my fourth time. I apologize. Uh, ah, I had good things to say. And I was saying this earlier. All right, found it. Sorry. You know, me, stroke brain, everybody. That's a stroke survivor is very familiar with stroke brain. It is when we absolutely have something right in front of us. And forget exactly what we were talking about. Okay. Ego. Ego is like a fire. It can warm you, it can fuel you, it could burn you down. And that is definitely the theme of this particular episode. Of survivors science soundbites, uh, Okay. Eco this week has been in pretty good form. Um, I think the big takeaways from earlier in the week, Where in the previous survivor science soundbite episode, we talked about. Sort of ego paradox and how, and when ego can help us. And when it could hurt us. I'm not sure right now, I'm just so annoyed that this is a fourth time. I'm in an hour. According to this episode today. I'm not sure where he goes stands at this point with me. Um, It is certainly. Driven me crazy. It has fueled me and driven me to be persistent, motivated me to continue to keep recording this episode today. Despite the fact that I've been trying to record it for the past two hours. But I think we'll get there. I cleared up some space on the hard drive. That was the major issue. Wires are tangled. Things are moving around. I really need to get some things in order. But it's been a big, exciting weekend. I don't want to end the week without getting its episode out. And recapping the week, because again, it has been a big week. We started Monday with ego. Uh, like I just said, Hey, can help us. It can hurt us. Sometimes it is both. Sometimes there's this neither. Uh, I am going to beat the living crap out of IEO. Uh, I'm going to get this recorded. If it's the last thing I do this week, in fact, it is the last thing I'm going to do this week. Uh, but it's a big week. It's a big, big week. I finally got everything, the podcasts. So the lovable survivor is no more. It is fully morphed into server science. It would now, what does that mean? That means I'm going to continue doing these little mini episodes on Mondays and Fridays. Give or take, uh, 20 minutes, hopefully at the max. We'll see where that lands. I think I went a little over 20 on a couple of them. But yeah, full episodes. Hopefully every Wednesday, when I don't have a full episode, it'll be three sort of mini episodes. Uh, each week. I like the way that's world and I like the way that's going. So I'm glad to have survivor science officially. The big umbrella is survivor science. Then under the umbrella, there is obviously there's the website. Which is survivor science.com. There is the newsletter. Which you can go to sparks dot survivor science.com to sign up for, or you can just go to survivor science to sign up there. Uh, doesn't really matter. The newsletter is kind of in progress in motion. And then, uh, of course we have also. So as the main website, the newsletter. The podcast is now under the umbrella. And then we have the center, which is the community, the online community portion. Uh, built on heartbeat for survivor signs. Uh, all the details are there. If you want to learn more about the center, go to the, go to the website, survivor sinus.com. Click joined the center. You can get some details. That'll bring you to a page. Which you can go through, look through at your leisure. Uh, and then you can go sign up over. It'll take you to the sign up officially. And again, now through Christmas, I'm running a special 50% off for the first hundred people to sign up this, uh, this month. And, uh, that's good for both the anal merges. So that's the real steel, if you want the annual membership. Uh, these are currently the lowest prices that will probably ever be. How often I'll do sales. I can't say probably, you know, Yearly. Uh, but I wouldn't count on it being a regular thing. Uh, you know, that's going to be TBD, but yeah, I wouldn't count on a regular sales. This is pretty exclusive to this time of year. However, never say never as with choke recovery. Um, I would never say never, but I'm saying I'm going to try really hard to only have it between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the window's going to get smaller and tighter. And again, the price is only going to increase down the road. So this again will be the cheapest it will ever be. Uh, So yeah. Do with that. Will you will, uh, love to have you over there. I think it's, it's, it's a much needed space. I think we can all agree. Survivors need more resources. Pooling of resources. Got a lot of cool things on deck. A lot of office hours, a lot of guest speakers, I want to bring in, uh, people that maybe. On the podcast. I want to come in and do a chick. Uh, chat within the community. See the community do that kind of stuff. Uh, but yeah, it's growing, it's getting bigger and more to come on that. So. Back to ego. Um, You know, My ego, my I've struggled with it a lot over the course of my, my, uh, recovery. I think that's actually what Jason and I talked about. Jason Lopes. Uh, If you didn't see, I dropped an episode on Wednesday. A full episode. It's a very long episode with Jason and I, we had a great conversation. He's awesome guy. Really loved chatting with em. Um, Looking forward to doing it again. With both him and, and others that are, you know, obviously we have more guests coming down the pike. Um, but yeah, really interesting conversation. We're around the same age. We were both in our thirties when we had our stroke. He's 10 years out on five years out. And the recovery journey game. Both of us are fans of, uh, you know, people that take action, people that are disciplined, people that are focused. Using sports. Uh, it's just a really big conversation. So you may want to break that up a sewed. You know, break it up and parts, come back to it. Uh, when you can. And yeah. Like I said, uh, lots to take away there, especially if you're looking for some motivation. Jason's. Uh, great guy to follow, uh, on social media, he found ticktock Instagram. Facebook a bunch of platforms, uh, put all the links in the show notes. From episode 66 and then this. Oh, sorry. I'm going to take a breather. I am on fire because it is the fourth time I'm recording this episode. So, um, let's talk logistics. And real application here. So you can see my ego is on full tilt right now. Um, Again, Exhausted tired from recording multiple times, but go to push through. That is when the ego serves and hurts us. Uh, it's great to push through in certain moments and sometimes it is exhausting and can hurt us. Actually, that was another thing, Jason, I talked a lot about because he does a lot of martial arts. Former athlete himself. Uh, you know, we share a lot of commonalities there. Pushing boundaries safely is what we both say. Although I think both of us are actually not very good at, uh, listening to ourselves. When it comes to that, you really want to be safe. Test your limits. Know when to push it when to pull back. Uh, that is definitely something I've learned over time. Remember, you know, recovery is not just physical, it's mental and emotional as well. Check in with your ego. So some daily things to think about, uh, when it comes to your ego check. Now some of this is SIM simple as, and maybe you may think this is dumb, but I kind of have been trying it and I find it works, you know? Just kind of starting to every day with a morning, you'd go check. How am I feeling? How can I use my ego to push me forward today? If I need hand, uh, how, you know, what are things that need to be cognizant of and look out for? Kind of just always doing a little bit of ego check, um, You know, you can do this beyond ego. Well, you can do this for everything. Honestly. Checking, tracking progress. You can do it in a journal. Uh, in an app and a notebook, you can do it with ego check-ins. You can do it with food. You can do it however you like. I like to do it a lot for fitness. I'm a, I'm a w. Listen, a lot of things you've heard that you, um, Seeing on social media. I know a lot of people who are not into the whoop, not into fitness trackers. I think that is a mistake. I think that it's also a mistake. If you're a stroke survivor, I think you want to know where you're at. How you're doing throughout the day. Um, you don't have to be crazy about it. You don't have to be like me and insane. I think I'm getting a little, you know, this is where you go to hurts and helps me. It, it, it. It's good for accountability when it comes to my whoop. Or by Garmin. Or, uh, my previous EMI or a ring before I ruined it by accident. Uh, You know, I like to know where my body stands. I like to know, I, obviously I have Ms. And as stroke survivor, I have had cardiac issues, uh, in the past related to the stroke. Everything seems fairly under control. Now. I like where I'm at. Uh, always could do more. Can refine more, can do better. I think that's continuously learning and improving. Something, we talk a lot about here. Um, But yeah, I'd like to know. You know, if I'm feeling off, why am I feeling off? Did I push too hard to type and not push hard enough? Did I do. Did I get enough steps in, you know, Most days it's, it's, it's a clear yes, but, uh, you know, there are days where I don't run 20 miles. There are days where I do less and I've really, you know, again, ego has served me well here in accountability, but it's also hurt me. At times I've over run I've overexerted myself. I've over-trained. That is a real thing. You can do that. Um, It's something to be mindful of. That's why I'm a big fan of tracking progress. Especially with the fitness, trackers and apps that make it easy. Uh, as a stroke survivor. You know, I could type very well. Now, but it's not a hundred words a minute anymore. It's it's a, it's annoying. I think. Talk to type is a lot faster. Um, But yeah. You know, and then at the end of the day, you know, I do an ego chicken when I'm kind of doing my recovery routines in the evening before bed. You know, it's. Again, it seemed dumb. Everything that once seemed dumb to me now, no longer seems dumb. That is part of stroke. Recovery is keeping an open mind being curious, staying curious, asking yourself questions, whether you think they're dumb or sound dumb, you don't have to tell people if you ask them. I just have a podcast and I'm encouraging you to do these things. Ask yourself did by you go help or hurt today? Walk did I learn? What could I do better? What could I do different? Be curious, take curious. Adjusted for tomorrow. Adjusted for next time. Just reflect, um, I think there's a lot of key questions you can ask yourself each and every day. Have I done the best to my ability? You know, again, what's the small win what's what do I need help with? Where do I need to ask for help? That is another one I consistently struggle with. Uh, even to this day, So, yeah, those are some things to think about. Uh, again, uh, you'll conserve a really good. Uh, it's to has a lot of good purposes, but it can also hurt. All hell bus. Hurt us some days. Sorry, you can really see that this is now the. I didn't plan on having a full afternoon of calls this Friday, but, uh, I, I did. And then I also decided that I was determined to record this episode, despite three previous hiccups. Uh, so yeah. Some additional insights to add some depth and, uh, discussion to this, uh, egos in enemy by Ryan holiday. Really good book. I think it's actually, I think if you searched around on Spotify, there's, there's. You know, I recommend just buying the book on audible. Good book. You know, that's a well-worth read, but yet I think if you explore the interwebs enough, he could find, uh, some different variations of material around it. Mindset by Carol Dweck. This is another good book. Uh, if you're a fan of Bernay brown, the gifts of imperfection also good when you're kind of. Again, just looking for a resource around some of these things. Oh, the practice practical resources. Of course. Journaling, uh, fitness apps tools for tracking progress. Uh, various fitness things. You know, if you're into interested in certain, um, research, the diag, I always talked about it. That calm is really good. I like it. Um, I've heard people had good success with Headspace was not as big of a fan of that one. And again, You know, really egos. It's a complex thing. Um, but again, I think it can be used to really drive you forward. Propel. You. Especially if you're feeling stuck. Same thing with journaling. It, you know, this is something I plan on working on a ton in 2025 is really finally getting to a place where. I commit to handwriting typing has vastly improved this year. Running his approved. I've improved in almost every area that I wanted to improve, but, uh, handwriting is still. The weak spot. Uh, And I'm sure there's others. Uh, I'm positive. There are others. Uh, I've I actually take it as probably a step back in being. You know, Um, Kind at all times. I think I've forgotten. Sometimes I get frustrated. I still struggle with that. And that comes out in ways that I don't want us to a came out earlier. I hate for court. This. Damn I have soda. Uh, several times we're rolling. And then a cut that I had a couple of mistake, a couple issues. One time, my hand slipped one time, the machine just stopped working. Oh recording. Very frustrating. And then I, of course, uh, people came home from school. People who were in and out of the office. And I was not a fan of that. And I let that be known. Um, so I will be apologizing profusely the rest of the weekend. For that, but again, um, Well, I'm not perfect at all claim to be. I never have all the answers. I will never have all the answers, but I will do my best to bring them to you. In some way, shape or form, or at least let you know what I tried so that you can, uh, be rest assured that the thing that I tried probably did not work at least initially. Um, So, yeah, I think that kind of wraps up the weak ego. Again, it's a big topic I have. Unfortunately recorded this several times with note to no avail. And, um, Frankly, I'm tired. Uh, it's Friday afternoon on the east coast. It's a time to go hang out with the family. I am excited though. I'm really excited that everything is finally under the survivors science brand. I'm excited to get into the weekend to think about what, what to focus on next week. Obviously. Uh, ego is. The big topic this week again, go listen back to the previous star survivor. Sime. Uh, science soundbite for a Monday. Definitely take out the episode over the weekend with. Uh, Jason and myself really great conversation. And yeah, check out some of those books, uh, and resources and just, you know, I'm always curious what you're thinking about. Uh, yeah, head over to survivor science.com. Let me know what you are, what you have going on. Hit me up on social media. That's another big thing. Uh, not only. So our designs.com the website now got the podcast under the survivor science umbrella. Newsletter his role and more to come on that, um, okay. In the center, you can, you can join now. Um, Devaa check out the button on the main website. And I think the big takeaway is that, uh, you go really, you know, Some of the things. Yeah. Sorry, got way off track there where I was going with all that is you can find me on social media platforms now with. That organized better as well. Uh, I think linked in. No, no. Now LinkedIn, LinkedIn is still my name. Um, But yeah. Uh, Instagram ticktock. Survivor's science HQ, uh, Twitter survivor PSI HQ. Unfortunately that cannot go over 15 characters still. Which is a fine, but also my lay annoying, um, So, yeah. Uh, got things better under control. Really, again, I'm really excited about coing into the new year with everything under wraps. Remember that black Friday. Coupon code Over at the center for checkout. Uh, 50% off the annual membership or the quarterly. Obviously the annual membership, 50% off is the much better deal, but again, not everybody. Has the Reese's or wants. To spend that kind of money. Um, It's not a toll ton compared to what we probably spend on other things. But. You know, uh, again, that's open to the first hundred people before Christmas. And, uh, some cool, um, Easter eggs with that. Uh, so yeah, I think we'll leave it there for the week. I'm really excited to, like I said, uh, get into more things. I feel like I had a lot more to mention and I had a lot more notes that I said them all earlier today in the, uh, several cordings that. Did not actually capture in the recording. So. I guess. We'll leave it there for today and, uh, enjoy your weekend. It is officially the start of the holiday season. Go through your family and your loved ones. Hopefully if you're unable to enjoy them, uh, over you have some community and friends that you can enjoy. And I will talk to you next week. So have a great weekend.