S10E10: The less you'lldo, the less youll want to do.

0:00 My beautiful survivors, how are you? This is Karina, the host and creator behind Stroke Surviving the Odds, the podcast. The mission of the show is very clear to help you move forward past the events of the stroke, reclaim your life, reclaim your identity and everything else that maybe you've lost during the stroke. 27 years ago, I suffered a brain stem dissection myself.

0:25 I was 25 years old that led me to coma Interlochen Syndrome. But as you can see, I'm here sharing all my tricks, hacks, and how I got to survive this world as a stroke survivor. I'll invite you to go and grab a pen and paper because the faintest of ink is better than the best memory. Come and join me here as we record today's show.

0:49 I would like to do a little bit of clean house before we really start, remind you to share the podcast, share it with Sugar Bear, share with the world. Because the more we share, the more the algorithm pushes us to the front and the more we get to help people all around the world. And by the way, this show is now top five worldwide.

1:12 So its mission is really helping. And when I say our show, it's not just my show. Without you, my listeners and my audience, there would not be any stroke surviving the odds and I'm very grateful for that. Don't forget to download and subscribe on any platform that you are currently listening to. I also have a video podcast with my guests on YouTube, so make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any video interviews that I will be doing like and follow because you know what it's paying it forward to.

1:51 Like, follow and subscribe is something that's free. Basically, you're paying it forward. Guys. I'm always saying as a joke, if it's free, it's for me. But you know what? It's not just for me. It's for the world to show that the movement of stroke survivors here helping each other is here to stay. Today's show is a really tried, tested and true something that happened to me in the last few months. And I know that it happens to many of you out there. And I think it's important that we demystify it and we take the guilt away.

2:34 So here goes my little story. So I'm going to put you into context. In the month of November, I lost my regular job. It started being cold here in Montreal, Canada. And I don't know, I just lost my mojo. I just, I felt very blah. I would wake up in the morning and just lounge in my bed staring at the ceiling. Does that happen to you sometimes? I would get up first thing, open the blinds, look outside, it's Gray and snowy and all I wanted to do was go venge on the couch with my coffee or my tea, my dog, and watch TV and go on social media and take care of my own social media. That's what I mean.

3:30 I'm not one to flip and look around and what's I don't like that unless it's pets. When I'm in the mood, I like to see pets, dogs, cats, ducks, cows. They just make me happy, these things. And babies, of course. And to hear a baby laugh. But the point of this is that the less I was doing in November, December, a little bit of January, the less I wanted to move. I used to be so active a couple years ago, going here and there, working out, doing yoga, meditation. I had the not only my social medias, but I had my podcast, I had my work, I had my errands.

4:21 I was very active. And now I found myself these last few months feeling really blah. And yesterday I said to my dog, let's go, we're going to go for a walk. It was nice, snowy, but a nice sign. It was cool. The minute I went out, I started walking faster and I started feeling better. That's amazing.

4:49 So it kind of made me want to start working out again and and get that feeling going the way I used to. I love that dopamine rush. So that being said, it inspired today's episode and I wanted to ask you guys, how do you feel when you don't want to get up? You're not depressed, you're just feeling blah. You don't want to get up and when you're up, you don't. Your body just doesn't want to work. I've told you guys often that I've never felt like a stroke survivor as much as I have in the past few years, especially this last year.

5:45 I'm in my 50s. My body is reacting in different ways naturally. I have menopause and I stopped training, and I find that my mobility is somewhat reduced on my affected side. Now I have a leg brace, I have an arm brace. And I was thinking, I've been in survival mode and it's not about me. But I want you to see yourself in my story, OK?

6:25 That's what the show is about, that I share, what I found, what I find, what helps, and you flip it into your own story. I've been in survival mode for 27 years, taking care of everybody other than myself. And I ended up putting myself in the back burner, not wearing the leg brace or the arm brace that I had because it was affecting my my work and how I could be a caregiver to somebody else in the house.

7:04 And now I find myself by myself with a man right now that adores me and respects and gives me my space and loves that I'm so my heart is with you guys. And he's so encouraging and as passionate as me, just very down to earth. And he brings me back to what's essential. Being calm, serene, but do everything I want, be as passionate as I want to be. So now I'm finding that I, I have serenity in my life. I have calm, I have silence.

7:52 I don't have clutter anymore. I'm I've slowly gotten rid of many toxic people. Are you capable of taking a distance from people that are maybe asking a little too much of you or sucking the energy out of you? That for me was an immense progress and an immense reward where I started feeling lighter, if you, if you know what I mean.

8:32 It doesn't mean I don't love these people, but it means that they no longer serve a purpose in my life. And I'm really trying to lead a life full of intention and purpose and teach my stroke survivors in my community how I said in the entrance in the intro, sorry, how I want each and everyone of you to reclaim your life, reclaim your voice, reclaim your passion, your purpose.

9:04 Maybe you never had it. Maybe you'll discover it after your stroke happened to me. I was in my late 40s when it happened to me. Setting boundaries and limitations in these last two years. And that's a lot on friendships, a lot on people, acquaintances. The mind and the body like to go where it's familiar because it doesn't require an effort. And the mind is always going to choose the path of least resistance.

9:44 So it's normal that you gravitate towards the friends you have, even though they are. They might be toxic to you or they might be negative to you because that's what you know. But when you start thinking about you numero Uno, that's when you start living. That's when you start reclaiming your shit. So this has been going on, I will say for the last couple of years that I've been cleaning up my ACT, cleaning up my shit, getting rid of and decluttering.

10:21 Not just things in my apartment, but sentiments, sentimental things that I've had for the longest time that no longer serve me because I'm not with these people anymore. For toxic reasons. I got rid of it. I only want positive around me. I only want good vibes, good energy. I want growth. I want to hold myself accountable.

10:52 So 25 years ago, 10 years ago, I was not thinking like this. I was still in my survival mode. I was still thinking about everybody else, my then my second husband, his father, my care, my care, uh, my care E my bosses because I was still doing cosmetic contracts. Now I'm sorry, but it's about me. So I'm these thoughts have been weighing on me since November and I questioned myself as in what do I want to do? I know my purpose, but now that I know it, what do I want to do? How far do I want to go with it?

11:50 I still have shit to work on. I still have shit. To clarify, my finance is being won. But guess what? I started the year with that in mind. In the first quarter of the year to clear my finances, not to become financially independent and stable. And yay, money's flowing in. But you know what? Piano.

12:13 Piano. Little by little, when our mindset changes, our behaviors change. Did you know that? When our habits change, our behaviors change. It's kind of like if someone is trying to stop smoking, you're not going to go on the coffee break at exactly the same place you used to because you want to change your habits. I've never smoked myself, but I have had plenty of smokers that quit smoking around me and that's what they have done. So the moral of this whole story guys, is not me just blobbing about my revelation, but it's about reminding you that the less you do, the less you want to do. Because remember, the mind and the body are going to take the the path of least resistance.

13:15 They don't like change, but without change, there is nothing new. Your life is going to remain the way it is right now. If you're unhappy about something, anything after the stroke, if you don't do something about it, it will remain the same. And that's the definition of insanity. You know that. So I don't know about you, but I personally don't want to be insane.

13:53 I personally don't. I want to keep on growing. I want to keep on flowing and I want, I want to keep with you guys. So many beautiful things have happened since the beginning of the year and it's only beginning. It's only beginning, but I'm making them happen little by little. Why? Because my habits are changing my behaviors. So that being said, I'm going to leave you with that thought. If you have any comments, any comments to say about this, I would love to hear it.

14:34 You know that I'm on Google, I'm on Apple, I'm on Google podcasts, Spotify, you can leave comments there. I'm also going to leave you in the description, my groups where you can reach me. I want to know how you are progressing, how you are progressing, and how you want to progress. Not in a year from now.

14:59 Let's keep things manageable. Let's stop stressing ourselves. When I say ourselves, I'm not kidding, I've been like that and I'm still like that. Instead of thinking a year, think only three months. Think only one month, 4 weeks Max. What do you want to do different in these next 4 weeks? Because we know that to change a habit, it only takes 21 days for the brain to register that you have changed your habit. It only takes 21 days.

15:41 So if you're moving extra, an extra 5 minutes, there's these free apps now for all kinds. There's these free apps for exercise, for taking notes, for taking voice notes. Excuse me, I'm out of breath. There's apps for everything, but just do something, guys. Just do something. Anything. OK, so this is what I have for you guys. Make sure that you download or subscribe in order not to miss anything like follow.

16:20 And I'm going to leave you with a new thought and a new mantra. And I would like for you to say it. I am exactly where I'm supposed to be, and tomorrow I'm going to be somewhere else. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be today, and tomorrow I'm going to be somewhere else. That is going to prepare your mind to say I'm moving forward.

16:54 And wait a minute. That's the mission of the show, moving forward. Remember, I love you immensely. And I'm going to leave in the description all the ways you can get in touch with me, OK? Love you.