S2E5: Mastering Resilience Part 2 of 6
In this episode of Diary of a Dreamer, Tasha Eizinger shares insights from her health journey, reflecting on how facing challenges has built her strength and resilience. She recalls a key lesson from her swim coach—”Your body can do more than it thinks it can”—and explains how understanding the reticular activating system can help rewire our mindset to overcome limits. Tune in for an inspiring take on pushing past mental barriers and trusting your own strength.
Read the Transcript

00:35 Have you ever noticed when you’re searching for a new car or even in the car that you currently have? You tend to see it wherever you go especially if your car is hard to find in the parking lot, they all seem to be the same color as your car or the same make and model? Does anybody else do that? Yeah, I tend to lose my car in parking lots. It’s fine.

00:58 This is because of your reticular activating system. So our brains are inundated with information especially nowadays and we have to be able to filter out stuff that’s not important information. And so, when we choose to focus on

01:17 something that’s what our brain will search for. This is a really invaluable piece of information to understand especially when you can start applying it to your everyday life. Let me give you an example. So when I was in high school swimming, my coach always said your body can do more than it thinks it can. At the time, I questioned his logic on that because it’s exhausting and sore, weak muscles.

01:35 because I was exhausted and my muscles would be really tired and I’d be huffing and puffing thinking, I don’t know, Coach. I’m really trying to give everything I have here. What I have learned though is he was absolutely right and it ties into that reticular activating system of what you choose to focus on. You will see more of it. If you’ve been following along in this series, you know that I had some serious health issues when I was 26. And I did everything I could to control my mindset, I believe our mindset is our attitude and our perspective. And my mom has always told me that you can put 10 people in the same situation and they’re all going to handle it differently. Which I’ve also learned means they’re gonna get different results. so, one of the ways that I have tried to handle my life is to Have some level of control over my mindset, which is again my attitude and perspective.

02:30 So, on a typical day, when I was going through my health issues, I would coach myself internally. My goodness, if I had said everything out loud that I was thinking, I don’t know that people, people might have been even more concerned than they already were. but throughout the day, I would Let’s say set a goal of. I’m going to See.

02:50 Let’s say, I wanted to fix dinner and there would be time periods, where it would be really hard for me to fix dinner. I mean, you have to lift, cut and stand. Which, when you’re a typical healthy person, that’s pretty easy. When you have a really bad cold or flu, it gets harder. But with the health issues, I was struggling with at the time, But with the health issues, I was dealing with at the time.

03:09 It could be way too hard for me to do that. So I would Think in my head, how can I make it? So let’s say on a really bad day, I would think How am I gonna make this happen? And I would put the food on the kitchen table. And then I would cut. And do what I could at the kitchen table. And then I would Sit there. Of course.

03:26 And then I would carry the pots or the pans one by one to the stove. Sometimes I would take one over and I would take a little break. Then I would slowly walk back to my chair. Take a break. And all the while instead of saying things. Like You’re so weak. I can’t believe that this is what my life looks like. I just did a half marathon a year ago or less than a year ago. I am embarrassed. This is scary. Forget it.

04:00 I’m just gonna lay down and throw in the towel instead of thinking about those things, which if you’re that type of person that’s understandable. If you think those types of things, when you’re going through a hard time, What I’m challenging you to do is shift your mindset a bit. because it’s already a hard situation, so there’s no point in making it harder by Looking at it that way.

04:25 So I’d always think how can I do this? How can I make it work? And I would set those goals and I would then encourage myself internally. And tell myself, okay, you can do this, your body can do more than it thinks it can. I’ve said that so many times every day, And when I would, You know, finish taking a pot to the stove inside. I would think. Okay. You did it. Great job next step.

And I would take a big task and I would break it down and I would encourage myself every step of the way. That I believe really helped me through those health issues. The other thing to consider is what we put into our brain, is the way that we will start seeing the world. Have you ever noticed somebody who says, maybe they’ve been watching or that they’ve been listening to podcasts about Our true crime, and then, they start getting more anxiety.

05:18 Well, that’s the reticular activating system, you’re activating that part of your brain, you’re going to start thinking that there’s crime around you everywhere, which some places are probably Is crime everywhere. But if you weren’t feeling that way before, it’s because of the information you’re inputting into your brain. So I actually read a book called Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins. And in that book it talked about the power of laughter and the importance of laughter when you’re going through health issues.

05:37 So I started watching friends and got them on DVDs. I’d go to Half Price Books and get  the next season. And I would even on my days, where I really couldn’t open my eyes or do much. I would push play and I would lay there and I would hear the laughter in the humor and even if I wasn’t necessarily laughing out loud. It was a positive source of energy and it was good input if you will. I also try to find ways to laugh at the situation.

06:21 Sometimes people that go through tough things like that, they start getting kind of a dark sense of humor because you have to find ways to laugh. And it doesn’t mean that you don’t realize how hard it is. But the old saying “laughter is the best medicine” is pretty true. Over time, I was able to figure out what was going on with my health and find ways to get healthy and well, thankfully. I went from being on my worst days in a wheelchair, it wasn’t every day, but there were days that I had to sit in one to competing in a Half Ironman a little over a year later.

07:05 I do not recommend that. It was probably not a good idea for my health to do that. It ended up sparking up some new things with my health, which ultimately led to me getting better. So it was a good thing. I did it but I don’t recommend it because that’s a lot of wear and tear on your body and you should really do it with a trainer and nutritionist and everything.

07:29 But I’ll tell you what crossing that finish line. During that half Ironman. Will always be one of the greatest moments of my life. Because it was a symbol of everything. I had worked through and gone through and overcome. So, I hope you all have that proverbial finish line that you have. So, I hope you all have that. So, I hope you have that proverbial finish line that you have crossed where it’s that moment which means more to you than, maybe anybody else could ever realize, So I want you to consider your own life and some of the experiences that you have had and write them down. 

07:59 I’ve definitely done this, where I’ve written down, going through my whole life with different experiences. Whether they’re really challenging or special, whatever it is but key moments in your life. And you can write down what made it hard or what made it extra special. What did you learn? And how you became stronger because of it. Our past does not weaken us. Our past can give us skills and give us perspectives that we wouldn’t have had.

08:30 And I’m not saying that you’re going to feel grateful for every experience you’ve had because trust me the traumas and tragedies I’ve experienced in my life. I’m not grateful for the moment. But what I hope you can do is become grateful for people who you have become because of it. So don’t get stuck where it’s hard. Move forward by learning the lessons and becoming stronger and sometimes it simply means becoming more empathetic.

08:58 It gives you the ability to connect with more people or to help more people through that situation because community is really what can help us get through experiences in our life. So, I hope you take a moment today to write down your experiences. I know that activity has really helped me as I’ve processed some things in my life to have a new perspective, because what you choose to see, you will see more of it.

09:25 So, if you’re not liking what you’re seeing in your life right now, Maybe it’s shifting your perspective which should lead to different choices and actions. As always, I totally believe in you, even if I don’t know you, I know you’ve overcome really hard things. I know that you have gifts and talents inside of you and I know that your future is bright.