Mind over Matter

 Mind over matter is a phrase often used to express the idea that the power of the mind can overcome physical challenges or obstacles. This concept is rooted in both philosophical and psychological traditions, suggesting that mental strength, willpower, and determination can influence or control physical states and conditions. 

I believe this was the case with Dean Hodgkin's hip replacement recovery.

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E89 - mind over matter

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

thought, physios, realised, rehab, day, people, mind, dean, weeks, hip replacement, walk, telling, sessions, hip, operation, bit, training, feel, nhs, wake

00:14

So here we are, another episode of my life, like another episode of my life, not yours. And I've got a guest this week with Dean Hodgkin, who's been on here before. It's a little bit of a conversational chat, because I've been in awe of Dean, having had a hip replacement and seemingly has bounced back within weeks. But it isn't and I think I want to call this episode mind over matter, because whatever matter that Dean has had to deal with his mind has just simply gotten through on another level. And I love that. So just to say that mind over matter literally means someone controlling a physical, physical condition or a problem by using their mind. So I'm going to bring Dean in now, who used to be a world karate champion, and just talk to us about how we got to having a HIIT replacement, and then we're going to go on to the rehab and how we can just, you know, make our minds do things that are better than anything else. Dean,

01:09

Hi Tina, thanks. Thanks for having me back. I can't believe this will honoured on for a second time, but I'm really chuffed that you have asked me, because this having been through what I've been through now. You know, I'm really keen to talk about this. So, yeah, I, last year, hit 60, and was probably in the best shape of my life. Felt great, still fighting a lot, and really, I was even toying with the idea of coming out of retirement and going back into competition. The way I measured, it was obviously in the veterans, the way I measured, it was my brother came. He lives in the in the Middle East. He came back for my birthday, and he used to coach me. So we trained him. I had to say to him, Look, is it in my head, or do I look fast to you? Because I feel really fast. He's like, no, no, you really do. Look You really do. So I thought, Oh, great. Anyway, so I was training like crazy, and unfortunately, got a bit of a tweak in my hip, and thought, Oh, it's just just a little hip flexor thing. It'll be fine. Sort of rested a bit, sort of got worse quite quickly. And I thought, That's very odd, yeah. So I thought, I better get a scan on this, but get it checked, because it's, you know, I might have a complete tear or something in a small muscle around the hip anyway, so I go and get a scan. And then it was an odd one. I had to scan one day, and then somebody phoned me another day, and it was one of these pull over the car kind of moments when this guy says, yeah, you've got advanced osteoarthritis. And I said, No, no, no, no, I think I've just tweaked the hip flexor. So that can't be right, because I can still do all this stuff and and also you can't get, you know, advanced osteoarthritis in the space of six weeks. And he said, No, no, this has been going on for years. And he said, it's rare. He said, I have seen it before, but it is rare. He said, but somehow your brain has just shut it off and not accepted, whereas now that you're aware of it, you know, you know, you can't, you can't deny it now. So, and he said, so you need a total hip replacement. How did you feel at that point when he sat there? Well, you know what? It probably just gobsmacked. I'm not sure I could absorb it at first, because, like, I say, it was really odd, because it had sort of happened really, obviously it hadn't. It had been going on for a while, but to me, it sort of happened really quickly, and something I wasn't ready for. And also, as I said, I was sort of performing really well. Now, obviously, there's a lot of, you know, there was some real angst, because I think I've sort of, I'm, you know, I'm fairly good at karate. I was fairly good at it, and I think it sort of defined me really. It's the one thing that I was really good at. And for me, the kicking bit was my superpower. That's why I keep putting it on, you know, putting it on, on social media. Look at this, you know. And it's because I just love doing it.

03:54

And like fast people, he kicks fast that fires out. There's a talk. You'd be chopped,

04:00

I'm telling you, so, so, so, so there was, yeah, there was a bit of concern, real concern, that I thought, well, you know, if I'm unable to do what I'm supposed to do, then, so, you know, who am I? Am I gonna have an identity crisis here? So it was, you know, it was a bit of a problem. And obviously also work. I still work in the health and fitness industry. So then I'm thinking, oh my god, am I going to be able to work so so then I so it's an odd one, because then I think I went through a sort of denial period where I just sort of plodded on. I'm just going to keep training and somehow thinking maybe I'll have a miraculous recovery or something, you know. So that's what I was sort of hoping for. So I managed to get through a few months of it getting worse and worse. But it was quite bad, you know, I couldn't really walk, couldn't really, you know, do too much. So it went down. It deteriorated quite quickly. It went downhill quite quickly, yeah, and I just kind of tried to bear with it. I managed to get through, really. It was from the August through to the coming up to Christmas. Time when it gets to Christmas and you're not going out with any of your friends because you might have to walk more than a few yards. I kind of realised, no, this is, this isn't right now. I've got, I've got to jump in and do it. But to be honest, I was just scared stiff. I've been lucky enough to not have to go through major surgery. And it's funny, you know, because I booked it through a private health insurance, and they phoned me and said, Okay, we can get you in in a month's time. I'm like, I was hoping you'd say maybe a bit longer. And I was, like, slightly disappointed they could get me

05:30

NHS, because that'd be another eight months and I can get my head around it right. And

05:33

then, you know, this is how bad it was. Then I actually got a call with them saying, we've had a cancellation. We Can Do you two weeks earlier? This was, like, literally, two weeks before it's time to and I actually said, Ah, no, because, and then I thought, Why have I just said no? So in the end, I went, sorry, what date was that again? Oh, actually, yes, I can do that date. So, um, so, yeah, so in we went to in January. And, yeah,

05:58

I remember you saying to me, you'd listen to one of my podcasts, because, you know, I think I'd have an operation for a womanly thing. And, you know, there is that fear, and it could be irrational, you just don't know. But it is when you're going for major surgery or surgery, you don't know if you're going to come out, what is going to be like, will you walk again, or whatever it is. But I think we just have to go in there and say, whatever's meant to be and and you went ahead and did that. So from the time that you were diagnosed, how quickly was it that you then went into have your OP?

06:31

So, so I started the problems, really sort of ended June, July. Time it was, I think it was about the end of August, September. I found out. And then I was determined to limp around for a while. And as I say, I got through to December, really, but then had to give up. And so it was just after Christmas in January, I had it done.

06:54

So at this point, you've gone in and you are shitting yourself. You go into surgery, you come out. What's the first thing you sort of asked when you've come

07:02

around? It was odd, you know, really odd feeling, because I'd got mixed, kind of really mixed emotions in terms of of how I was handling it, like, you know, some of the time I'm kind of, you know, I'm okay with this, you know, but I'm also aware that I was, I was definitely going into the dark, because I'm used to having you're a sports person, you know you're used to having an injury, and you kind of go, right? I have an injury, I stop, I rest, I rehab, and then I come back, usually stronger. But with this one, I'm knowing, okay, I'm going to stop and I'm going to rehab, but I'm not going to come back to where I was before. So, so there was this kind of new norm, sorry, to use a well worn phrase, but this kind of new norm, really, as to where, where am I going to end up with this? So it was odd. But then part of me was, you know, sort of getting, you know, a little bit excited about it, like this. Well, this, this could, let's see where this goes. Yeah, so. And also I was trying to stay really positive in terms of this. I go in for I'm literally training. I'm doing prehab. I'm determined to just, I'm like, Well, I can't make it any worse now. So literally, I'm training as much as I can. Up to the day before the actual morning I go in, they said, Look, we're going to try and get you in first, but we're not sure what time we'll take you down. So if you just hang around in the room. So I just started squatting. I thought, there's got nothing else to do. I'm here for half an hour, so I'm holding on to the bars at the end of the bed. But I thought I might get a session in and do some actually, I was actually that obsessed with trying to be in the best condition I could be going into it, thinking it might help me when I come out the other side. So, so yeah, it was, it was, it was not being scared stiff, very apprehensive, not, you know, not having had surgery like that before. And then when I woke up, obviously heavily sedated, so I was aware that I couldn't be my legs that I thought was odd, and they got these pressure pads on me that kept contracting. I thought, Oh, this is, you know, this is weird, looking at my toes, but not able to move them. So I sort of drifted in and out of sleep for a while, and then I remember waking up, and then these two girls, physios coming into my room, and I thought, it's really weird. I thought, Oh, poor girls, you've got the wrong room. Like, I've only just been done. I've only been done four hours ago. You must have got the wrong room. They're like, No, no, we want to get you out of bed, right? Okay, in my head, for some reason, I thought it was the next day. I'd heard rumours. But anyway, this is literally four hours from when, from me going down. So I'm like, alright, okay. So anyway, they seem like, wanna see if you can stand up on the on the frame, on the Zimmer frame. So I tentatively get to the edge of the bed, and then, okay, then I stand up. And I thought, that feels alright. And they're like, you know, okay. Do you want to try and see if you can move a bit? So then I start walking around the room with this frame, thinking, yep, that feels okay. And then they said, Well, you seem to be moving okay. I said, Yeah, I feel fine. They said, Well, what we'd normally do is leave it there and then come back tomorrow and see if you want the crutches. You want to try the crutches? Now, I'm like, Yeah, bring them on, girl. They come and get me the crutches, and then I start walking. I'm thinking, Yeah, this is no problem. So they said, Well, look, there's one more thing we could try, but we wouldn't normally do this yet. But you know, you could try the stairs. Let's go. Then your Instagram.

10:20

I could not believe, I could not believe that.

10:24

So so crazily they they said, well, we'll wheelchair you over to the now walk to the stairs. So I'm walking down the corridor. These two physios running the side of me, like with their hands up, in case you think I'm gonna fall. I'm just putting off on my which stairs are we off to? Then I thought, I can't believe this. Obviously, at this stage I'm still under a bit of anaesthetic, yeah,

10:45

so you're feeling a bit high. It's like having a drug. But your mind at this point is telling you, oh, I can do this. I'm all over it,

10:53

right? And, you know what? And that's that's so smart of you, Tina, because it's only afterwards that I've then realised that getting you up out of bed a few hours out of the operation is not physical at all. They know what, what I'm capable of doing and not doing. I'm absolutely convinced that whole process is just one, making you realise, right, there's no reason for you to be sat around on your You can do something. And also, you know it's going to be a challenge. Get your head in gear. You're going to need to work at this. But it's doable, because if they can get me up, so the fact that they got me up and moving and walking up the stairs within a couple of hours, I

11:31

cannot believe it. Your daughter must have been oh my gosh, Dad, what you know? And it's just like how, I mean, okay, here's a controversial question, because a lot of people listen to this might say, and if they're in the UK, we've got private and we've got the NHS. Do you think it would have been the same if it had been NHS? A you wouldn't have got in there for your hip replacement at least until the year? That's number one. We know that, yeah, been the same, but there's videos coming around on the same day, four hours later, I'm challenging you saying, right, we're gonna try and get you out. Do you think it would have been a

12:06

different I don't know, because I didn't go that way. I do know that I've got a friend who's going through the same thing. He's an ex footballer. He was lucky enough in that when they found his it wasn't quite as advanced as mine. So he's able to have an injection, and that bought him some time, but he's now found out he's got to have it done. But it was only it's the end of April that he went in for the last assessment, and he's getting it done at the end of June. So he's not had to wait too long, to be honest. It's a postcode lottery, isn't it, unfortunately, on the NHS where you live, yeah, I

12:38

think it may be done and it been different. But anyway, back to you've done the stairs, and you're feeling dead chuffed with yourself, how long you're in hospital till you actually came out. Well, that's the best bit, because same day, don't tell me, the same day,

12:50

the physios sort of said, well, we've done everything we need to do. And then the nurse who's looking after me came in and they said, Look, you know, so I made a joke about, well, I might as well get off then, now. And they said, Yeah. Well, for us, you can do, yeah, you can use the crutches. You're fine, you know. Well, no, the nurse then said, Oh, hang on a minute. Said, we can get you signed off, you know, if you want, you said, we have done it before, but only very rarely, you know. She said, but we'd probably rather keep you in overnight, just to keep an eye on, yeah, yeah. And I was ready to go. So then, because, basically, I wanted to get on with it, I wanted to start the rehab, I was kind of a little bit like, I say, I had these very mixed emotions. Part of me was a little bit excited about it, like, right, you know, sort of, I think I put on my insist, saying about, about one of the greatest gifts you can ever receive is the opportunity to challenge yourself. So now I'd kind of write, I've done the OP. Now I'm getting excited about the rehab. Let's see what happens here. So yeah, there's part of me wanting to get home and get on with it, but I stayed in overnight, which was a good job, because then I had a couple of issues in the night that no big deal. But yeah, they sorted me out. So that's fine, yeah. And then the next day, yeah, I'm off at home. So I get home, and obviously I've got, uh, I'm fortunate enough to have a little gym at home. So I thought, well, I've got a gun. I've got to go and try it. I've got to go and start so, so there I am on day two, like, just sitting down, moving my leg around, thinking, yeah, that kind of moves, okay. And then a bit later, I thought, well, I might as well try the the TRX and see if I can. So I'm doing little half squats and things hanging on to the TRX. I mean, I was really positive then thinking, this could be interesting. I might be able to do some stuff. Yeah, and, like I say, I think it really is down to them, you know, in that, in those first few hours, getting me out of bed and going, come on, let's, let's, let's be active. And I think that's partly because, I mean, one thing I think I've learned through this process is that resilience is a is a skill set that you have to develop. It's It's organic. Nobody can give it to you. It's like motivation. You, you'll be familiar with this. And when we. Trying to motivate people to excel. You can't motivate them. It's only when they decide to get their backside off the sofa and do something that it'll happen. You can't give them motivation. They've got to motivate themselves. And I just found that, you know, that I thought that's what I thought, I must have some kind of resilience, whatever that is, because, you know, when I was training, competing properly, you know, you, like any sportsman, you know, you go to some dark places you have to and then you get up and do it the next day. And like I said, we've both had injuries that you have to get over, yeah. So I thought, Well, I must, you know, I must have some kind of resilience there, you know? And it occurred to me, it's, it's, a process, not not an outcome, you know, and no one's going to give it to me, so let's just crack on and see how we do. And I think all of that was initiated by them coming around after a few hours and getting me out of bed and going, right, let's get you moving. And I think that's a key thing here, Dean,

15:58

is that you said a few things, the process, it's not the outcome. And a lot of people can't do that because I think a lot of people get fixated on the I'm having a hip operation. Oh my god, I just want to replace the hip. What they don't think about is beyond that, and what's the process of getting it is oiled and as good as I can possibly get it. But I think you being able to look at that opportunity where they said, We're going to get you out of bed in an hour. A lot of people would have been resistant to that. Your mind took over and said, Yeah, let's go for it. It could hurt because a lot of people, their pain threshold is probably not as strong as you and I, but it's like when I did my Achilles when I was younger. I didn't snap them. I had scar tissue, but Aren't they being operated on? They said to me in the hospital, it could be probably two months before you can stand up and even wash or walk properly. I was up within two weeks. I thought, yeah, no way. No one's telling me it's going to take two months to walk properly against it's both of them had them both scraped, and there were about six athletes in the hospital. We're all sitting there thinking, oh you know. And people don't realise that the Achilles, you know, the back of the ankle, that's what does the flexion forward, back and so, yeah, but when that surgeon said you probably won't be able to walk for six to two or whatever, I said, there's just no way. So what I wanted to Monty then. So that was the mind telling me there's no way. Yes, I know you and I probably have that advantage of being athlete. So you know, how do we make this mind over matter thing come into rehab or anything in life? So let's just talk through now your rehab, because obviously you're doing all this stuff, and then suddenly I'm seeing Dean kicking like he's about to go into competition, and it's only been a

17:37

few months. Yeah, so I think because I'd already got that kind of, you know, that frame of mind, and was, you know, willing to challenge myself. And also, I think, again, this is probably because, for you the same are, you know, our sporting background, we've got a natural survivor mentality that's just, you know, you don't compete at anything if you feel like a loser. So, you know, I'd already got that kind of, you know, that kind of feeling. So straight away, once, once I realised, you know, couple of hours after the operation, I can do stuff. So then the next day, when I get home, I do two sessions, two, like, 20 minute sessions in the gym. So now I'm thinking, I'm back in training now, yeah. And then the next day, I thought, well, I'll just see what I can, you know, what I can do, and I was just toying, and I don't know if you and the reason I was posting each day is I'd been asked to, you know, to track the journey, because it might prove inspirational, right for other people. So I wanted to do, I did the first seven days, showing what I was doing each day and how I felt, because I wanted people to realise, you know what, this isn't the end. If you have to do this. There's a lot you can do. And then I sort of went to each week after that. And then I just post stuff occasionally now, but it was really used because I had lots of people suddenly, I know however many people around me are all having hip replacement. And then I've got people contacting me from the States going, Oh, that's really helpful, because I'm about to have mine, and that's really inspiration. Then a runner from down in Milton Keynes, going, I've been told I'll never run again, but I can see what you're doing. And so, you know, they say everything happens for a reason, then they so. But I am so. So the next day, I thought, I'm going to try. So I did some kind of dance moves and slow ballet time. You thought, yeah, that music. Tried some little squats and lunges. Yeah, I can do that. Tried little, you know, four flexions, and I'm being careful, you know, working within my own I came off the painkillers really quickly as well. I didn't, yes, yeah, so I could tell if I'm doing something wrong, it'll hurt, and also, I'm aware of the potential for it to dislocate, so I'm not bending too much. And so, but then I realised, oh, my God, this and, you know, I can do all sorts of stuff. And then the next I had a proper upper body weight training session, like, you know, and get around, get my leg in this position. So off I go. So, um, so suddenly, yeah, like, so, each day, you know, I was doing, you know, doing a little bit more. And also, I. The positive thing just again, I think it came from that platform, but because I do something and think, Oh, God, can't wait to see what I can do tomorrow, you know, and I can totally convince myself that tomorrow is going to be better than today. Doesn't matter what, I'm definitely going to be better tomorrow, and I know I'm going to be better the day after. And so I went into each day, you know, with that friend of mine having convinced myself each day it was just going to get better, and then, I mean, within a week, I'm doing the problem I had is, after a week, I had to really slow down. I was going

20:33

to say, because otherwise you can overdo it, and next year, they get yourself in a mess. But it is interesting. I wrote something down because research has shown the brain alone can influence the health of your overall body. Wow, which is the mind over matter thing? Yeah. And so there's a couple of things that for me, a I think you should write a hit rehab programme based on what you've been through, and just put that out on LinkedIn. Because even though you did it every day, Dean, I think you can do it from now and informed kind of messaging to people and how the mind, because it's the mind that's got you through this, first and foremost, because a lot of people also just wait for the physios and go to the physio, because you don't necessarily have to have a home gym. There's still ways you can do it. So you could do the improvisation, because I think you'd help so many people. And it was interesting that there was a thrower, who's one of my friends, who had a hip replacement on the NHS. Do you know they got the hip wrong? So one leg was slightly long. They didn't measure it properly. One leg was slightly longer than the other. Yeah, she was doing the rehabilitation just as driven as what you and I would be, because of her background, but they got the wrong measurement of the and so that really set her back, and she was really worried, so she went in twice. But I also believe that if there'd been something online that she could have followed outside of going to the physios, that would have been really cool, or for the lay people that don't have the background that we do. And actually it is about, what can you say in the morning? Because, like you said, I was excited about what I could do the next day. I mean, that's, that's the mind right there getting up, what am I going to do? And I think it applies to so much. So I think where are you now? So that was your in your Well, I was running nowhere on your rehab. Are you still rehabbing? Because you seem to be right there right now.

22:20

I think I am, I was, I had a little bit of a tough time with the physios in that they gave me some very basic stuff, and I guess they've got to play it safe. But I was thinking, look, you know that I'm sort of fairly active, so, you know, and you can tell I've been doing prehab, so I want to, kind of, you know, let's look at this slightly differently and give me something for me. But they gave me some very basic exercises. And then I went back, and obviously I was doing a bit more than that. And then I went back for my two week, and I thought, right, okay, they're going to show me what to do now. And I think that there are, whatever profession you talk about, there are going to be good and bad. And I think the guy I met that day, I don't think we connected. And so I wanted him to say, tell me what I can do, because I feel like I can do anything. So it's two weeks. I've not been using the crutches for a week. But I didn't tell him that. So I said, Look, you know, I don't feel like I need crutches. Should I can I get rid of the crutches? Well, it's up to you, really. If you feel you don't need them, then you don't have to have them. I'm like, no, no, no, but, but should I be walking with crutches or not? Because obviously it needs time to heal so, but as I understand it, ossification works under loads, so if I put some pressure on it, then surely it'll heal quicker. Yeah, yeah. I'm like, No, I want you to tell me, but I couldn't get an answer. And then, because I was, you know, those first few days frantically, you know, filming all my exercises, I had lots of people very caringly, and I'm really appreciative would message me say, Oh, be careful. Don't bend beyond 90 degrees, because it'll dislocate. And don't do this. Don't do that. So I'm like, Okay, so that's fine. So two weeks I see this busy. I said, Look, people have said I can't, you know, Ben be on 90 degrees because of it dislocating. So, so I'm, you know, I'm still not putting my own shoes on you. I'm not tying my own laces. Should I be doing that? Well, if you feel you can do it, I'm like, no, no, should I Yeah, yeah. And so, I mean, probably the truth was that every patient's different. So he was probably one size fits all. Yeah, he's probably telling me the exact truth. Whereas, as you know, I studied mathematics at uni, there's one question, there's one answer, don't mess me about maybe just tell me what I should be doing and not and obviously what I wanted him to tell me was, oh, you can do whatever you like, and then I'd be off. So I sort of worked my own way through the physio after that, really, but from what I gather, because with the type of operation I had, there's this kind of fairly new hip replacement technique called a super path, and rather than slicing through all the muscles, they just really twist them and pull them all apart. So I've had that and been told that it. Could take up to 18 months to heal completely, right? But I've gradually been building up my mobility and strength.

25:07

You can sit on the toilet seat, if you're up to now, then, and everything like that, and get up easily and all that kind of stuff.

25:13

Yeah, at the moment, I'm quite surprised at what I because I'm not sure there's anything I can't do. And then I sort of got back to, you know, to getting on the bag and doing bits of kicking, I thought, because I need to strengthen my legs anyway, so I'll do some slow and I started doing some slow kicking and started to build it up again. And, yeah, I've had a couple of sessions where I felt quite, quite sharp, but it's a strange one now, you know, because now you know, I've got it, I've got to be careful. Because they say, although 60, I don't think I'm that young. They said you're fairly young to have this operation. So they only last so long. You're probably going to have to have it done again at some stage. Oh, wow. So then I'm thinking, right? So if I really take care of this hip and don't wear it out, I might have to have it changed in 15 years, or I could just train like crazy, go mad on it because and get it changed at 10 years, because I'm gonna have to have it changed anyway. So I go from one day to the other of thinking, right? That's it. I'm gonna really go for it now and then. But then I kind of, I'm somewhere in the middle. You're somewhere

26:12

in the middle. Have you set yourself a challenge? Because the mind is so strong of okay, I'm gonna do something out of my comfort zone, like you've done karate. Would you do something like, I don't know, triathlon or something like that? Would you do anything that's going to take you into a different, I don't know, to really challenge it? Or are you still on there? If I can just do what I was doing before, which is, I like, working out and stuff like that, going off to club with fun to everybody, Dean's got to bring me. Or, you know, where are you at with all of that in terms of really testing it.

26:43

So I don't think I'm going to do anything different, just more of the same. I think now, you know, like nearly having it taken away from you, because, like you say, when you're going for that operation, you're probably the same. You don't know where you're going to be afterwards. You know, having speed you wake up and go, yeah, sorry. Didn't go very well. Or we found this when we got in there. So So I actually really, and that's one of the things I was posting about. I think it was day because I did day one, day two, and odds I think it was like day five. I just put gratitude because I I was just so happy that I could move around again. So it's made me appreciate that more. And so you mentioned club la Santa, which is brilliant, because fantastic Sports Resort in Lanzarote. Don't worry, I'm not on commission. There's just such a lot of sport and activity going on all through the day. And I wanted to go sort of test myself a little bit. Let's see. Well, what can I do now, you know, because I'm, you know, I'm four months now. Let's see what I can do. And so I just enjoy doing everything I possibly could. I played basketball, I played tennis, I was spinning, I was at yoga, I was at a dance class, I was on kettlebell I was running around, I did everything I possibly could. And I just wanted to kind of one. I wanted to reassure myself, you know what, I can still do a bit of this. I'm okay. Because, like I said to you before, I was worried that I'd become, you know, that I just identified myself as being active and thought that kicking and punching was my superpower, and if I couldn't do it, you know, I'd be lost. I really wanted to test myself a little bit, but also, I think I've been a bit lazy. I've not trained as hard as I should have done. So I wanted to kick up the backside, but it's funny. So we I do like, three and four sessions every day. Now, admittedly, one of those is going to be a yoga or a stretch, but I got back on the tennis court first, the first tennis lesson I went to, it was an advanced tennis lesson. I was going to book the beginners. I shouldn't have gone, but I got in there, I thought, You know what, I can do this. So from then on, I was playing tennis every day. And so, like I say, I do like three sessions on the first day and then wake up next morning. So let's see how I feel okay. So off I went the next day, three or four sessions, yep, feel okay. And I kept thinking, I'm going to wake up and it's, it's going to be it's going to be sore, and I'll have to have a day off. But fortunately, I was just able to crack on. And it turns out that physically, I realised I was perhaps a little bit more resilient than I thought. So

28:59

that resilience. I've got a whole podcast and that so people could go and have a listen to my resilience episode. What about did you have massages or anything like that as well to help do that soft self care?

29:11

Now, I wasn't really sure about this, and so I've got a friend who's a sports therapist, another friend who's an anatomy expert, a really nice guy. Gary Carter, who, have you seen the body works exhibition? Yes, okay, so he, he's the guy who worked on the fascia element of that. He dissects things. And an incredible teacher, really nice guy, and really knows his his anatomy. So, you know, I'd asked him a few questions as to what I should and shouldn't do and and then I got a sports therapist friend asked him about, you know, I've got a Thera gun. Should I be, you know, vibrating? And he was like, Well, maybe not. So, you know, fortunately, I've been able to try and ask questions as to what I should and shouldn't. And basically, I've just continued with trying to mobilise a little bit and trying to strengthen there was a little. Problem, because it happened so quickly. At first I seem to recover like mad, and then it sort of plateaued a bit, yes, and particularly quite stiff. So I went to a different physio this time, you know, fortunately, I got the head of department at the private hospital in Nuffield investor, you know, he was able to help me through a few things. Because I was a bit concerned that, for some reason, I thought that the stiffness will just go away, and it hasn't. So, you know, I'm having to work on that a little bit

30:25

more. Any swimming, have they said go in the pool?

30:29

No, they didn't. Although I'm not, honestly, I'm not very good in the pool, really. Yeah, I'm not good in water unless it's a bath and I've got the newspaper or your podcast and a glass of wine, then I'm okay.

30:39

Well, it's funny, because I'm going to wrap this up in a minute, but I want to know what you feel about then Jean, as I've called it, mind over matter, and how we can apply resilience and mind over matter over other things in our life. That's a

30:53

really good question. You know, now I'll quote these stats, but they I don't know how accurate they are. I definitely read this somewhere that we have around 60,000 thoughts each day. But the strange thing is that up to 95% of them could be the same thoughts as yesterday, really. Yeah, I need to find where I read that somewhere. I need to find that quote. I definitely need to find that quote. It's

31:17

unbelievable.

31:18

So the point being, unless you change your thoughts, you will just continue to have the same thoughts. And this is what kind of got me through. This thing is, if you're if you're negative or a worrier, you're probably going to have that again tomorrow, because we just repeat so many thoughts. So you know, you've got to at some stage, remember that thoughts on reality, so you can change them. And so, you know, I could have, you know, got quite down after the OP, but I just woke up every day excited about, right, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that, you know, just stayed with that positive because I knew I could decide if I, you know, if it was going to be a positive day or not. It's just being aware that you can change your own thoughts, and only you can. The

32:04

mind is as as we said in research has shown the brain alone can influence the health over the body, but so much more. And I think the message is from everybody that your mind is stronger than what you think. If you're going to wake up in the morning or the night before and think it's going to be a day tomorrow, it's going to be a day, your mind's already made that up for you. But if you wake up regardless and say, Tomorrow, I embrace anything that I'm thrown and actually I'm going to do this, this, this and this, then you're already on a head start to it. Yeah,

32:34

but you have to be an active participant in that. You have to focus on hope you know. And if you do that, if you know, if in your mind, you actively pursue that's where I'm going today. And a simple thing that I've put a couple of times on social because it's an experience I've gone through, is forget what you can't do, just focus on what you can. Yes, and that's really helped me to and as it turns out, I can do a lot more now than I, you know, than I thought I could that idea of convincing myself that tomorrow I'm going to feel better than today. Just really kind of material that

33:08

is a good one. And I think the big focus on, don't focus on what you can't do. Just focus on what you can do. You know, because that word can't is a powerful negative, and one of the strongest one, ones in the English language at people. I can't do that. I can't do this. You can do anything you want to do. There may be limitations, but you know, your mind can tell you otherwise. So I think, you know, I just want to say to listeners that here's an example of an extraordinary rehabilitation. If you like, any tips and message me and I can get Tina write your rehab programme. You know, because some people aren't going to be at the mindset. Like we are Dean, but I think it's remove that can't and focus on what you can do. Because, yeah, mind is a powerful tool. Yeah,

33:50

the key word is reframing. So look at the situation you're in. First of all, look at the evidence. The evidence I've got is that I've been injured lots of times before and got over it. So the evidence was there telling me, yeah, you should, you should be okay. Here. Then you look at the the logic like plenty of people, why shouldn't I be able to do it? Plenty of other people? You know, logically, if I just follow my rehab, then, you know, so many people have done it before. Logic tells you that you're, you're kind of, you'll kind of get there. And then also there's a stage where you need to be pragmatic and just kind of think, yeah, okay, so I can't quite do what I did, but Bloody hell, I've realised I can do loads of stuff, yeah, and so, so it's just kind of reframing it and realising that wherever I am, it's still, it's still a positive Absolutely.

34:39

And I think that's where I'm going to end it in that positive note. People take a different approach to whatever you do, reframe your mind to think differently. So Dean, I'd like to say thank you for this conversation. Who knows? I'll get you back on again in another few years time, or next couple of months. But no, it was great. So mind over matter really is a thing. And with that, I will say goodbye to Dean, and hopefully we'll get to see each other very, very soon indeed. Thanks, teams. You.