athlete supportAwarenessConfidenceFeelingsinjury recoveryMindset
Your Feelings Are Not Who You Are: A Different Way to Navigate Injury Recovery
Those words rang in my ears as I listened to an interview with Jay Shetty and Joe Dispenza:
“The way you feel is not who you are.”
As a psychologist who works with teen girl athletes, I immediately thought about injury recovery.
An injury doesn’t just affect your body. It affects your identity, your confidence, and the stories you begin telling yourself.
Maybe you’ve noticed yourself thinking:
- My knee is never going to get better.
- I’m falling behind everyone else.
- I’ll never get back to where I was.
Those thoughts feel incredibly real and they catch your attention. Yet here’s something worth remembering:
A thought is just a thought until we assign meaning to it.
Let that sink in for a moment.
How Thoughts Become Our Reality
Your brain produces thousands of thoughts every day (some say up to 70 000!). They seem to appear automatically without you choosing them.
The challenge isn’t that these thoughts exist, it’s that often you believe them without questioning them.
When you repeatedly give attention to the same thought, it becomes connected to emotion. Over time, that emotion becomes familiar. Eventually, the pattern feels like the truth.
For an injured athlete, it might look something like this:
“My knee is never going to heal.”
The thought creates disappointment.
Disappointment grows into hopelessness.
Hopelessness becomes the emotional state you carry through your day around your recovery.
After enough repetition, it no longer feels like a thought. It feels like who you are.
But it isn’t.
Your feelings are real.
Your experience is valid.
Neither of those things are WHO you are.
Your Brain Learns What You Repeatedly Practice
One of the ideas Joe Dispenza discusses is that repeated thoughts strengthen wiring in the brain. In other words, what you consistently think becomes easier to think again.
The encouraging part?
The brain is capable of change. Through neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to form new connections), you can begin creating more supportive patterns over time.
Imagine noticing the thought:
“My knee is never going to get better.”
Instead of following it down the familiar path, you gently redirect your attention toward another possibility.
You picture yourself months from now.
You’re running.
You’re smiling.
Your body feels strong.
The sun is on your face.
You remember what it feels like to move with confidence.
Notice the different emotions that image creates.
Perhaps hope.
Peace.
Gratitude.
Motivation.
None of those emotions magically heal an injury overnight. However, it creates a very different internal environment.
If you had to bet on which internal environment is more likely to support recovery, one filled with hopelessness, sadness, and disappointment, or one grounded in hope, gratitude, and motivation, which would you choose?
Your thoughts also influence the choices you make, whether that’s showing up for rehab, staying patient with the process, and continuing to care for yourself, etc.
Remarkable Healing
One reason Joe Dispenza’s work has captured so much attention is because his team has studied thousands of people using meditation and focused attention to change long-standing patterns of thought and emotion.
Some participants have even shared remarkable improvements in their health, including recovery from serious illnesses and significant physical challenges. So it’s well supported that practices such as meditation can reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and positively influence both mental and physical well-being.
Whether you’re recovering from an ACL tear, a concussion, or another injury, your mind is one of the most powerful tools you bring into the healing process.
You're Not Stuck
Up to 90% of your daily thoughts are repeats from the day before. Can you image watching an episode of that show lol?
At first, that might sound discouraging.
I actually find it hopeful.
Because it also means there is room for new thoughts. Even if 10% of today’s thoughts are different, those new thoughts can become tomorrow’s familiar ones.
One compassionate thought.
A new hopeful image.
Moments of presence.
Repeated often enough, those begin creating a new pattern.
Healing isn’t only about strengthening muscles or rebuilding joints. It’s also about strengthening the thoughts that support the person you’re becoming.
Three Simple Practices to Try This Week
You don’t have to overhaul your life. Simply choose one of these practices and notice what changes.
1. Begin a Five-Minute Meditation Practice
Keep it incredibly simple. Find a guided meditation online and commit to just five minutes.
If your immediate reaction is, “I can’t meditate,” I love it, because that is a thought! Notice it for what it is. What would happen if you gave that thought a little less attention?
Instead, consider these thoughts:
- I’m learning to meditate.
- I can practice meditation for one minute.
- I am capable of building new skills.
Small shifts create new possibilities.
2. Listen to a Short Conversation That Expands Your Thinking
If you’re curious about the connection between the brain, stress, and healing, here are a few excellent places to start:
Even listening for a few minutes during a walk or a stretch can introduce ideas that challenge old patterns.
3. Practice Bringing Your Attention Into the Present
Healing happens one moment at a time.
A few times throughout your day, practice anchoring yourself in what’s happening right now.
You might:
- Study the lines, texture, and warmth of your palms.
- Slowly enjoy a sip of tea or a bite of food, noticing the temperature, flavour, and texture.
- Feel the water on your skin during a shower.
- Listen deeply during a conversation, paying attention to someone’s tone, facial expressions, and body language.
Every time you return your attention to the present, you’re practicing directing your mind instead of letting your mind direct you.
The next time fear whispers, “I’m never going to recover,” remember this:
You don’t have to believe every thought your brain offers you.
You get to choose which thoughts receive your attention.
And that choice, practiced one moment at a time, may become one of the most powerful parts of your healing journey. Because your injury is part of your story. Your thoughts are part of your experience.
Neither of them are fully who you are.
Let’s Keep Walking Together
If this message resonated with you, you’re already part of the community.
I appreciate you!
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Let’s walk this path together with presence, courage, and a little more ease.
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With gratitude,
Chantal
