The Long Road Ahead

Greetings!

Welcome to The Resilience Rundown, your Monthly dose of inspiration and information on the road to recovery.

3 Ideas From Me:

1. Representation matters; finding your voice:

Something I stress in my meetings on disability feedback & advocacy is that if you want to make a change, you must make your voice heard. People only make decisions based on what they know. Suppose you want them to make a change. In that case, you have to be more vocal, whether through the local level, going to council meetings, creating campaigns through charities for your disability or issue, or even creating content online to make a broader audience aware of the issue that affects you and others.

2. The things we do are ripples in a pond:

Something I think about a lot about my interactions with people is that the things we do are the pebbles we throw in a pond. Those things are waves that we make in that pond, and in my life, I try to create as many good waves as possible, whether remembering a birthday, buying someone food or complimenting someone. We have the power to do this and to make people’s days with the smallest of actions.

3. The 1% method: 

James Clear’s 1% method is a simple yet powerful concept: focusing on getting just 1% better daily. It’s not about massive leaps, but rather small, consistent improvements. Over time, these tiny gains compound, leading to significant results. Think of it like interest on savings. A small amount invested daily may not seem like much, but over months and years, it can grow exponentially. Whether it’s reading a few more pages, learning a new skill, or improving a habit, the 1% method is about making progress that feels achievable and sustainable. As Clear says, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”

2 Recovery Tips From Others:

1. Advocating for yourself:

One of the things I keep hearing in my time working in advocacy for people is to be the advocate for yourself. You know yourself the best and understand how you are affected by the issues you face, and that can be a thing that empowers you as you have agency and control in your life and, thus, a stronger sense of self.

2. Writing about your struggles is a good thing: 

I might be content-brained, or it might be due to the problems I faced in my early days of recovery, where I looked for a life raft to hold onto in the giant ocean of impossibility of which I was lost but having something to read or watch from a person around my age sharing their ups & downs with their recovery someone like Tawnie Romero-Golic or Madeline Niebanck sharing the stories of their lives is, and, would have been a boon to me and is something I’ve been doing at my blog since 2018. Still, there is a catharsis when I put out a blog post, video or newsletter, and I know these words can help people.

A Story To Inspire You:

I got the chance in May to hear the story of Carolyn, who came through Cedar, whose story resonated with me and to hear that it was only for 10 minutes, but the chat I had with her after really broad her speech she has been through so much from an acquired brain injury that led to vision impairment and physical weakness to hear how this person was able to get up, get dressed and make her way to an event that she was speaking at and to see the courage on display to inspire the 60 other people in the room and believe me it took courage I was sitting there. I could see her nervousness and her trying to self-soothe. Still, she did it, and I felt proud of her, and I believe that if she could do so, I could as well.

Question For You To Ponder:

In what ways can you use your voice to advocate for yourself or others, creating positive ripples in your community?

Thank you for being a part of the Stroke of Resilience community. Your support means the world to me. Remember, you are stronger than you think.

Until next month

~Andrew Oliver