Episode 51 – The Same Date, Twice

If you’ve had a heart attack, there’s a date that’s yours now. You feel it coming weeks before, every year.

Mine is the 19th of October. Twelve years ago that night, I woke at four in the morning in my cottage in the Borders to pitch darkness, a silence that was deafening, and a pressure on my chest. I was alone, and I didn’t know if I’d ever see my family again.

Eleven years later, on the same date, I did the second most terrifying thing I’ve ever done. I sat with my finger over the button and told everyone I knew about Stronger After the Storm.

In this episode I talk about both of those days, and what I’d want a man to know if he’s a few weeks home from hospital and lying awake tonight. Your date will stay with you like a tattoo on your arm. But with intention, you’ll get to it one year on, and many more after that.

Read the full Insight here:
https://strongerafterthestorm.com/the-same-date-twice/

If your head’s busier than it should be, my free 7-Day Mind Reset Plan is a good place to start:
https://strongerafterthestorm.com/the-7-day-mind-reset-plan/

💻 Visit StrongerAfterTheStorm.com — the home of the podcast and weekly Reflection Letters.
📩 Each week I write an honest letter for men rebuilding life after a heart attack. You can sign up on the site.
🎧 Make sure to follow the podcast so you don’t miss the next episode.
⭐ If something in this episode helped you, please leave a review on Apple or Spotify — it really helps more men find us.
🤝 And if you know someone going through the same storm, share this with him. It might be just what he needs today.

Finally Listening to My Body | Why I Stopped Ignoring the Warning Signs

The waiting is what turns something small into something serious

“You can’t drive yourself. I’m calling an ambulance now.”

That’s what the doctor said after I’d spent four days brushing off a cough while planting trees on a steep Borders hillside. I was new to the job and didn’t want to be the one who couldn’t keep up. It turned out to be bilateral pneumonia. A week in hospital, and three months before I was fit for work again.

This summer, out at work again, my legs went light, then my head. This time I told the lads I needed to sit down, and I phoned the doctor at breakfast break. It was a heart arrhythmia, caught early and dealt with.

Same body. Same instinct to push through. A very different response.

In this episode I talk about why so many of us wait, and how the waiting is often what turns something small into something serious.

If you’ve ever felt something wasn’t right and talked yourself out of doing anything about it, my free 7-Day Mind Reset Plan is a good place to start:
https://strongerafterthestorm.com/the-7-day-mind-reset-plan/

💻 Visit StrongerAfterTheStorm.com — the home of the podcast and weekly Reflection Letters.
📩 Each week I write an honest letter for men rebuilding life after a heart attack. You can sign up on the site.
🎧 Make sure to follow the podcast so you don’t miss the next episode.
⭐ If something in this episode helped you, please leave a review on Apple or Spotify — it really helps more men find us.
🤝 And if you know someone going through the same storm, share this with him. It might be just what he needs today.

EPISODE 49 – Face to Face With Your Own Mortality — The quiet moments that remind you you're still here

This October it's twelve years since my heart attack.

I used to think facing your own mortality happened at the big moments. Family photos. Big occasions. The ones everyone expects to hit you.

But for me, it shows up in the quiet ones.

In this episode I take you along on a Saturday ride on the bike. Kelso to Selkirk, up the Yarrow Valley, past St Mary's Loch, and on to Moffat for a coffee and some toffee. Somewhere along that road I pulled in, cut the engine, and sat in the stillness. And the thought landed: I could have missed all this.

I talk about what mortality looks like twelve years on. Not fear, but something quieter. Gratitude. Stillness. And becoming less about survival and more about being a witness to your own life.

If you're a man over 50 rebuilding life after a heart attack, I hope this one helps you notice your own quiet moments.

If your head's still busy and you're looking for somewhere to start, my free 7-Day Mind Reset Plan is here:
https://strongerafterthestorm.com/the-7-day-mind-reset-plan/

💻 Visit StrongerAfterTheStorm.com — the home of the podcast and weekly Reflection Letters.
📩 Each week I write an honest letter for men rebuilding life after a heart attack. You can sign up on the site.
🎧 Make sure to follow the podcast so you don’t miss the next episode.
⭐ If something in this episode helped you, please leave a review on Apple or Spotify — it really helps more men find us.
🤝 And if you know someone going through the same storm, share this with him. It might be just what he needs today.