The Hustle

Lewis Bartelle
Oct 14
3 min read

Updated: Oct 25

Why Recovery is an Inside Job

Hey friends, Lewis here. This is Article 6 of 14 in my Stroke Support Series.

When you're first hit by a stroke, you rely completely on the outside world. Therapists, doctors, medication—they are all vital parts of recovery. They are the experts, the map-makers, and the safety net. And for their work, we are eternally grateful.

But here is the hard-earned truth I learned: the ultimate progress must come from within.

Recovery is an inside job, and it requires a mindset I call The Hustle. This isn't just about showing up for your appointments; it’s about taking total ownership of your journey and bringing that internal drive every single day.

The Secret Ingredient: Your Effort and Ownership

Your effort and internal drive are the secret ingredients that truly fuel neuroplasticity. The best therapist in the world can't make your brain rewire itself; only you can, through focused, relentless action.

The immense satisfaction of seeing progress—even tiny progress—and knowing you made it happen is one of the most motivating forces on this journey. It shifts you from being a patient who is being treated to a warrior who is actively fighting.

Taking Ownership: Practical Steps

To harness this internal hustle, you have to be intentional about your role:

Be the CEO of Your Care: Treat your recovery like a full-time job where you are the boss. This means knowing your goals, asking challenging questions to your therapy team, and tracking your progress relentlessly.
Practice on Off-Days: Therapy is great, but real progress happens between sessions. Integrate your exercises into your daily routine. If your goal is hand mobility, use your affected hand to hold the TV remote or wipe the counter. Consistency is the currency of neuroplasticity.
Find Your "Why": Why are you doing this hard work? To hold your grandchild? To speak clearly again? To walk without a cane? Write that reason down and read it every morning. That internal "why" is the engine of your hustle.

Embrace the Fall: The Power of Failure

Now, let's talk about something that sounds completely backward: we have to learn to fail.

I know, you're sick of failing. But check this out: no one ever gets things right the first time (and if they do, it’s pure luck!). You have to think of yourself as a clumsy toddler. What does a toddler do? They make a mess of everything, constantly fall down, and yet, they always get back up. This is how we learn!

Honestly, I want to see you fail. It means you're trying to push beyond your current limit. Failure is just feedback, not an endpoint.

Your recovery progress should look like this:

Try = Fail (You found the limit.)
Try = Fail Less (You adjusted.)
Try = Stumble (Almost there!)
Try = I Got This (Progress unlocked!)

That chain—that persistent drive to get better than you were five minutes ago—is called progress, my friends. 😎

Warriors vs. Gladiators: Unveiling Your True Colors

We all start this journey as Warriors. Everyone dealing with the daily stuff of stroke recovery is a warrior, simply for showing up. But I believe being a warrior has different levels (say, 1 through 10). Everyone is a baseline warrior, but some are more willing to put in the harder work and demand change.

Moments of crisis reveal other people’s "true colors"—how they react when things get hard. But what about our own True Colors?

This is the point where Warriors become Gladiators.

A Gladiator is someone who doesn't just survive the battle; they master the fight. They are not defined by the circumstances that brought them to the arena; they are defined by the ferocity of their comeback. A Gladiator takes full, absolute ownership of their effort and never, ever quits.

Is that Gladiator in you? The one who is willing to take ownership, who sees failure as necessary feedback, and who demands daily progress?