Attitude is everything: Resilience, hospital & Haribo
I’m inspired daily by stories of amazing people in their 70s, 80s, 90s and even 100s accomplishing brilliant feats of physical capability for their age. It really takes someone special to set a goal and put in the hard work to reach it, at any age.
I recently interviewed Sir Christopher Ball on the Make Movement Matter podcast (Episode 45 if you fancy an inspiring listen). He only took up running in his 60s, but went on to create the Brathay Challenge, running 10 marathons in 10 days (!) in his 70s. Now in his 90s, he still runs three times a week!
To choose a goal like that, and then follow through with it, I think we’d all agree: you need a strong attitude; determination, resilience, and positivity.
Feeling the fear (and doing it anyway)
Most of us don’t chase big goals. Often, they’re just not our thing. But sometimes we can find we actually shy away from challenges, especially as we get older, because of fear. And fear, while necessary to keep us safe, can sometimes hold us back unnecessarily.
Overcoming fear, or at least recognising that it might be holding us back, and choosing to move through it anyway, even while still feeling it, is often where the real growth lies (as I’m finding with my public speaking journey!).
But not all inspiration comes from big achievements. Often it’s the courage shown in the quiet, testing moments of life that stick with us the most. And arguably, it’s in our most vulnerable times, that our attitude to life makes the greatest difference in how the experience eventually shapes us.
Mum, movement and mindset
On Sunday, my mum (80) returned to a UK hospital after falling off her e-bike in France, where she and my dad had been holidaying in their motorhome. She broke a bone in her pelvis and had to wait 10 days in a French hospital during a heatwave, with no air conditioning, to be repatriated.
She amazes me! From the moment of the fall, her attitude has carried her through. The trauma of being taken to hospital abroad, the heat, the pain and yet she’s remained remarkably positive. She didn’t need surgery (thankfully!), and just one day later she was already asking me what movements she could do lying down, around the pain and researching them on the NHS website. Within days, she was setting herself small goals to measure her progress and all whilst her pain relief was lower than it should have been (as we found out when she got back to the UK).
Her messages have been full of humour (the ‘dishy French consultant) and hope; using her French to befriend her French roommate, being grateful for the kind staff, barely complaining about the heat or the pain. She even sent a video from the paramedics flying her home - smiling and giving a big thumbs up for my sons to see the light aircraft landing bumpily, despite not being a confident flyer (although far better than when we were children after reading the book, ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’)!
I know she’s going to be fine. Not because she’s angrily fighting hard against what’s happened, but because she’s accepted it quickly and is willing to work with her body, at its own pace. And because she knows she has the support around her; support that flows so naturally when someone meets challenges with such openness and grace.
She inspires me all the time, and reminds me of her mum, my grandmother. Her values live on through my mum, and I hope they’ve been passed on to me too.
Sometimes, courage isn’t in the bold pursuit of a big finish line, but in the gentle resilience that shows up when life knocks you sideways.
What the research shows
How we choose to see the world, and our place in it, can literally shape physical outcomes.
This isn’t just wishful thinking: it's backed by science. In her book, ‘The Mindful Body - Thinking your way to lasting health’, Harvard psychologist, Dr Ellen Langer, shares powerful evidence that our mental attitude to illness and healing can directly impact recovery.
Whether it’s noticing when symptoms ease, reframing fear, or believing you have agency in your healing, Langer shows that mindset matters more than we think. Her groundbreaking work blurs the line between mind and body and reminds us that health outcomes aren’t fixed, they’re fluid and our beliefs play a central role.
In a recent episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, she discusses how the way we perceive our body, our limitations, and even the ageing process can affect how we function and feel.
Attitude really matters
So whether you’re chasing a marathon or recovering from a fall, your attitude truly is everything. You don’t need to be endlessly optimistic or deny the hard bits, but instead of getting caught in the story of what’s gone wrong, meeting life with curiosity, courage and a willingness to engage makes all the difference.
Wishing you health, love and happiness this week.
Wendy x
