Push Through vs. Embrace It

Well, I had a “successful” knee surgery this past Thursday, but it didn’t go quite as I expected.

Going into it, I thought it would be a relatively minor clean-up, maybe with a small meniscus repair if needed.

But when I spoke with the surgeon the next day, what he told me was devastating.

He said that once he got inside my knee, he was shocked… shocked by how bad the damage was and how I’d even managed to play the few games I did this season.

My expected recovery time? Tripled. Six months of rehab. My season, more or less, over.

That news was a tough pill to swallow. Still, when I got home the next day, I felt fired up and ready to attack the rehab process head-on.

But after a few days of sitting with it, I realized I needed to reflect on that initial rush of motivation… and find a mindset that’s actually more conducive to healing.

Let me walk you through that reflection.

Check Out the Recent Lithuania Vlogs 🔥

My Small Mindset Tweak

Now that just about everything in my daily life has changed, I can’t walk without crutches, the rehab timeline has tripled, and even the smallest tasks feel harder. I’ve noticed myself slipping into a “just push through it” mindset.

That clench-your-jaw-and-grind mentality has its place, but I don’t think this is that time.

With rehab now stretching from two months to six, if I spend this entire period simply trying to power through, I’ll miss so many opportunities for growth and moments of simple joy. The goal isn’t to bulldoze obstacle after obstacle, because there will always be another one waiting. That kind of relentless “push” can actually take away the beauty and lessons that each step of the process has to offer.

So my mindset has shifted, from pushing through to embracing this time for what it is.

A big part of embracing means intentionally searching for moments of beauty rather than heartbreak. If I’m always in attack mode, I’ll never be fully present to take in the journey as it unfolds.

Real growth doesn’t come after the obstacles, it comes through them. Challenges are here to stretch us, teach us, and ultimately shape us. They’re not boxes to check off a list; they’re experiences meant to help us live and learn more deeply.

I don’t want to waste days staring at the next challenge ahead. Just because an experience is difficult doesn’t mean the only answer is unrelenting grit. I can move with grace through difficulty and flow through challenge.

Our experience is shaped by where we place our awareness. It sounds simple, but when we focus on what’s good and stay open to growth, even the hardest moments become meaningful. No experience is all good or all bad… that’s what makes life so dynamic. When we embrace both sides of an experience, we allow ourselves to be fully present for everything it has to offer.

So when I first got the news about the severity of this rehab, my initial reaction was to vow to overcome it. But now, I’ve shifted — I vow to embrace it.

To embrace it for everything it is, good and bad, and to search for growth in every step. I don’t want to rush through this. I want to immerse myself in it. This journey is going to be a rollercoaster, but one that will teach me more about who I am than anything else ever could.

I’m embracing the opportunity, and I encourage you to do the same with whatever challenges you’re facing.

Obstacles aren’t here just for us to power through. They’re here to elevate us.

It’s a hard process and one that doesn’t need rushing.

Embrace it.

Upcoming Atypical

You can still expect weekly YouTube uploads, but the pace of each video will slow down a bit for now. There’ll be more reflection and a little less “doing.” My assumption is that if you’re subscribed to this newsletter, you’re here because you want a deeper look into how a pro thinks—and if that’s true, these next few videos will give you plenty of chances to pick my brain.

If you have any questions about mindset development or how to strengthen your own Atypical Mindset, feel free to reply to this email or drop a comment on YouTube. I’ll either respond directly or create a video to dive into it further.

You can also expect more short-form content soon that will be focused on mindset, personal growth, and the athlete experience.

I hope you’re as excited as I am about this small pivot. There’s a lot of value coming your way.

Final Thoughts

As athletes, it’s easy to get caught up in the grind and to glorify the act of overcoming difficult things.

And while both of those can be powerful and positive, if we get lost in them, we end up doing ourselves a huge disservice.

The athlete experience has so much more to offer than just the obstacles.

Shift your mindset to embracing it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and watch how much more fulfillment you find in your journey.

Here’s to growth.
Here’s to being present.

May your journey be filled with both.

Much love,

Trey