Triumph over Struggle

Struggle is a part of life, but Kawan got enough for several lifetimes. Yet he's not complaining. Check him out.
Think one brain surgery is tough? Try having 3!
Photo by Piron Guillaume [Unsplash]

We all Struggle. Life happens, as Threads Nation is quite well aware.

How’s it going, Threadies?!?!

For most of us, most of the time, life ain’t that bad. Sometimes it’s even pretty good. But what happens when we experience difficult, even tragic, setbacks? Lots of times, we fall victim to our anxiety, anger, frustrations–all of which can lead down a dark path.

A path not everyone makes it back from.

Fortunately, there are people (I was going to “who struggle” but that’s not right) who triumph over struggle. I mean, to some degree struggling is good. It forces you to focus, try your hardest, improve at things you’re not good at, and so on.

But there are struggles that are really hard to overcome. And on Threads Podcast: Life Unfiltered the guys regularly talk about the struggles that we can’t see. One’s that we try to hide. But it’s not as common that they talk to a guest who’s struggles are both mental and physical. When they do, as you can hear on Episode 98, it’s powerful stuff.

Their guest was Kawan Glover, a man who suffered a stroke and had 3 brain surgeries, all in his early twenties. Needless to say, this all left him with myriad physical and mental health challenges. But, as he likes to say, “There can be triumph over struggle.”

Check out some highlights from the Kawan Glover interview:

From Studies to Struggles

In a storm, an optimist looks at the window and sees the sun over the horizon. A pessimist looks and sees smears on the window.

Kawan Glover, Threads Podcast: Life Unfiltered interview (Ep.98)

Kawan described his life up through his teens as “pretty easy.” He knew where he wanted to go in life and was actively taking steps to get there. Succeeding as a college finance major seemed to be right in Kawan’s comfort zone. Everything was going right as planned.

Then, at the age of 20, he had a stroke.

The guys were surprised to hear that an outwardly healthy looking 20 year old could have a stroke. He laughed, saying, “Sometimes I like to think I have the Benjamin Button syndrome,” adding that he’s also had shingles, which is more common for “people three times my age.”

His setbacks originally got the better of him, leading him into a depression. To feel better, he began abusing prescription pain medication.

He details his difficult-but-amazing journey back.

Triumph over Struggle

I call myself a serial overcomer.

Kawan Glover, Threads Podcast: Life Unfiltered interview (Ep.98)

A big part of Kawan’s journey–which he also wrote about in his book, Favor: How Stroke Struggle and Surgery Helped Me Find Me–was faith. But not in the way the guys might have thought.

Kawan says, “It’s not about church, it’s not about religion–it’s about faith,” and that faith had a huge impact on his ability to keep pushing forward. But he learned you can’t expect everything you want, and definitely not all at once. “Things don’t happen when you want [them] to, or the way you want them to.” Understanding that, but more importantly accepting it, is the key. “Embracing gratitude and understanding the art of patience has really given me a whole new perspective on my journey.”

If we listen and learn from Kawan, maybe we’ll also be able to say: “I feel a lot more peaceful.”

Listen to the show! Check out Threads’ sponsor, BetterHelp–a teletherapy company that makes access to mental health easy and affordable; anytime, anywhere. Click on this link to get 10% off your first month of teletherapy with BetterHelp!!!

On behalf of the guys, thanks for reading, listening, and supporting the show!

Go in peace, Threadies. Take care of yourselves.

-CT

Christopher Tallon writes, podcasts, and…wait a second. Are you actually reading this?

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