Managing Chronic Illness & Pain with Goal Setting with Athena Brownson

Athena Brownson, a former professional skier who competed for 14 years before becoming a top Denver realtor speaks to Doug in this episode. Athena talks about the challenges she faced after multiple surgeries and becoming chronically ill from lyme disease. She shares why the goal-setting techniques that made her an elite athlete became her lifeline through chronic illness and her approach in real estate. Doug and Athena also explore morning routines, Athena’s "greatness tracker" system, and how she transforms nervous energy into excitement. Athena and Doug give actionable strategies for approaching goals, especially when facing adversity.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Tough coaching taught Athena consequences and accountability. Her coaches ensured there would be consequences if she wasn't following instructions or skiing to her fullest potential, teaching her resilience and showing up. Lyme disease took Athena from athletic peak to chronic pain, she was diagnosed eight and a half years ago, going from top athlete to barely getting out of bed with 10 out of 10 pain. Athena writes goals in present tense daily as part of her morning routine. She learned to write "I am healing, I am healthy, I am full of energy" even when those things weren't true, creating neural pathways in her brain. Athena created a greatness tracker system for weekly accountability, she prints out weekly action items including face to face meetings, phone calls, notes, open houses, events, plus health goals like gym visits and clean eating. Visualisation has always helped Athena achieve her goals. If she could visualise landing a trick she'd never tried in her head, she knew she could land it in real life; now she visualises sales and happy clients. Real estate requires the same mentality Athena had as an athlete, she believes you need "a little bit of psychosis" to succeed in real estate, the same type athletes have. Goal setting prevents Athena from going on disability despite chronic illnesses, most people in her position go on bed rest and disability, but if she did that she'd be so depressed it would be game over for he. Athena views manifestation as consistent goal-writing by hand, writing goals by hand tells your brain what's important and helps recognise opportunities, making manifestation practical. BEST MOMENTS "I've pretty much been setting goals since I came out of the womb, even if it was unintentional."  "Half of the feat of reaching a goal is the simple act of showing up."  "If I could visualise, if I could close my eyes, visualise myself landing a trick that I had never tried before, but I landed it in my head, I knew that I could land it in real life."  "I reckon we could get rid of a certain amount of mental illness if we could get more people to be goal oriented."  "When you're in the midst of adversity, it's actually the most important time to create goals and to create those actionable steps, because that is what is going to keep your mind engaged in a positive manner."  ABOUT THE GUEST Athena Brownson: Former Pro Skier Turned Top Denver Realtor, Defying Limits in Life and Real Estate. Something like this! https://athenabrownsonrealtor.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/athenabrownsonrealtor/https://www.facebook.com/AthenaBrownsonRealtor/ VALUABLE RESOURCES Website: http://dougbennett.co.uk/ Email: [e-mail] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/financialdoug/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FinancialDoug Facebook Wealth Tribe: https://join.dougbennett.co.uk/ Download Your "Ten-Step Guide To Financial Freedom" Here: https://bit.ly/Struggle-Success BOOKS: Goals Do Come True is now live and available to buy on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3phcy6Z Think Simple, Win Big is now live and available to buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Simple-Win-Big-Business/ Enjoy, and come back for the latest podcast each Wednesday. Thank you for listening.