The Power of Relationships: A Tribute to Hunter

Welcome to the Healthy Mindset AI podcast, where host Mike Hartman, a performance coach and former professional athlete, brings his passion to help athletes and workplace athletes achieve their dreams and goals while being mindful of everything else in life. Mike also uses this platform to share his targeted assessment applications, Healthy Mindset course, meditation, and goal-setting technique for the athlete and workplace athlete. We're glad you're here. Now let's dive headfirst into this episode of the Healthy Mindset AI Podcast. Here's your host, Mike Hartman.

Welcome back to another episode, and today I'm going to talk about the power of relationships, and it's a tribute to Hunter, and I'll tell you who Hunter is in a minute. For those who have followed my journey, I mentioned a couple podcasts ago that I faced the biggest challenge of my life, and I had a sepsis that attacked my body, and I'm fortunate enough to, uh, to still be alive. And I was fortunate enough to have some amazing people in my corner beside my family and everybody else. And I mentioned before, I talked about this Dr. T, who was just incredible person. He came up and even talked to me about the Olympics that was going on. Dr. Michaels, Dr. Harley, Brian the physician's assistant, the incredible nurses and the staff. Every day was great. But today I want to talk about someone else who really, really brought some amazing energy, uh, to me when I needed it most. And her name is Hunter. Hunter wasn't my surgeon, like I mentioned, but— and she wasn't performing any big procedures or prescribing medications, but what she gave me is something equally important during the most difficult times. And she gave me a human connection that I needed. How it happened was one day I was walking with my walker in, in the hospital, and as I'm walking, I walk by the desk. There's a little desk that is about 20, probably 20 yards from my, from my room, and I see I see this lady there and she has a Hurricanes shirt on. So I look back, okay, there you go, nice Hurricanes shirt. And then as I'm walking, I also looked at the screen, not trying to be nosy, but I couldn't help notice. And she was looking at NHL scores and looking at the Hurricanes. And so of course I said something to her. I said, "Oh, big Hurricanes fan?" She was, "Ah, the biggest fan, love it. I've been studying the game. I'm a huge fan. I go to Raleigh, I have tickets." And I said, "Oh, amazing." And I said, "Well, if you ever get bored, come down and see me." Talk about timing. She came down and I thought, you know, she came in the room and we were gonna have a quick conversation and she goes, you mind if I come in? I said, no, no, come sit down. And we were talking about the Hurricanes, we were talking about different players, the coach. Mentioned to her that I knew Timmy Gleason in Michigan. He's the assistant coach and I knew him as a young hockey player. Timmy used to go to our hockey school and it was easy. Assistant coach of the Hurricanes. We talked about everything. I mean, from players and where they're from. And then she mentioned to me that she's going to go to Finland to the neutral site game. And just really great timing. It was, it was perfect conversation, reminded me of how powerful relationships can be during life's toughest moments. So the greatest thing that she did for me was she took my mind off of things and it was great. And the energy she brought in really took a, for me it was a tough moment that I was going through at that time and it completely turned around. Like they say, timing's everything. And I'm going to talk about 10 different reasons why relationships really matter. And I've said this before, I always taught my kids that life is built on relationships. So when someone generally cares, she genuine, she came in, she wanted to say hello and she knew what I was going through. And it's great that you don't have to face challenges alone. And we didn't know any, I mean, we talked all but 3 minutes when I said, hey, why don't you come down and we could chat? So the next thing is I learned through this that relationships reduce stress. They really do. Someone's going to say, how do you mean reduce stress? Well, a simple conversation can calm the mind. Like for me, I had a ton of anxiety in there. The most I've ever had during a difficult time. Hunter comes in, we're talking about the game, we're talking about players, we're talking about different situations. And then I went to learn about her. She's sharing her life story, very enthusiastic, and her voice just had the passion for, for the hurricanes. I thought it was great. And, you know, another, another thing is number 3: relationships help us stay positive. Because during a time when I was negative, I was thinking the worst. I mentioned in the earlier episode that I didn't know if I was going to wake up. I mean, I was, uh, I was negative, and I me as a former athlete and somebody that teaches you have to stay, you have to be positive, you have to think positive. I was negative. So she really turned a negative situation into an extremely positive one. And, you know, positive people help us see possibilities instead of problems. So I'm looking at negative things and Hunter brought this, like I said, amazing energy in. And the other thing is it's about the human connection. So Number 4, relationships create connections. We all want to feel seen or heard and understood. And, you know, I was feeling sorry for myself. I was asking the nurses questions and the doctors so many questions, and in comes Hunter, and we're talking about something completely different. And she was asking me questions about even what's going on with me and what do I think, and she was extremely positive. During that whole time. It was something very special to me that I'll never forget. And we talk about relationships improving your health, and there's been so much research on that that shows that a strong social connection supports better physical and emotional connections and well-being. It really does, because I have friends that are retired, and they're retired from their jobs, uh, they worked, they worked in corporate America. And the number one thing is that human connection. You don't want to lose that. It's so important that we always keep that up. So that's extremely important. And the other thing too is what Hunter really did for me is relationships shift our focus. So she really shifted my focus for 45 minutes. Hunter helped me focus on hockey, the good times instead of my illness, and completely took my mind away from it. So when we talk about relationships, everything isn't just a transactional relationship. This was just a, uh, what I call is just a natural relationship and something that we both had in common. And we both love the game of hockey, and especially Hunter has so much passion for it. And within her voice, it was, it was incredible. Number 7, relationships build resilience. So when people support us like Hunter did for me, we often discover this strength that we didn't even know we had. So one minute I'm laying in the bed. I remember Cheryl left. It was like about 9 at night and she left and she was, you know, she was with me every step of the way. Like I said earlier, I don't even have to go into that. And then it's not like Hunter replaced it, but she comes in the room and completely changed the momentum. It's like in a game, you're in a hockey game, you're watching the playoffs. All of a sudden, like in the Stanley Cup, You know, the Hurricanes have momentum, and then the next thing you know, Vegas ended up making a couple big hits, and if they score a goal, momentum shifts. So Hunter was like in hockey, she actually changed the momentum of things, and to me that was, that was great. She completely shifted it. And what I realized too was Hunter was done with work, so she had a long day and she still spent the time there to talk. So I said, don't you have to get back? She goes, oh no, I'm off. I go, don't you want to get home? I think it was like a Friday night. She goes, no, I, I enjoy talking to you. And I said, well, if you have any questions, feel free to, to reach out. And one thing too is we, we talk about relationships creating lasting memories, and I'm, I'm going to remember this forever because I wasn't the strongest person. I believe mentally I could have been probably stronger during this whole ordeal Years from now, I may not remember every medical detail, but I'll remember those, the, the incredible doctors and staff and nurses, and especially even with Hunter, that how much she made it so much easier for me. So that's important. So, and she didn't try, and which, that's the whole thing. She didn't— she was authentic and she was real about it. And relationships remind us of our humanity, you know, behind every patient or employee. I could just say this, uh, athlete, leader, um, human being, it doesn't matter. We all need that human connection, and we do need it. There's times we need it. So even in your own life, if you have to lift somebody up authentically in, in being real, like, um, like Hunter did I mean, we need that sometimes. Sometimes people just need to talk to somebody. That's why coaches and mentors are, are so important. And again, it's not all transactional. And the last one is relationships can change a life. It really can. Sometimes it's hard to, to just simply, um, sit down and listen to talk to somebody. And especially like it's Friday night and she has to go, but she took the time to sit there. So I really wanted to do this podcast, uh, a special tribute to her. Hunter, uh, if you're ever going to listen to this, thank you, uh, for listening. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for helping me take my mind off one of the most difficult moments of my life, especially that day, because you came in at a time where I don't know if you could tell, but I was, uh, probably as nervous as I've ever been. You reminded me that healing isn't just about medicine, procedures, or surgeries. It's about relationships. It's about, you know, what happens through relationships. And sometimes a 45-minute conversation about hockey or about things in life could really make a difference. And I just want to, you know, thank you again and how important it was for me that night. I know you told me you enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it even more. And I love your passion. And you know what, I have to admit, I was wrong. You asked me, hey, do I think the Hurricanes are going to win the Stanley Cup? And I said, I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball. They're a great team, well coached, great players, good players, good fan base, loud stadium, but anything could happen. But you were right, Hunter. You told me the Hurricanes are gonna win the Stanley Cup. So someone who's been in hockey since they were 5 years old, my family's been in hockey, my father worked for the Detroit Red Wings for I don't know how many years, my uncle took me to games since I was 6 years old to see the Detroit Red Wings, you out-hockeyed me, if that's a term. And so you did, and I go, ah, you know, yeah, I don't know if they're gonna win, but you were right. Hunter, I'm so happy that, uh, we got to meet, and this is just a special tribute to you.

We're so glad you joined us for this episode of the Healthy Mindset AI podcast with your host Mike Hartman. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe, and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That helps others find the show, and we greatly appreciate it. To dive deeper and learn more about the Healthy Mindset program, or to get in touch with Mike, please visit our website, healthymindset.ai. Thanks again for listening, and we hope you'll join us again on the next episode of the Healthy Mindset AI podcast. Until then, be well.