Ian Bowen was 32, healthy, and training for a race when a rare diagnosis and spinal cord surgery left him paralyzed from the chest down. Doctors told him he might walk with assistance, but would never run again, and that his recovery would eventually plateau.

Ian refused to let that prognosis become his identity. He shares the mindset shift that carried him through years of rehab, the role of the right voices and tough love, and the “RINSE” framework he built from lived experience: Remember, Imagine, Notice, Shift, and Expect.

If you’re staring down a diagnosis, setback, or season that feels impossible, what would change if you decided, “I make it, or I make it” and started taking the next step anyway?