Uprooted by Injury

Author: Kiran Prasad
Published: Mon 23 Jun 2025
Episode Link: None

Chris Waker shares his personal story with us. Chris is a motivational
speaker, snowboarding coach and former professional snowboarder. With a burning passion for adventure and snowboarding, he competed in events like the FIS World Cup and earned the title of Snowboard Coach of the Year in 2019 from the US Ski and Snowboard Association. Chris was at the pinnacle of his career when his life took an unexpected turn on Christmas Eve 2020 after a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed from the neck down. While he has his dark moments, Chris refuses to let adversity defeat him. Since then, he's found purpose in becoming a powerful voice for resilience and transformation.

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References

The thermometer (reacting passively)versus thermostat (reacting proactively) analogy is likely attributed to Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

The “dumping out thoughts into a trash can” visualization was likely popularized by the research of Richard Petty and his team.