How your mindset will help you to access the untapped strength that lies within you. For you are stronger than you think.

Play on

Aged 17 years-old, George Robinson lived life to the full. He loved sport, and he loved acting. But it was whilst playing rugby on a school tour in South Africa, everything changed for him. He suffered a serious spinal injury in 2015 during a match - he broke his neck at the C4/C5 level. This means George has no mobility below the level of his injury – he is paralysed below his shoulders.  

Robinson was in hospital in South Africa for over a month, before being transferred to a hospital in the UK. He underwent rehabilitation, which helped George to learn how to navigate life with the injury. 

Having wanted to be an actor since he was around 13, for George, that dream didn’t need to change. Possibly more challenging to make a reality, but nonetheless, not impossible in his view.

George’s most recent role is as Isaac Goodwin in the Netflix series Sex Education – which boldly tackles the diverse sex, love and personal lives of the students and locals surrounding Moordale secondary school. Robinson has said: "I really love playing Isaac," saying the reason is because the character is a bit of a divisive figure, adding that he believes people in the disabled community just want the opportunity to be seen with all their flaws. Robinson said that the 'representative power of his character comes from Isaac's wit and headstrong self-confidence - traits that are rarely, if ever, seen in disabled characters on screen'. "The feedback I've got from within the disability community is that it's really refreshing to see someone who is so comfortable within themselves and not questioning their existence," he says.

Following his accident, who would have blamed Robinson if he had believed his life as he knew it was over, if he had sunk into a permanent depression after all he knew was now behind him.

Robinson has explained that he was left wondering whether he should pursue acting further after the injury. Fortunately, he “re-evaluated” himself after feeling doubtful and “realised that he needed to get out there again as a disabled actor."

Robinson uses his platform as an actor with disabilities to educate and has been vocal about it on his Instagram account, which has 320k followers. Interviewed by the BBC recently, George says that he relishes how his storyline contrasts with what he feels are often 'lazy disability narratives.' He believes they are generally presented as inspirational or tragic and have dominated popular culture and he thinks it’s important people with quadriplegia are cast into the roles of disabled characters rather than people acting out the disability.

Robinson is vocal and garners a lot of support for being willing to speak up for those who might not have a voice that is heard.

It’s not what happens to us, it’s how we respond to what happens to us.

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist, and a prisoner of war during World War II. He lost his parents and wife in the concentration camps yet his book Man’s Search For Meaning explains there is one thing that could never be taken away from him – his freedom to choose his thoughts. What he discovered was that even whilst he being tortured, he still had the freedom to choose the way he thought about himself in his situation. He observed human beings at the very brink of death - some chose to steal food whilst others gave their last morsel of food away. Which means you can always choose your attitude and thus your response.

Was Viktor Frankl special? Is George Robinson special? No, not inherently - no more than you or me. What we hugely admire in them is the response they chose in such horrific circumstances, circumstances which they did not choose. They chose to start a new chapter of their story, the second act of their play, wrote a new script for their film. What they did, can be done by each and every one of us.

A question of time

Over time are two crucial words when we are taken to dark places by events and circumstances which knock us for six, which wind us and which we think we will never ever recover from. It is simply not a case of dusting yourself off, being positive, and carrying on as best you can. Telling yourself it’s all going to be OK and slapping a smile on to convince yourself and others, is like wearing rubber gloves to fix a leaky pen. Time is needed, to process what has happened, to feel the emotions and to be kind to yourself as you work through it all.

Over time, you can begin to decide how you choose to move forward, whatever that might look like for you because it’s different for each individual going through their own personal challenge.

It’s so important to feel all the negative emotions – to really connect with the feelings they produce; in order that you do not allow them to consume you, it’s important to then process them. It’s at this point you are reframing your thoughts and making choices as to the direction you take. You can stay in the current head space but long term, this will not serve you well. Remember, it’s OK not be OK, but it’s not OK to stay that way; you can choose to harness the energy created by the ‘negative’ emotions and use it.

Whether your response to a life-changing event is to create a new ‘normal’ – using that experience to define a new you in a positive way, or it’s to pledge to raise money for a cause close to your heart, to raise awareness of an issue, maybe it’s to form or maintain strong bonds with family and friends, or perhaps the focus is maintaining a good head space in order to keep your mental health in check - we will each respond to challenging times in our lives differently and the words over time are key to this. But, forging a new path going forwards is entirely within the realms of possibility, it’s about making that conscious decision about if and when you want to do this.

The determination and tenacity this takes cannot be underestimated, and times of lack of self-belief are doubtless to happen but it’s always up to you as to the mindset you adopt. There is a great sense of regaining control in a situation which previously you might not have had, when you manage your mindset.

The power that lies within you

That strength lies within all of us, and we all have access to it. Maybe access to that strength is more challenging for some because they weren’t brought up to believe in themselves – maybe they’ve never had a cheerleader in their corner; perhaps hugely challenging circumstances means self-belief is at its lowest; fear of failure for some is the key determinant in never pursuing an ambition. Whatever your perceived barrier, it is possible for everybody to achieve what George Robison has achieved – their dream. For within us all lies huge untapped potential and the ability to choose to succeed. The opposite of success is after all, to not try at all. Failure is the learning curve where we find out how not to do it, to refine what we do until we get it right.

George Robinson’s next role will be as Henry Carwardine in Dalgliesh, and he has been nominated as a BAFTA Breakthrough artist. A promising future lies ahead for George – a future he is creating for himself. None of which can take place without managing your mindset.

 .   .   .   .   .   .   . 

Are you finding it hard to cope with life’s challenges? On our own, it can feel overwhelming to sort through the thoughts which tell us we can’t handle the curve balls.

The Mindset Coaching Membership can help you understand the tools and strategies needed to be the best version of you. With Masterclass Teachings + Coaching + Accountability, we will help you to create the future you want. Find out more here. 

Follow us on Facebook 

Follow us on LinkedIn 

Follow us on Instagram