Season 1 · Episode 12 · September 3, 2025 · 27 min
Just an Ordinary Tuesday
New episodes and essays land in my Tuesday letter, along with the Resource Library. Free, and leaving is easy.
Show notes
In this episode, Mike reflects on anxiety, the start of school, the Ted Lasso panic attack scene, and a brand-new piece of AI art he created called Even Heroes Feel It.
This image is part of a larger series he’s building for a women’s health project later this fall — a collection of powerful visual stories about strength, survival, and connection.
👉 Check out the image here on Pictorem
A message of strength and courage
Keep this as a reminder for the days when things feel heavy. Anxiety is real, and it can feel overwhelming, but it does not take away your strength. The power to face it has always been inside you — this image is here to remind you of that.
Anxiety doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It means your body is reacting to stress, even when your mind wishes it wouldn’t. That tight feeling in your chest, the racing thoughts — you’re not the only one. Even the strongest people feel it.
Heroes feel it too. They get scared. They doubt themselves. They wonder if they can keep going. What makes them strong is not the absence of fear, but the choice to carry on through it.
When anxiety rises, pause and breathe. Let the feelings move through you, and then take the next step. That choice is courage. That choice is strength.
The image is a reminder: strength doesn’t mean pretending everything is easy. Strength is looking up, even when fear is still in your chest.
You are not alone in this. You are stronger than you know.
Locker-Note Mantra
Anxiety is real.
It doesn’t mean you’re weak.
Even heroes feel it.
Breathe. Keep going. You’re stronger than you think.
One-Line Toolkit
“Even heroes feel it — and I can keep going too.”
“Anxiety shows up, but it doesn’t control me.”
“I can breathe, I can move forward, I can do this.”
“Strong doesn’t mean no fear — it means carrying on anyway.”
“This feeling will pass. My strength stays.”
🌱 Yes, there’s a plant named Kevin — and Kevin deserves a shoutout.
🍷 And introducing our brand-new “international sponsor” — the amazing Cameron Baker with Barely Legal Wine. Stay tuned…
🎶 Outro track: My Therapist Has a Plant Named Kevin
🎙️ Show Notes — Episode 12: Even Heroes Feel It From the Artwork — Even Heroes Feel It
Thanks for listening to Still Here, Still Trying.
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You can find more of my work — music, writing, art, and reflections — at:
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Still here. Still trying.
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