Podcast | Clarity
Episode 16| August 25, 2023

How Horses Help Restore Mental Health w/ Terri Mongait

A Doctor Told Her Brain Would Never Fully Recover. She Decided That Wasn’t Her Story.

After a traumatic brain injury, four weeks in the ICU and four in rehab, Terri Mongait sat across from a neuropsychologist who gave her the numbers.

Before the injury, her brain functioned at a seven or eight. Now, a two or three. Maybe, in a few years, a five.

She went back to her room, got quiet, and heard a different voice.

That’s not your story.

In this episode of the Happy Healthy Hustle Podcast, author and equine-partnered coach Terri Mongait shares how she rebuilt her brain and her life, why so many of us are living out stories that were never ours, and what horses can teach us about being fully present.

She rebuilt everything on a six-acre ranch in Colorado.

If you are carrying a story that says you are not enough, this one is for you.

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“Maybe you need to let go of who you think you are in order to become who you are actually meant to be.”

– Terri Mongait

Fast Skim & Timestamps

0:00 Meet Terri: Healing Stories With Horses
2:07 Unraveling the Stories That Hold You Back
4:52 The Success Story That Wasn’t Hers
8:46 The Brain Injury and the Prognosis
9:50 “That’s Not Your Story”
11:00 Rebuilding a Life in Colorado
13:22 Why She Talks to Her Horses
17:13 Let Go of Who You Think You Are

Key Takeaways

Many of the beliefs running your life were handed to you. They are not your story.
One client feared success because her only model of it was an absent, workaholic dad.
A prognosis is information, not destiny. Terri’s brain rewove pathways the doctors doubted.
When a trigger hits, you can choose curiosity over the old conclusion about yourself.
Animals are fully present. Horses can reset your inner state when you feel off.
You may have to let go of who you think you are to become who you are meant to be.

Three Petite Practice® Questions

1. Which of my beliefs about myself did I inherit rather than choose?

2. Where am I treating a prognosis or a label as the final word?

3. What story about not being enough am I ready to set down?

Transcript Chapters

0:00 Meet Terri: Healing Stories With Horses

[00:01:39] Terri Mongait: Thank you for having me. I have been listening to the podcast, so it is exciting to be part of this. [00:02:07] Terri Mongait: I work mostly with women and couples who are tired of living lives of mediocrity. We unravel the stories that are keeping you from being your best self. If you are in the Colorado area, we do this on my six-acre ranch and partner with my horses in the round pen, peeling back the layers of the onion to get to the core of the story that is holding you back.

2:07 Unraveling the Stories That Hold You Back

[00:02:40] Terri Mongait: Growing up, we were given messages over and over that we carry as stories, and they keep us from being our best self. The stories that I am not good enough, I am not pretty, I am unworthy, whatever they are. We get to the root cause so we can connect with your soul wisdom, which will tell you, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, that the story is not true.

4:52 The Success Story That Wasn’t Hers

[00:04:52] Terri Mongait: I worked with a client who kept sabotaging herself every time her business found a little success. By unraveling it, we found her idea of success came from her father, a very successful businessman who was never home and was called a jerk by his friends. The message she absorbed was that to be successful you had to give up family and be a jerk. Once she realized that was her father’s message and not her story, she was able to let it go and stop being afraid of success.

8:46 The Brain Injury and the Prognosis

[00:08:46] Terri Mongait: We are all dinged, dented, and slightly cracked, and that is okay. In my case, I was definitely broken. I had a traumatic brain injury, four weeks in the ICU and four weeks in a rehab hospital. In the transitional living center, the head neuropsychologist told me that before my injury my brain function was probably a seven or eight, which is normal, and after the injury it was at a two or three, and after two or three years I might get back to a five.

9:50 “That’s Not Your Story”

[00:09:50] Terri Mongait: I took that message back to my room and my first thought was, I really am broken, I really will not be good enough. Then I got quiet and connected to what I call my soul wisdom, and I heard my internal voice say, that is not your story. From that moment I decided what the doctor told me was crap and I could be as good as new. I just had to wait for my brain to reweave the neural pathways. When things went wrong, instead of saying I am broken, I would get curious and laugh and say, well, that was different, what can I do to help my brain reweave.

11:00 Rebuilding a Life in Colorado

[00:11:00] Terri Mongait: I was a high-level executive assistant, and I knew after the injury that was not going to happen, and that is okay. So we moved from California to Colorado. We have a six-acre ranch. I have four horses, a mini donkey, chickens, dogs, a husband, and a cat. I started a business, and I am an award-winning author. By tapping into my soul wisdom, I seriously proved that doctor wrong.

13:22 Why She Talks to Her Horses

[00:13:22] Terri Mongait: What helped me most was listening to and trusting my own inner voice. I still carry the stories that told me I was not good enough, and I still get triggered. But now, if I reach out after a networking meeting and hear nothing back, I do not take it personally. Everyone has busy lives, and if they do not want to connect, that is their problem, because I am awesome. I also have a barn full of horses. When I get confused, I go out and have a conversation with them. They are so present that it resets my inner working and gives me what I need to keep going.

17:13 Let Go of Who You Think You Are

[00:17:13] Terri Mongait: I am an award-winning author. The book is called Finding True Purpose, on Amazon. My podcast is Soul Wisdom Transitions, on all platforms. You can reach me at terri@beginagainranch.com, and I also work with clients over Zoom. A quote I carry is, maybe you need to let go of who you think you are in order to become who you are actually meant to be. And another, no matter what you are going through, it is always your choice to close your eyes, take a deep breath, smile, and begin again. [00:20:13] Dr. Christiane Schroeter: Just like the name of your ranch. Thank you so much, Terri.

Meet My Guest

Terri Mongait

Equine-Partnered Coach, Award-Winning Author & Host of Soul Wisdom Transitions

Terri Mongait is an author and coach who partners with horses on her six-acre Begin Again Ranch in Colorado to help women and couples unravel the limiting stories that hold them back. After rebuilding her life following a traumatic brain injury, she now guides others to their own soul wisdom.

She is the award-winning author of Finding True Purpose and hosts the podcast Soul Wisdom Transitions. Reach her at terri@beginagainranch.com.

Meet Your Host

Dr. Christiane Schroeter

TEDx Speaker & Leadership Strategist

I’m Dr. Christiane Schroeter, TEDx speaker, leadership strategist, and host of the Top 1% ranked Happy Healthy Hustle Podcast. I help leaders think clearly, speak with conviction, and take the next step during change.

About Dr. Christiane

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