Imagine swimming blindfolded.
How do you know how deep the water is when you can’t see?
How do you know if you reach the end of the pool when you can’t see?
How do you ensure you don’t drown yourself when you can’t see?
These were so many questions I had when I met Sophie over lunch recently.
She is a para-athletic who competed in several competitions, including the #paralympics in Tokyo 2020.
Typically, para-athletics in swimming retire at age 15, but she only started competitive swimming at age 15.
And I love how she said confidently, “If you want it, go get it!”
Wow!
#1 WHAT ARE YOU RUNNING AFTER?
People who join the sport for fame and money will only burn out quickly.
Competitive swimming is not a walk in a park.
Sophie has to train four times per week and be at the pool when most of us are still asleep.
She would have given up long ago without her love and passion for swimming.
She had a very supportive family who supported her to be in her space where she could #flourish versus going after societal norms like getting a degree.
#2 GO ALL IN SO THAT YOU WON’T REGRET IT LATER.
Tokyo Paralympic 2020 is the most challenging event she has ever done.
Because anything that could go wrong went wrong.
Her equipment malfunctioned in her 100m butterfly; water entered her google, and she could not breathe properly.
But she went in with an “ALL OUT” attitude and did well for her timing despite all the drama.
She did not want to lament her environment, pity herself and regret it later.
She just went for it despite the odds stacked against her.
#3 EMBRACING HER STORY
I was simply surprised when she shared that she loves to invite people to ask her all kinds of questions, including the tough ones.
To date, she is never offended.
I threw her the question, how did she embrace the fact that she is blind?
Since she was young, her mom knew that it was abnormal for Sophie when she could not see her from a distance.
Around age 5, her mom brought her to her favourite McDonald’s and broke the news.
After the news, she was, in fact, unfazed.
She took it well and went ahead to thrash her timing and become the para-athletic today.
#riseup
There was so much wisdom in her life!
It is impossible to see her life as she experiences it right now.
Because she spoke confidently, with her guide dog and boyfriend by her side, you don’t even know she has challenges with her sight if you see her for the first time.
She #riseup ad-mist her challenges.
What are you 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗨𝗣 for today?
Gonna be sharing a bit more about her guide dog in my next post.
Stay tuned.
This is Joseph Signing Off.
May You TRANSFORM, FLOURISH AND PROSPER in the brand new world!
#riseup #riseupglobal #showup #leadership #team #leader #inspiration #motivation #darkness
