I am willing to put myself through anything; temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level.
Interpretation
Temporary struggles can lead to significant personal growth and achievement.
This quote by Diana Nyad emphasizes the importance of perseverance and resilience in the face of challenges. It suggests that one should be willing to endure short-term discomfort, as it is often necessary for long-term progress and the attainment of higher goals in life.
In practice
Motivating a friend who is hesitant about starting a new workout routine.
You have a dream and you have obstacles in front of you as we all do. None of us ever get through this life without heartache, without turmoil, and if you believe and you have faith and you can get knocked down and get back up again and you believe in perseverance as a great human quality, you find your way.
In swimming, especially training out in the ocean and open water, you got fogged-over goggles, you're stuck with your own thoughts - there's great benefits to that, deep thinking like that after many hours, but there's also tremendous loneliness. You burn out. You want to run, jump, ski, do anything. So at age 30, I was finished.
Every human being on this planet has their pain and their heartache and it's up to all of us to find our way back to the light.
I swam. We made it, our team, from the rocks of Cuba to the beach of Florida, in squeaky-clean, ethical fashion.
I grew up in Florida, so you start swimming at the age of 1, really. By 10, I was competitive swimming, and by 12, I had aspirations to be the best in the world.
There is... nothing greater than touching the shore after crossing some great body of water knowing that I've done it with my own two arms and legs.
When I first started coaching, one of the worst things that I think I heard was 'It will be O.K.' I would wonder, 'How the hell is it going to be O.K.?' The worst word in the English language is 'hope.'
We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
Every kid coming out of Harvard, every kid coming out of school now thinks he can be the next Mark Zuckerberg, and with these new technologies like cloud computing, he actually has a shot.
There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us.
Whatever you want to do is more than possible. It’s what you haven’t dreamt of yet that will blow your mind
People think I'm disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.
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