Swimming is normal for me. I'm relaxed. I'm comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It's my home.
Interpretation
Swimming is a natural and comforting activity for me, akin to being at home.
In this quote, Michael Phelps expresses how swimming is not only a physical activity for him but also an emotional and mental refuge. He conveys a sense of belonging and mastery in the water, suggesting that swimming provides him relaxation and comfort, making it a significant part of his identity.
In practice
This quote can inspire someone who is anxious about competing in sports.
I want to be able to look back and say, 'I've done everything I can, and I was successful.' I don't want to look back and say I should have done this or that. I'd like to change things for the younger generation of swimmers coming along.
For so long, I looked at myself as literally a kid who was talented who would go up and down the pool. That's it. Nothing else. Very few people knew who I really was.
I don't want to be the next Mark Spitz; I want to be the first Michael Phelps
There are too many kids who are drowning for lack of water safety. That's something I'd like to do. Teaching kids to live an active lifestyle.
My goal is one Olympic gold medal. Not many people in this world can say, 'I'm an Olympic gold medalist.'
I know it won't be eight medals again. If you want to compare me to that, that's your decision, not mine. I'm going out there to try to accomplish the things that I have in my mind and in my heart.
Disability sport came about largely because of exclusion, because mainstream sport didn't want disabled people to be part of it.
Before being a player, I was a diehard fan of Roma, so I know what the fans felt when we won.
Even though professional soccer has become more about business and less about the game itself, I still believe football is a party for the legs that play it and for the eyes that watch it.
One reason golf is such an exasperating game is that a thing we learned is so easily forgotten, and we find ourselves struggling year after year with faults we had discovered and corrected time and again.
We, as a wrestling community, better remember it is more than one individual that makes a winner.
Golf has become so manicured, so perfect. The greens, the fairways. I don't like golf carts. I like walking. Some clubs won't let you in unless you have a caddy and a cart.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.