I still remember the days, not wanting to see anybody, not wanting to talk to anybody, really not wanting to live. I was on an express elevator to the bottom floor, wherever that might be.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a time of deep personal struggle and the desire to retreat from the world.
In this quote, Michael Phelps shares a vulnerable moment from his life when he felt overwhelmed and isolated, expressing a profound sense of despair. This imagery of being on an 'express elevator to the bottom floor' conveys the rapid descent into hopelessness and the emotional turmoil that can accompany mental health challenges, highlighting the importance of acknowledging such feelings and the journey toward recovery.
In practice
Using this quote to encourage individuals in a mental health workshop.
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.
No one's ever completely broken. It's just a matter of how much has to fall apart before the ember of life is exposed to air.
The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.
Do right and risk the consequences.
We must show new energy in fighting back an old evil. Nearly two centuries after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, and more than a century after slavery was officially ended in its last strongholds, the trade in human beings for any purpose must not be allowed to thrive in our time.
People have to liberate themselves, because liberation is not a single act. It's a question of eternal vigilance. Otherwise, you'll just become enslaved by someone else.
Gymnastics has made me strong. I feel like it broke me down to my lowest point, but at the same time, it has given me the greatest strength anyone could ask for.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.