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.
If I had stood at the free-throw line and thought about 10 million people watching me on the other side of the camera lens, I couldn't have made anything. So I mentally tried to put myself in a familiar place. I thought about all those times I shot free throws in practice and went through the same motion, the same technique that I had used thousands of times. You forget about the outcome. You know you are doing the right things. So you relax and perform.
The only way to escape the personal corruption of praise is to go on working. One is tempted to stop and listen to it. The only thing is to turn away and go on working. Work. There is nothing else.
Anything you put your mind to and add your imagination into can make your life a lot better and a lot more fun.
The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.
Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is.
No great goal was ever easily achieved.
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