SRES

Everybody has a dream.  I have always wanted to own a horse ranch…I’ve watched Secretariat at least 50 times…no exaggeration!

Do we think that just because we haven’t accomplished our goals and dreams by the time we are 60 years old that it’s over and that we should just give up because time is running out?

Diana Nyad doesn’t feel that way.  She wants to swim from Key West, Florida, to Cuba…a trip that will take 60 hours in the open ocean.  Along the way,  ”The New York Times”  reported, she will “most likely hallucinate  and endure the stings of countless jellyfish,” and “sea salt will swell her tongue to cartoonish proportions and rub her skin raw.”

But the awesome part of this whole story is that Diana is 61 years old and tried this trip before and failed at the age of 28.  Back in 1978, due to stormy weather, she had to give up the dream after 50 miles.  She also used a shark cage for protection.  Thirty-three years later, she’s losing the cage, she also told  “The Times”,  “Physically, I am much stronger than I was before.  I feel strong, powerful, and endurance wise,  I’m fit”.                      

Diana Nyad

Add to these issues mental challenges, swimming for long periods of time, totally alone in the sea, can get depressing, boring, painful and exhausting.  Nyad’s response?  She sings a song with a beat that matches her stroke.  Her favorite song is “Ticket to Ride”.

What makes this woman so determined and driven.  I ask myself, “Why am I not like this?”  “Is this determination in her genes?”

There is a very logical reason for Diana’s belief in her dream.  She took on this daring swim because she was upset about turning 60…and she needed to turn those feeling around.

“This is what I need to remedy my malaise,”  Nyad says.  “There is no thinking about regrets or what will I do with the rest of my life.  I’m immersed in the everyday, full tilt.”  “It’s so energizing.”

Just a quick reminder to ourselves brought to you by Oprah’s blog.  “Real triumph doesn’t come from victory or defeat.  It comes from what you do after you’ve experienced both.”

What’s your dream…do you have a dream?  Go for it!!

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