How can I stay afloat as I am drowning? This is a daily service podcast with Anthony Gungini. Well, congratulations. The question itself gives us hope, because you want to stop drowning.
You know we were talking about the Iron Man competitions a couple of years ago in Cebu. And in the swim lake, I recall this one day where the waves were so strong against us swimmers that you at one point were not even moving forward. Which means by swimming as hard as you possibly could, you were staying in the same place. Because if you did it, you'd be moving back.
And we were in this for, I don't know how long. And by the time I finished the swim leg, I was beat. And I was almost, not just me, cut off from the next leg. And I recall the only way I survived that was to just keep swimming.
Just stay afloat. Running marathons, you know you're in trouble when just by the initial downhills, you're already exhausted. And I recall this happened to me in the biggest of all races, the most famous of all marathons, the Boston marathon. I had injured my leg just a few weeks earlier, but because it was the one race that you would have missed for whatever reason I decided to still go for it.
But it was tough. I mean, my body was giving way less than halfway through the race. And I recall the last, and what he said by wife, too, recalls my last 50 meters. It was only the encouragement of the crowd.
The screaming of the crowd that both pulled me and pushed me to finish that race. The last of the six world marathon majors that I was completing. How can I say, look, when I'm drowning, just keep swimming. Just keep stepping one foot after the other.
See, it's so important to recognize that cycles, highs, and lows are a part of life. And that acknowledging your down is a first step in getting up again. You know this, that the most difficult person to save in any drowning situation is the one who won't stop swimming, who won't stop struggling. Let it go, give it up, acknowledge it.
JK Rowling, rock button becomes the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.