If you’ve been following the Diana Nyad story (which you probably have if you’ve been reading the blog) you’ll know that now all the skeptics are out in full force. I’m short on time this morning but wanted to bring this up because often times people are afraid of success and I think that the ambush by skeptics is one of the reasons they are afraid. You put yourself out there, training (whether it’s for a sport or for anything in life), preparing and then competing and when you do achieve something great, people start to come after you – they may or may not allow you to have a moment of glory but then they start to dissect every little bit of what’s happened.

I think that Lance Armstrong has saddled us with having to put up with this behavior for a long time to come and I was an avid denier and supporter of his until the “Proof” came out and then I was crushed. So, who do we believe and when do we stop going after the “truth”. Well, I still prefer to believe that people are basically honest, good and forthright in their assertions based on their past behavior.

I realize that the areas that these “experts” are concerned about with Diana have valid points but I believe in her integrity and honesty until it’s been proven otherwise.

You have to know in your  heart whether you achieved what you said you did in an honest manner or not. Did you cut off a mile here or a mile there? Did you get someone to help you with a project you then said you did all by yourself (I remember when I was in high school I got a bad grade on a Latin project – I made a replica of the Coliseum – because the teacher said my father helped me and he did NOT)? Is what you said really what happened. That’s all you need to do in life. Tell the truth. Remember that it’s always easier to tell the truth repeatedly than to remember all the details of a lie you told.

You still have to step out there and try to achieve something great (your “Nyad”) and know in your heart that you did it and that other folks will come out of the woodwork like roaches to try to knock you down. So part of your training should be preparing yourself for this part of success and how you might handle the naysayers.

You know what? I know Diana swam a whole hell of a lot more than any other 64 year old so she’s still my hero even if they are upset because of how she put on the gear etc. That’s NOT all that this event was about. What bothers me most is that the skeptics may be deterring all the wonderful good that Diana did to inspire people of all ages to get off their butts and do something whether it’s physical or not – just do what you feel you need to do! There are always lessons for us to learn and there may be more here to come but hold on to what you know is right inside of you and you’ll be fine.

Have a great day!

Terrie