9 Lessons from Michael Phelps
“I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.”
# 1 — Regular exercise matters.
Michael used to exercise on a daily basis. His mother made sure he would go to the swimming pool every day, Christmas day would also not be an exception. Making exercise a crucial part of your daily life is important. People who have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) — such as Michael Phelps — benefit from regular exercise in different ways. It helps to improve their mood, their attention and also to burn off accumulated energy.
# 2 — Having great people in your life can make a real difference.
In Western countries the focus often lies on being independent. However, as a human being, having some human interaction in order to be as successful and healthy as we can possibly be, is important. Suffering from ADHD can be a real challenge, but if you know that you are surrounded by people who care for you, who share your successes and are there for you also when times are getting tougher, it is surely beneficial. It will help you to recover from your illness in an easier way and your life will become more enjoyable too.
# 3 — Do what you are good at.
If your body has certain physical features (in Michael’s case it was mainly his height) take advantage of it and use it to your advantage. Focus on your strengths, on what you are good at, because then you will enjoy doing what you love doing much more! It will be fun, you will perceive it as less hard work and exhaustion.
# 4 — Turn things you don’t like into something more enjoyable.
At school Michael had difficulty due to his ADHD. It was not easy for him to concentrate and math and reading were subjects that he did not enjoy. But his mom was smart and found a strategy on how to make these two subjects more interesting to her son. In order to make “reading” more interesting, she gave him the sports section of the newspaper. When it came to math, she made sure that his tutor customised several math problems by including swim-related content. For example, if you swim 5 meters in 5 seconds, how long would it take you to swim 1000 meters?
If there are tasks that you don’t enjoy doing in your life or career, think more creatively. Ask yourself if there is not any other way on how to turn a painful task into something more enjoyable and fun.
# 5 — Don’t let your illness limit your potential.
Considering the fact that Michael Phelps has ADHD does not mean that you can’t make it big in sports. Don’t allow anyone to stop you, no matter what. As you can see it is possible. He won 22 medals in the Olympic Games!
# 6 — Utilize visualisation techniques.
Michael Phelps knew about the power of focus and visualization techniques. Setting a goal, knowing how to achieve it and making sure that he is in a great mental, physical and emotional state is all he needed in order to achieve his goals.
# 7 — Focus on the positives.
Michael Phelps has a great physique for swimming due to his genetics. However, that does not mean that he does not have to do any workouts. He actually began swimming not because he loved it, but as a way of releasing his excessive energy due to his ADHD. Instead of looking at his illness in a negative way, he used it in a positive way and look at the brilliant results that he was able to achieve! He emphasised on the positives and was able to achieve success.
# 8 — Never give up.
Life was not always great for Michael Phelps. He was once arrested for driving while being intoxicated when he was not even 21 years old. During the Beijing Olympics for example, Phelps swimming goggles started to leak and he was not able to see properly. However, he managed to finish and win the race. These examples show that if you persevere and never give up on your dreams you can still become successful. Michael Phelps kept on focusing on his goals (of being a sport legend one day) rather than thinking too much about his setbacks that came along the way.
# 9 — Don’t set any limits to yourself.
Don’t put limits on anything. If you can dream it, you can go further than you think.
