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Have you ever had a goal – that you really cared about? Where you worked and worked – giving all your effort. And, finally, after all the striving, you ultimately achieved your goal? You succeeded. You celebrated. And, then had that strange feeling – asking yourself the question – what next? And maybe you didn’t really have the answer. Maybe you were exhausted from the effort. And, as time began to pass, you started to feel a void. You had the feeling that you needed to find the ‘next mountain to climb.’ But what mountain would it be?
If this sounds familiar, you also know that there will always be a ‘next mountain.’ And that taking the time to pause – and choose wisely – which mountain to climb – will make all the difference. That next mountain or mission may be in an entirely different field or aspect of life. So, be open to the possibility. Or it could well be in an area closely related to the first mountain – an easy and logical transition.
Well, that’s the case of an inspirational athlete – whose story I think you might enjoy. In fact, she’s one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic and Paralympic history - yet from the moment she was born, Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long has never not known adversity. Born Tatiana Olegovna Kirillova in Siberia, Russia, she would enter the world with a rare condition that left her without most of the bones in her feet called ‘fibular hemimelia.’ Fearing she wouldn’t be able to properly care for her, her mother was persuaded to give her over to an orphanage when she was barely a year old. A few months later, she would be adopted by a young American couple beginning a new life in Maryland. Things were beginning to look up for Jessica. However, her condition was not improving, and her new parents had to make the difficult decision to amputate her legs at eighteen months old in order to improve her mobility with prosthetic legs. In total, Jessica would endure over twenty-five surgeries throughout her youth.
Yet this did not discourage Jessica’s parents from encouraging her to stay active. She enjoyed gymnastics, ice skating, even rock climbing. Yet what she loved most was swimming in her grandparents’ pool because as she said, “it made her feel like a mermaid.” Not having the full use of her legs led to frustration, and often anger when she was a child. Yet she began channeling that anger into something more productive and took up competitive swimming. By the time she was only twelve years old, she debuted at the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004, where she would take home three gold medals. She began training with the likes of Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time. Year after year, Jessica continued to thrive and her career continued to grow at a staggering pace, winning five gold medals at the London games in 2012. Then came the Rio Games in 2016. While she still managed to amass a gold medal, three silver medals, and one bronze medal, the impact of competing at such a high level from such a young age had taken a huge toll on her mental well-being. She had developed an eating disorder, lost one of her most beloved coaches, and the early success she had seen was not coming so easily anymore. She felt that her value as an individual was in question as a result. Was there a ‘next mountain to climb?’
Thankfully, there was. And she chose wisely. She decided to take up coaching with a local girls’ swimming team, giving her the ability to stay connected to the sport she loves so much without the strict physical demands. And it was just what she needed. As she looked to heal and grow following the Rio games, taking up coaching helped her realize that she was so much more than an athlete and that there was so much more that awaited in her life beyond the Olympic swimming pool. In her own words, “There's something so special about having a little girl who has just lost her leg from cancer come up and tell me I'm her hero.” She now works with the Make-A-Wish foundation and children’s organizations that work specifically with children with disabilities. Not only that, but as she looks to a life after swimming, she’s currently training to become the first woman with amputated legs to complete an Ironman competition.
I love the story of Tatiana. I am also inspired by a speech given at the 2019 Tony Awards, where the famed Broadway actor Andre de Shields shared some poignant advice after winning the best actor award. “The top of one mountain is the bottom of the next”, he said. In life, we’re regularly confronted by challenges, one after another. Even when we’ve succeeded, it’s likely that means we’re onto the next “mountain.” Finding the motivation to “climb it” may seem daunting, but the truth is we likely have everything we need to do so, the key ingredient is believing that we can. Though it may take time and there may be frustration or setbacks along the way, as Jessica demonstrated, when one chapter ends, another begins. In her words, “The only disability in life is a negative attitude.”
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