This is an older clip but if you haven’t seen it… damn. Just DAMN.
Yusra Mardini is a Syrian refugee who competed in the 2016 Olympic Games. She competed in the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly swimming events. She was 18 years old at the time.
Here she is describing her training regime.
Transcript:
Sometimes we couldn’t train because of the war. Or sometimes you had a training and there was a bombing in the swimming pool. So it was… You can see like the roof, there is three or four places is open.
When you have a problem in your life, that doesn’t mean you have to sit around and cry like babies or something.
OK. To anybody who’s like, “Waaah, waaah, my mailing list software is so confusing,” or “Boo, nobody wants to sign up for my luxury life coaching retreat,” or “Ugh, it’s so hard to find clients”… ahem. Pause the pity-party for a second. Please think about Yusra.
If she can do swim practice while bombs are raining down, then you can figure out how to send out a freakin’ email newsletter. And you can finish that half-written blog post. And you can cold-call 20 potential customers. And you can pitch your book proposal to 20 agents. Or whatever you need to achieve this week.
And you can do it with a smile, with courage, and with NO complaints.
Yes, we all have challenges… but good grief. Most of our challenges are miniscule. We make up stories in our heads about how everything is “so impossible” when that’s far from the truth.
If you constantly feel stuck in your life or business, then it’s time to change the story that’s playing in your head. Because if you’re reading this email right now WITHOUT the sound of bombs exploding over your head, then honey, you are blessed.
Take your strength. Take your skills. Take your big, caring, beautiful heart. Take all of the blessings you’ve been given, and all the rewards you’ve earned, and use all of that power to create WHATEVER you want to create.
The next time you find yourself slipping into a negative, frustrated, self-pitying place, say to yourself: “Yusra. Yusra. Yusra.” Her name can be your call-to-action. Your snap-out-of-it mantra. Your reminder that actually, you are strong, and actually, you are blessed, and actually, hell yes… You can do this.