Michael Phelps – Rewire Hero of the Week

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“If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren’t willing to do.”

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps was born in Baltimore in 1985. At a young age Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD, one of his teachers even told him “[he] would never amount to anything and [he] would never be successful.”

That same person went on to be the most successful and decorated Olympian of all time! Phelps has won a total of 28 medals, including 23 golds. At the 2008 Olympics alone, Phelps won 8 gold medals breaking a record that had stood since 1972. In fact, Phelps has been the most successful athlete of the Olympic Games at every Olympics since Athens 2004. On top of this Phelps has set 39 world records (29 individual, 10 relay). Pretty good for a guy that was told that he would never amount to anything!

Phelps has been able to channel his energy into his passion, swimming, exploiting the positive side of ADHD. He serves as an inspiration for those with ADHD and shows us all that anything is possible, regardless of the cards that you have been dealt.

Phelps has used visualization since he was a young child. Bob Bowman, Phelps’s long-time coach, notes that “By the time Michael gets up on the blocks to swim in the World Championships or Olympics, he’s swum that race hundreds of times in his mind.” Phelps is reportedly one of the best at visualization and his use of it serves as a reminder of the importance of mental training in performance.

Recently, Phelps opened up about his struggles with depression. He shared that after every Olympics he fell into a deep state of depression, even contemplating suicide after the 2012 London Olympics. Now, Phelps understands and shares that “it’s OK to not be OK” and to improve our state of mind we need to open up about our feelings. 

Phelps shows us that no human is limited and it is important that we chase our dreams and constantly push ourselves to achieve more. Michael Phelps is our Rewire Hero of the Week. 

“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”

Michael Phelps

#Rewire Heroes

Photo By Agência Brasil Fotografias – MICHAEL PHELPS E KATIE LEDECKY CONCEDEM ENTREVISTAS NO PARQUE OLÍMPICO, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50475190

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