neoninfinity
New member
Well, these seem like awfully simple words, but they come from the inspiring story of Pat Gallant-Charette, the oldest woman to swim the English Channel. I was listening to her story a few days ago on NPR radio and felt very inspired. You can read more about her story here:
http://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2018/07/06/marathon-swimming-tribute-world-records
What inspired me about her story wasn't her incredible feat (which would be impressive for anyone at any age), but it was the fact they she realized that her endurance was actually increasing after she had turned 50. She eventually swam the English Channel at age 66. When I thought about that, I thought "wow", she's actually getting better and possibly even reaching her peak after turning age 50! I feel that in today's society we have been conditioned for so long to feel like once we reach a certain age, we are on a downward slope, and cannot possibly hope to be at our best, at least not physically or mentally. But, what if we approach the rest of our life by never putting that limit on ourselves. Just imagine what we could achieve. This story convinced me to never think that I can only do so much or go far in something because I'm over 40. One of the wondrous things about listening to my teenagers, is that they never put these limits on themselves. That's the wonder of youth!
So, where exactly does the quote come from? What started Pat on her journey was when her son decided to swim the Peaks to Portland as a tribute to his uncle. Pat said she wish she could do the same. Her son's response, "you can if you try."
http://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2018/07/06/marathon-swimming-tribute-world-records
What inspired me about her story wasn't her incredible feat (which would be impressive for anyone at any age), but it was the fact they she realized that her endurance was actually increasing after she had turned 50. She eventually swam the English Channel at age 66. When I thought about that, I thought "wow", she's actually getting better and possibly even reaching her peak after turning age 50! I feel that in today's society we have been conditioned for so long to feel like once we reach a certain age, we are on a downward slope, and cannot possibly hope to be at our best, at least not physically or mentally. But, what if we approach the rest of our life by never putting that limit on ourselves. Just imagine what we could achieve. This story convinced me to never think that I can only do so much or go far in something because I'm over 40. One of the wondrous things about listening to my teenagers, is that they never put these limits on themselves. That's the wonder of youth!
So, where exactly does the quote come from? What started Pat on her journey was when her son decided to swim the Peaks to Portland as a tribute to his uncle. Pat said she wish she could do the same. Her son's response, "you can if you try."