Diane Nyad is one of the most impressive examples of a person who stepped out of her Comfort Zone and executed on the 4 components of Effort.
Step Outside your Comfort Zone
When Nyad, an endurance swimmer, turned 60, she challenged herself to accomplish something that no person in the world had ever achieved; swimming 110 miles from Havana to Key West without the aid of a shark cage. For her to be successful, she used all four components of Effort:
#1 Learn from your mistakes, disappointments and failure; grow and improve
Nyad fell short of her goal 4 times. First at the age of 29. And, then at 60, 61, 62. She never saw herself as a failure. She looked at each failed attempt as just information. That information became critical in her preparation for the final successful attempt at age 63.
#2. Lower your ego and ask for help when you need it
Nyad put together a support team of 35 people. The role each team member played was invaluable to Nyad’s success. For an expedition of this type and magnitude, the cost is approximately $300,000 on each attempt. Nyad made phone call after phone call to ask for financial help from potential sponsors in order to make her final 4 attempts at her challenge.
#3. Persist until you “find a way” to overcome setbacks and obstacles
Nyad sought the help of world class experts in endurance events to assist her in developing the best strategy to accomplish a challenge that no one had done before. Ultimately, prior to her successful fifth attempt, she condensed all previous experiences and knowledge into one strategy with the mantra “Find a Way!”
#4. Consistency over time.
She conditioned her body by swimming multiples of 8 – 15 mile swims during the course of her training. These long distance practice swims are what gave Nyad the confidence that “it’s not my body that’s going to wear out”. However, success didn’t happen on Nyad’s time schedule. If it did, it would have happened on her first attempt. It took her 4 previous attempts over 35 years to finally achieve one of the greatest athletic accomplishments in the history of sports.
Read her book, “Diane Nyad…Find a Way” to understand how her Growth Mindset helped her become December’s 2023 Growth Mindset person. Or, watch the Netlix movie “Nyad”. You can also click on the link below to see a short video.