It would have been easy for Tiger Woods to have backed off at the 2008 US Open. Almost everyone could have identified with him. He was after all in significant physical pain from playing 72 holes in regulation and 19 more in the playoff with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee and a double stress fracture of his left tibia, the large bone in the lower leg. Had he lost that prestigious event it would also have been easy for Tiger to use his knee pain as an excuse. Might we have?

Likewise, it would have been easy for the young 23 year old kid from Baltimore with ADHD to have quit many times before. The bullying wasn’t fun. He must have hated having his over-sized ears flicked by guys twice his size. Having a couple of guys much larger than himself throw his favorite cap out the bus window was no cake walk. Who would have blamed that skinny kid from becoming angry and giving up on the cruel life which left him and his two sisters to be raised alone by their mother, Debbie. By all rights Michael Phelps should have been content with a life of stimulants and excuses. He should have joined the ranks of complicity. But as history will remember, Michael hasn’t used anything as an excuse.

For those who watched his performance in the 200 Meter Butterfly we became spellbound with yet another win from this amazing young man. The real amazement came, however, after the race began when we learned that shortly as the race began his goggles began to leak water. As he continued swimming they leaked worse and worse. Then, when with about 75 meters to go the goggles were completely filled. Michael was at that point essentially blind. His entire field of vision was blurry. He reported that the only way he knew where he was in the race was by counting his strokes. Again, who would have blamed Michael for losing the race.

But a person who wins eight consecutive Olympic gold medals doesn’t just learn to leave the excuses behind while at the Olympics. It was in his youth that Michael learned to leave the excuses behind. Being bullied in school or by other older swimmers could have provided ample excuse for mediocrity or worse. Somehow, he learned early that excuses simply wouldn’t do. Do you suppose his mother and coach had anything to do with it?

There are actually two types of excuses. External excuses are used to provide rationale to those around us for our poor performance. These are used in ample abundance. However, perhaps the more debilitating excuses are the internal excuses or rationalizations we tell ourselves. One might call these internal excuses or stories, our personal myths. Personal myth, is not as some might guess, a false or fairy tale belief. Rather personal myth is our understanding of reality put into the stories we tell ourselves. Rarely do we know that our reality is twisted. It is often not until we take a look at ourselves through the eyes of others that we even begin to understand our own reality. Hence the great value in having a caring mentor/coach.

Perhaps one of the most impressive parts of the Michael Phelps story is beyond his winning 8 gold medals. It is what he did with adversity. Time after time he has used adversity to spur him on to even greater performance. Even though we may be past the developmental mile posts of preadolescence, it is not too late to continue our personal life training. With the help of a trusted adviser we too can leave our excuses behind.

Here’s to Growth,

Tim