🟣 53 hours of jellyfish stings

Well if it isn't my saucy little salted caramel soufflé! 🍮

Try your best to imagine this…

You're 64 years old and you’re floating in shark-infested waters between Cuba and Florida.

Your tongue is swollen from saltwater.

Your face is like a well smacked arse from jellyfish stings.

You've been swimming for over 50 hours.

And you think you’re going to fail AGAIN.

This is Diana Nyad's story.

She first tried to swim from Cuba to Florida when she was 28.

Failed.

Tried again at 29.

Failed.

Waited 30 years, tried again at 61.

Failed.

62?

You guessed it. Failed.

Each failure was public.

Each attempt made headlines.

Each setback was witnessed by the world.

But here's the thing she said that proper smacked me in the face:

"I wanted to teach myself some life lessons at the age of 60 and one of them was that you don't give up. I failed and faltered many times, but I can look back without regret because I was never burdened with the paralysis of fear and inaction."

Let that sink in for a minute.

The paralysis of fear and inaction.

Sound familiar?

😱 Fear of looking daft in the gym
😱 Fear of not knowing what you're doing
😱 Fear of trying and failing (again)
😱 Fear of being the biggest/weakest/slowest

So you stay stuck.

Paralysed.

Watching from the sidelines of your own life.

But here's what Diana knew:

The sting of jellyfish? Temporary.
The burn of saltwater? Temporary.
The embarrassment of failing? Temporary.

But regret?

That shit's permanent.

At 64, Diana became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.

110 miles.

53 hours.

Jellyfish, sharks, and all.

And not because she never failed.

But because she never let failure stop her.

Because what's worse?

Looking like a bit of a tit while learning proper form

OR

Never knowing what your body is capable of?

Failing at something new

OR

Regretting never trying?

Think about that as we head into a new week my precious little nugget.

Big love,

Rachel 🥰