Not all of retirement, or even life, is good news. Not every day is the best day ever. But having the will and desire to make the most of any situation goes a long way in surviving any crisis.
In the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, 24-year-old swimmer Ali Truwit, who won two silver medals and broke several records, offers us inspiration that we can move through any crisis to the other side.
“I can and I will,” Ali Truwit proclaimed during a talk at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit.
Her journey to the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympics began just sixteen months earlier when she was snorkelling in the waters of Turks and Caicos. A shark bite took her foot and part of her leg.
Ali swam the 64 metres back to the boat and continued to defy the odds as she was repeatedly told she “couldn’t,” only to prove she could.
From those first few moments in the water to a series of hospitals, she went from despair to victory.
While waiting for her prosthetics, she needed to exercise. Unable to walk or run, she turned to the pool. She could swim. She recalls telling the Forbes audience, “I can’t,” but then added, “But I can, and I will.” And she did.
Even when she accomplished what many thought was impossible, she remained ready and excited as she stood by the pool in Paris.
Seeing a large black underwater camera following the swimmers as they competed triggered an involuntary trauma response. It wasn’t a shark, but her body reacted, shutting down even though her mind urged her onward.
She didn’t quit. She could, and she did.
This young woman, who initially said she couldn’t bear for anyone to see her prosthetic leg and ordered her mother to give away all her short dresses, stood on the podium before the world in a bathing suit.
Watching her speak on YouTube, I noticed she was wearing a short dress!
Here I am, decades older than Ali, thinking—this is a mindset I need to adopt.
It’s not that I haven’t done incredible things in my life, but at my age now, with fading eyesight, hearing, and physical ability, it isn’t time for me to give up.
Just days after listening to Ali speak and writing the first draft of this column, I found myself hitting the “send” button on reservations for an extended stay in one of our favourite warm-weather destinations.
I had thought we couldn’t travel anymore, that we were too old, didn’t have enough money, and I wasn’t in good enough shape.
But Ali’s words kept echoing in my head.
Now, I’m exercising and looking forward to our stay in a small studio apartment in a Mexican suburb just outside Puerto Vallarta that we know well.
I can and I will (or, in this case, we can and we will!).
Sometimes, we need reminders that we can still achieve much of what we desire—from thoroughly enjoying retirement by relaxing around a pool in a warm climate during the winter to winning a trophy in the upcoming Summer Senior Games.
It’s easy to grow tired of trying, to say, “Oh well, I’ve had my day.”
Ali said, “I’m unique in that I was attacked by a shark, but I’m not unique in that we all go through hardship, trauma, and tough times in life, and we all have the capacity to rise back up.”
At our age, we’ve had the experience of doing just that—more than once.
My words of encouragement to you today are: don’t stop doing, don’t stop achieving, and don’t stop becoming the person you want to be remembered for.
Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a family member entering extended or palliative care, a move from the family home to a smaller, more manageable living space, caring for a child, or setting a goal to compete in a local 10k race, there are always challenges to meet.
Maybe it’s accepting a call to volunteer for an organization you care about.
In midlife, we learned how to say no. Now, it may be time to relearn how to say yes to the right things.
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Laurie Mueller, M.Ed is retired and living in Victoria with her husband, Helmuth. She recently published The Ultimate Guide on What to Do When Someone You Love Dies, available on Amazon. More about Laurie can be found at www.lauriemconsulting.com or on Facebook.