Like many Americans, I look forward to watching the Summer Olympics every four years, and I’ve spent a lot of time this week watching the swimming Olympic trials. First of all, I can’t put into words how much I miss swimming!! Watching those races brought back some wonderful memories and a strong desire to get back in the pool. One of these days I’m going to dust off my cap and goggles and make it happen.

And even though there were so many fun swims to watch this week, the one that stands out to me most was Simone Manuel’s 100 meter freestyle. If you missed it, she placed fourth at trials, which earned her a place on the Women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay in Paris. This will be her third Olympics to compete in, and after the race, she put an emotional post on Instagram about her journey leading up to this point.

She wrote about her struggles the last few years, and how she narrowly missed qualifying for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. How a defeat like that could have easily been the end of her swimming career, but she didn’t feel like her journey was over yet. She was met with some setbacks after the last Olympic trials and getting back into training to try again in 2024 was essentially like starting over at square one. But obviously, her hard work paid off because she’s competing at another Olympics!

My favorite part about her post was when she talked about her path to success. It struck a chord with me, and I’ll share her words with you here:

“The path to success – is a construction zone – it’s usually found on the road less traveled. It’s not linear. When you have a deep desire and drive to be successful at something or be your absolute best, at some point along the way, you will encounter road blocks, obstacles, and rough patches. There will be setbacks and sometimes delays. But, stay focused and consistent. Don’t lose sight of your ultimate goal. And give yourself permission to feel whatever comes your way, BUT never give up. The hard work will eventually pay off.”

We all have goals we set for ourselves, and sometimes those goals may seem far out of reach. I look at myself and some of my own goals. There have been plenty of accomplishments I’ve made throughout my life, and plenty more that I haven’t been able to check off the list yet. And this may come as a shock to some of you – insert sarcastic eye roll – but I am not a very patient person. It’s hard for me to remember sometimes that goals and dreams take more than hard work – they take a lot of TIME. It’s not something that’s going to happen over night and to expect it to is just setting myself up for failure and disappointment.

I look at Simone’s journey, and even though she fell short of her goals at one point, she didn’t give up. It took time – literally YEARS – but she eventually got back to where she wanted to be. It gives me hope that if I keep working hard and staying focused, eventually it will pay off as well. I’ll just have to revisit Simone’s words anytime I feel like throwing in the towel. I hope her words help you push forward too!

Stay dry y’all. The rain has to stop eventually, right!?

Until next time! 🙂

Megan Reiffenberger