008: Gracie Van Der Byl is Not Afraid of Sharks

Gracie Van Der Byl finds her bliss by swimming in competitions that are the aquatic equivalent of the Tour de France. It is in the midst of these undertakings when she feels like she is her best, most authentic self. Her swims are an exercise in zen, focusing on the now and surrendering to not knowing. Even her philosophy on shark hazards reads like a koan: It's not the shark you see that's the problem; it's the shark you don't." That's little comfort to Joe Desena who is afraid of something after all. Who knew?

 
Watch the video episode at http://spartanuppodcast.com

Lessons:
1.  During life tackle things one stroke at a time.
2.  Don’t overly project into the future; live in the now.
3.  Boredom comes from not setting good enough goals.  Always find new ways to grow.

Panel Notes:
Joe Desena:  I have always had a fear of sharks. I remember as a kid taking a shower standing on a chair. I'm kidding about the chair but not about the sharks. The fact that she can swim in the dark all through the night gives me chills. She clearly has something to teach all of us on how to put it together to get through the "difficult" times.

Col. Nye:  To be your most authentic self, focus on the here and now and don’t dwell on the future. Push the line: find it then find out how far you can stretch it.  Boredom is a result of not setting challenging goals.  Growth must be in all directions, not just unidirectional, otherwise you will snap like a piece of gum

Sefra Alexandra: Gracie seems to have fear immunity in her epic feats of open water swimming. She states, "Some people want to swim. I need to swim." My fear is that there will be so much plastic in the ocean in the future that these types of endeavors may be hindered.  Learn more at http://5gyres.org/ and do your part to decrease your reliance on plastic.

Johnny Waite: Don't project into the future. Focus on right now. As soon as you've completed a challenge find a new one. Don't grow only in one direction -- stretch horizontally as well as vertically. Don't just keep doing something if you aren't passionate about it. Find what you are stoked about. There's nothing worse than getting to an event and knowing you could have done more to prepare.