Why I Admire Michael Phelps and Other Great Achievers
Why am I beginning to love Michael Phelps as an athlete? Is it because Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in the latest 2008 Beijing Olympic medal count. Hmmm…. let me see. First off, I love sports and some athletes are really my idols – Muhammad Ali (boxing), Manny Pacquiao (boxing), Lydia de Vega (track and field), Michael Jordan (basketball), Tiger Woods (golf), and Randy Couture (Mixed Martial Arts). Except for Tiger Woods’s sport, I do a little of the above-mentioned activites.
Other people I admire are mathematicians, physicists and chemists. But most people I admire are ordinary, regular guys and gals in real life. My mother is one and on top of my list. Next is Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Why do I admire these people? I think I have a few answer.
First, many of us get attached to people whom we can relate with. Second, there are just some things in people which we are drawn to like being hardworking, loving, kind, etc. For me, i love Michael Phelps for showing the world that anything can happen. His will is unmistakenly strong and he has sacrificed so much to develop a physique like that which can withstand the pressure of the water. Swimming is one of the most strenuous sports I’ve tried. You just can’t rest even for a split second. In boxing and mixed martial arts, it’s you can get badly hurt but there boxers and mixed martial artists can rest. In swimming, you can’t afford to do that. Once you dive into the pool, there is no stopping the contest and the swimmer’s quest for glory.
In real life, I follow some of this rules: work hard, be competitive, be a good man. It’s about being good (not necessarily great). Athletes embody our ideals. Most of us want to become this and that. When I was growing up, everybody wanted to become Michael Jordan. I guess now that I have grandkids, I think they would want to become Michael Phelps someday.
Again, in real life, I find many people worth my admiration – my farmer-friends, my neighbor who works as a laundry woman to be able to send her 8 kids to school, my “kumpadre” who is a tricycle driver who gave up his studies so his younger brothers can study and earn college degrees, and many more to state here.
Idolatry is built in our system by nature. The worst possible type is narcissism (the excessive love of one’s self). Some people just inspires us because of their good achievements and character. Like my mother once said, “don’t admire people who became great by doing evil, admire those who have worked hard and became successful by doing good deeds and sacrificed so much of themselves“. That, in my view, explains more than enough why I admire Michael Phelps. 
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Tags: Add new tag, Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps 8th gold, personal, Personal Thoughts
Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals is awesome.
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