How to Change When Everything Changes | Chris Waddell on Resilience
Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais
Dr. Michael Gervais
4.6 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 3 August 2022
⏱️ 79 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week’s conversation is with Chris Waddell, a Paralympian who is widely known as the most decorated mono-skier in U.S. history.
Chris began ski racing at the age of six, and went on to ski competitively at Middlebury College - where an accident during a freshman year training session left him paralyzed from the waist down.
What happens for most of us when we go through a life-altering event, is that it reveals our internal operating system - one’s world-view, personal philosophy, and psychological skills. While Chris couldn’t use his body the same way – it revealed who he is.
Within a year, Chris was back on the mountain as a mono-skier and soon became the fastest in the world. He has gone on to compete in seven Paralympic games, earning 13 medals in alpine skiing and track & field, cementing his place as one of Team USA’s most successful two-sport athletes, and a Paralympic Hall of Famer.
As if that wasn’t enough, in 2009 Chris also became the first “nearly unassisted” paraplegic to summit the 19,340-foot Mt Kilimanjaro.
Chris is epic for so many reasons – he is an embodiment of resilience, purpose, passion, and having command of his mind.
After the conversation, there was nowhere for me to turn other than to re-examine how I’m living my life – am I really pouring into being the person I believe I’m capable of being?
I hope he does the same for you.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | that we as human beings have two diametrically opposed |
| 0:03.2 | desires, one, we want to be successful, |
| 0:05.6 | and two, we don't want to really want to grow old. |
| 0:08.4 | And we think that successful is something that's static. |
| 0:11.8 | Once we get there, then we're successful. |
| 0:13.4 | Then all life is good. |
| 0:15.4 | And we don't recognize that the learning growing and dreaming |
| 0:20.1 | part of is the big part of growing, of not growing old, |
| 0:24.4 | is that we continue to change, we continue to evolve. |
| 0:29.6 | And sometimes that is really painful. |
| 0:32.1 | It's also often the thing that we look back on our lives |
| 0:34.8 | and go, that's the thing that made the most sense |
| 0:38.0 | that was the greatest moment in my life. |
| 0:39.8 | All right, welcome back, or welcome to The Finding |
| 0:51.9 | Mastery Podcast. |
| 0:53.2 | I'm Dr. Michael Jervé, by trade in training |
| 0:56.0 | a sport and performance psychologist. |
| 0:57.9 | And the whole idea behind this podcast, |
| 0:59.7 | behind these conversations, is to learn from people |
| 1:02.9 | who are challenging the edges when the reaches |
| 1:05.8 | of the human experience, in business, in sport, |
| 1:08.9 | in science, in life. |
... |
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