Self-realization strikes like lightning. You can’t predict when it’s going to happen. However, when it does, you can see things more clearly. When swimming legend Michael Phelps was struggling with one of the darkest phases of his life, all he did was keep going, and then one day, while he was in the shower, he could finally see the missing piece of life that was making him vulnerable.

When people look at Michael Phelps, they see a swimmer who was unsurpassed for years. However, there’s a lot to be told about his story. Beyond the gold medals and world records, he has suffered through vulnerabilities that almost made him end his life.

Michael Phelps had a breakthrough in the shower

According to Phelps, the biggest hindrance to his growth in therapy was that “I was afraid to show who I was, so I had all these personas.” However, one day while he was showering, he realized, “Oh my God, do these people think I’m annoying? Do they not want to be around me? Then I thought, Why do I care? If I talk too much, if I laugh really loud or if I’m hyper at times, or a real pain in the ass, at the end of the day why does it really matter?”

That was the moment of self-realization for the swimming legend.

READ MORE – “We Created a Monster”- Michael Phelps’ Coach Regrets Creating an Emotionless Machine for the Sake of Olympic Glory

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Phelps further added, “Right then and there it was like there’s no point for me to try to be somebody I’m not. This is who I am.”

Phelps received a wholehearted support from people around him

Perhaps Phelps is lucky to have a great bunch of people around him who comforted him during the days when everything seemed lost. His wife, his coach Bowman, his mother, and even his estranged father – everyone was there for him when he needed them the most. Not to forget, he has some really cool people on his friends’ tab, including NFL legend Ray Lewis and Australian swimmer Grant Hackett.

However, now that Phelps looks back at everything that happened to him, he is more elated than regretful. After all, it is because of these experiences that he now understands his true self.

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