Lance Armstrong Talks about Philosophy of Life - Essay Example

Lance Armstrong is a famous cyclist who won the Tour de France seven consecutive times. He was recently stripped of all his s because of doping charges. This speech analyzes the philosophy of life from Lance Armstrong’s view. Lance Armstrong Talks about Philosophy of life My fellow world citizens, I am Lance Armstrong, the famous cyclist. The recent headlines do not allow me to claim the fame. But, I think I have all the right to introduce myself as a famous cyclist whether I have my titles or not. Even my negative publicity is linked to cycling without which I am nothing. I am not here to claim I am innocent or confess. I just want to share a few of my realizations with you. I had great plans after retirement. I wanted to do so many things after I survived cancer, after I retired, after I was free from my busy schedules. But, the after came so suddenly and unexpectedly, stripping me of all my dignity. I have all the time in the world now to do whatever I want and what I do with all of it - I ride my cycle. I started to ride my cycle when I was two and continue it till now. I started to ride professionally at the age of 13. I was a swimmer before that. I got fascinated by the bike when I was 12. At that time my mother used to say "if you’re going to get anywhere, you’re going to have to do it yourself, because no one is going to do it for you". I had no idea where I should go but believed winning was the only thing necessary in life. I became a bully. I started to dope. My life was driven by an unquenchable thirst to win, to win like nobody else. I do not know who put that idea into me, my coach, my victories, my fans or my family. I saw everybody around me running for something elusive. I was happy when I won. But was I satisfied? No. I was ready to do anything to establish what others cannot. I proudly declared "To all the cynics, I’m sorry for you, … I’m sorry you can’t believe in miracles. This is a great sporting event and hard work wins it". I was proud, excited and curious. But was I happy and satisfied? The sad answer is no. My unquenchable thirst only increased as I kept adding title after title to my fame. I went to unexplainable extremes to sustain my titles and win again and again. I do not accept all the charges proven against me. I do not refuse them completely though. I just want to say what drove me to the current position I am. I believe it will help thousands of my fans who feel let them down understand me or rather understand themselves better. For years I busted my ass for six hours a day in a bike. I satisfied my contractors, fans, sponsors, family breaking every record in history. I still do not have an answer for what motivated me to do so. Money, fame, the ecstasy of victory I can’t explain what drove me frenzy. I retained the same spirit when I got cancer. I fought and fought with all my might to win. Now I wonder about the use of going through all that enormous strain physically and mentally. I read in an article motherhood is an achievement as it requires sacrificing comfort and vanity for full 10 months (Eckert, 2002). How much comfort and vanity have I sacrificed in all these years for the sake of achieving these titles which were stripped from me so easily? If fame is a bubble and achievements mere colour reflections on it, what is the real purpose of living. A report on doping says a parent of a dead child could be made ultimately happy instead of crying using drugs (Morioka, 2012). It is hard to believe but I know it is true. I have overcome my personal grievances as well as physical pain many a time using various medications. Those who have undergone the pain and torture of deadly diseases like Cancer will never blame using them. What does my life teach others and what does it teach me? Where did I go wrong and what is the use of all these years of struggling? I remember the great business man Steve jobs advising others not to get trapped by Dogma. He asked everyone to live their own life, give importance to the inner voice and stop living according to other peoples thinking. This is where I failed. I enjoyed cycling and more importantly the sporting spirit. But I let others ideas of success rule my mind. I started to run behind victory and let the others notion of undefeatable success blind my ethics and love for sportsmanship. I let my inner voice drown as Jobs mentioned (Biddle, 2011). All the while I did not notice I was falling prey to my own greed. What I lacked was ‘Weltanschauung’. The meaning of this German word is overall intellectual construction based on ethics (Freud, 1933). One who believes in it knows what to follow no matter how great the external pressure is. I would have told no when I was forced to use doping. I would have got satisfied when I recovered from cancer. I would have mentored youngsters making way for them. I would have spent more time with kids and enjoyed the food I like. I would have lived a happy but less successful athlete. The fear of failure made me do unethical things to sports and unbelievable things to my body. I should have listened to my inner voice and known when exactly to say no. But, I failed to do that for the fear of being looked down upon and got blinded believing I can get away with anything through success. But, I was completely wrong. All I want to say is this. If you too are feeling that unquenchable thirst to do something, try and make a difference by doing something useful for the mankind. Avoid exploiting your fellowmen at any cost. At the end, all that matters is peace of mind, not how many titles you win in your life or how much money you earn. I made a mistake and I paid the price for it. I plead with you to make your life more meaningful and beautiful than mine by living each moment happily instead of straining yourself for money and fame. Life is a celebration. Live it to your might. Never overstress yourself like me at the cost of your health and mental peace. Enjoy the journey. After all winning is not as important as the whole world around us keep stressing so much. References 1. Khareabhinna, 2011, 10 Best Quotes by Lance Armstrong, Fifth Angle.com, Retrieved November 16, 2012 from http://fifthangle.com/blog/2011/06/29/10-best-quotes-by-lance-armstrong/ 2. Morioka, Masahiro, 2012, Human Dignity and the Manipulation of the Sense of Happiness from the Viewpoint of Bioethics and Philosophy of Life, Journal of Philosophy of Life, Vol.2, No.1. Retrieved November 16, 2012 from http://www.philosophyoflife.org/jpl201201.pdf 3. Eckert, Susan, 2002, 10 Life Philosophies to Ease the Mind, Alumbo.com, Retrieved November 16, 2012 from http://www.alumbo.com/article/8932-10-Life-Philosophies-to-Ease-the-Mind.html 4. Freud, Sigmund, 1933, ‘A Philosophy of Life’, New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-analysis, Retrieved November 16, 2012 from http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/at/freud.htm 5. Biddle, Craig, 2011, Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life, The Objective Standard, Retrieved November 16, 2012 from http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/steve-jobs-philosophy-of-life/ Read More