Over the next month we are asking various women who are living life of their own terms a series of short questions. The purpose? To highlight that 'success' has a different definition for each and everyone of us, to highlight both our failures and our achievements and to start thinking about how we can each have a positive impact for the future generation....
Lisa Lloyd has spent the last few years of her thirties swimming across Lakes and Channels. She enjoys keeping a good work life balance with an ordinary job and crazy adventures!
What does success mean to you in 3 words? Being happy What’s your biggest achievement? Completing two of the Oceans 7 challenge. Those two being the English Channel (England to France) and Straits of Gibraltar (Spain to Morocco)
What’s your biggest failure? I've been lucky enough not to have any big failures. I really believe that you learn so much from things not going right from time to time. Many of my training swims were full of challenges, tears, being sick but they have all helped me to know that if it happens during a swim I can deal with it and know I can still carry on. Without those experiences in training, psychologically it could have been so much harder. My favourite saying is 'Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success'. I've always remembered this as many people choose not to start something because they don't want to fail. Doing any of the challenges I have see so many natural obstacles that can get in the way such as tides, currents, weather etc which can all halt a swim. During my English Channel swim I got injured at about 10 hours in. At that time I only had a few hours left, but as I was getting in more pain and the weather changed and unfortunately I missed the tide on the French side. It meant missing my chance to land then and having to swim parallel to land for many more hours making my swim over 17hrs. My previous 21 mile training swim of two way Windermere took me just over 12.
What do you love about yourself most? I love that I have wonderful friends and family that support me with my swims and don't ever tell me I can't do it, just that I can. Having people who believe in you really helps. Whats’ your biggest insecurity? My confidence, I've always struggled to believe that I am cable of doing things. Many times in training for the Channel I'd have a little cry and tell myself I was stupid to be trying to swim the Channel but then I'd remind myself of all the things I'd succeeded at before and talk myself into carrying on swimming. Training swims for the Channel are generally long and cold so you have plenty of time to have mind battles with yourself!
What advice would you give yourself to a woman half your age? I'll be 40 in September. My advice to anyone is to not wait to tomorrow to achieve your dreams. Travel the world, learn about other cultures, complete challenges or learn to something you've always wanted to. If you want something badly enough in most circumstances you can find a way to be able to do it... What is your biggest concern for The Future Generation and what would you do to change this? I see so many youngsters glued to technology rather than looking up and getting outside and enjoying the world that is passing them by. Although technology has many benefits it seems that younger generations are loosing the ability to communicate, build relationships, experience different cultures and go on adventures as they seem to be glued to various forms of technology!
Want to share your story? Let us know at info@above-water.co.uk or like us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @LifeAboveWater
