I’m sure tons of athletes have NOT excelled in their sport to the unique degree he has.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=how+many+gold+medals+does+michael+phelps+have
And kids know it too.
>>That plant has powers that make people define themselves by it I swear.
In many cases that seems to depend upon the degree to which the individual lacks a functional world view and coping skills that enable them to otherwise maintain a stable and productive lifestyle.
IOW - They deal with challenges by pretending they don’t exist. This can be further reinforced in social circles formed among similarly challenged/dysfunctional individuals.
But that doesn’t seem to apply to Phelps, who doesn’t appear to be using it as a means of escaping a dysfunctional reality.
>>Keep it away from me and mine. That’s where I am now.
It’s a legal reality in Colorado - where parents are faced with the challenge of raising children who can survive reality by making informed, proactive, and non-self-destructive choices.
40 years ago it was my dad teaching his kids not to use alcohol to escape reality - largely because he saw the catastrophically self-destructive results he and his LEO co-workers witnessed as they went about their cleanup and enforcement duties.
That didn’t stop us from enjoying an occasional glass of beer on the porch, or around the campfire.
Having been thus responsibly taught, although I enjoy an occasional beer - I never drink when working through financial, relationship, or other life challenges. And I've never "gone about my daily routines while under the influence" (which is the most disturbing part of this article - that's not coping, it's failing to cope). So, his strategy seems to have worked pretty well.
Now there are the hazards and alleged benefits of additional legal choices beyond alcohol... and that’s where I, along with lots of others, am now.
Can't just pretend it doesn't exist.
My life experience, no good has come from recreational drug use.
It’s caused me a lot of personal anguish in my life because friends or loved ones fell victim to abuse. Seems it doesn’t take much to abuse it.
Alcohol or pot, it’s all bad mojo to me.
The worst thing is I can’t count on people who get messed up. Seemed when I needed to count on them most when a family emergency arrived, well you couldn’t.
Keep it away from me and mine. Let your own families down when they need to count on you the most.