Survivorship

 

Living for the Moment

 

Armstrong says that if he lived for the moment, he wouldn't accomplish anything. (p. 182)

 

How can you balance ambition (living for the future) and contentment (living for the moment)? Is it possible, or even desirable?

 

a. It is possible. Everybody has goals, but in this situation, your list of future plans begins to decrease. You just start keeping your high-priority goals. You know that you have a target, but you don’t plan it so specifically. You are open to some changes on the way to your goal. You continue with your challenge, but you mayneed to change the manner to achieve it. That means that you should not be worried about the little details. You just need to enjoy every moment because it is better have a smile on your face than a pain in your back. It is easy to say but not to do. It happened to me, and now I am living for every moment and keeping my eye on my main goals. (Flavia, 02/24/07)

 

b. “ Happy is he/she who is content”, I think. We need to have an ambition in our life; we have to pursue our life's goal, our dream. However, sometimes we must accept our sorrow. (Jennifer,022507)

 

c. I totally agree with him. Everyone has his or her goal. To make our future, we should do well in our present lives. I think that living for the moment is the basis of building, and living for the future is the completed building. If the basis is not strong, the building cannot stand. We should do our best for the moment. That is the preparation for our future. (Dae Gun Kim 02/25/07)

 

 

d. It is difficult. Goal-oriented people are apt to lose sight of the importance of contentment. We should remember a great proverb, "Too much is as bad as too little", in order to keep the balance. (Jinwoo Kim 02/25/07)

 

 

e. Armstrong’s life at that moment was full of doubt. That “moment” in his life was the psychologically weakest point. He was looking for some new live sense. Consequently when he got married and pregnant (integrated view of male and female pregnant) he finally found his new inspiration. (Felix, 03/04/2007)  Felix, what do you mean by "new live sense"? (Nina, 3/7/07)

f. Ofcourse it is possible. A person must know how to live his moment without completly ignoring his future but keeping his ideas in the back of his mind. Also, he must think about the future whenever he wanted to make a difficult desision that may affect his future. ( Aziz )

 

 

Being a Slob

 

Kik managed to get her husband off the golf course and back on his bike without getting angry or arguing. (pp. 192-193)

 

How did she do it?

 

a. She talked with him calmly. She just asked what he was going to do with his life. In this way she could have a starting point for her life. The way she talked with him was very important. It was not a protest; it was a quiet conversation where she was telling him what the situation was and what she was planning to do depending on his answer. She knew him well, and because of that she didn’t want to confront him. She knew about his explosive reaction in front of a protest. (Flavia, 02/24/07)

 

b. Again, I think Kik showed great wisdom in what she thought and did. She understood her husband’s feeling and had idea to solve the problem that they could have. She controlled her temper very well and discussed with Armstrong very carefully. (Jennifer,022507)

 

c. Kik is a person who understands Armstrong very well. I think Armstrong is very confused about being a cyclist again. Actually, he is afraid of that. Kik never pushed him. And she preserved a tranquil mind. She waited for his decision because she respected Armstrong. Kik honestly asked him what he wanted to be.  (Dae Gun Kim 02/25/07)

 

d. I think that she is an understanding wife. She knows to wait for his decision. She can deal with her disposition well. Frankly, I learned a lesson from this book. If I were she, I would be irritable. (Jinwoo Kim 02/25/07)

 

 

e. She was quite brilliant, like some people who have very good emotional intelligence. She used the truth on her own behalf. She knew how to talk with him; as Armstrong says, “she said it almost sweetly, without fighting”. (Felix, 03/04/2007)

f. She was really honest with him and she told him what she felt in a very smart way without loosing control of her feelings. ( Aziz )

 

 

North Carolina

!

While training in Boone, NC, Armstrong realizes he "was meant for a long, hard climb." (p. 197) He is finally able to put the cancer behind him and race again.

 

Why do you think this happened at that particular time and in that particular place?

 

a. That place was the push that he needed because it was the place where he won a hard ride twice. It was the flashback that he required. Riding that mountain again helped him to remember step by step that victory. It was a strong memory of how he reacted in view of each valor of people. It gave him back that force that he needed to conquer again that mountain and to bring back the old Lance that he had lost. (Flavia, 02/24/07)

 

b. The main reason that Armstrong chose Boone, NC was because that was the place that he had won the Tour Du Pont twice. All of his memories of that place were positive and very special. I can understand the feeling; sometimes we want to make a new start somewhere we know. (Jennifer, 022507)

 

c.Armstrong heard the news that the US Pro championship would open in May. After that, Armstrong decided to participate in the Championship. He chose Boone, NC as the best place for his training because he won twice at the old Tour Du Pont. When he rode his bike in Boone, he could feel that previous honor. (Dae Gun Kim 02/25/07)

 

 

d. Armstrong was capable of overcoming his mental restrictions. That particular place bolstered Armstrong's ego; it was where he had won the Tour Du Pont twice. Carmichael knew the power of good past times.  (Felix, 03/04/2007)

 

 

 

 

f. I'm not quite sure about that, but I gues they might remind him about his strength in the past. ( Aziz )

 

Drugs

 

Armstrong explains that "doping is an unfortunate fact of life in cycling, or any other endurance sport." (p. 200)

 

What do you think about performance-enhancing drugs? Is it possible to get rid of them entirely? Should we even try? What is wrong with using them, for an athlete?

 

a. Using drugs is not good, even in sports. If you are competing, you should be clear about that. Everybody should be in the same condition; in this way you can have an equal competition. If you win, it will depend on your effort and not on outside help. Drugs are difficult to get rid of. You can control yourself not to consume them, but you are always in danger of doing it again. (Flavia, 02/24/07)

 

b. I disapprove of an athlete using drugs, because it is harmful and it is a lie. If an athlete uses drugs, it is will destroy his career. (Jennifer,022507)

 

c. Although every athlete wants to overcome his/her limitation, it is very hard to do that. Sometimes, an athlete takes a drug to achieve his or her goal. However, it is very dangerous behavior. The reason why we respect a winner is not that athletes win a game, but that a winner really fights against himself. If a player takes drug to make a good record, he or she cannot stop taking drug. (Dae Gun Kim 02/25/07) 

 

 

d. I truly understand that many athletes yield to temptation because they are under stress to perform. I have had a similar experience which is a drug temptation. When I was a high school student, I was tempted by an antihypnotic, a stimulant drug, because I was under a lot of pressure to increase my scores. However, I overcame the temptation. (Jinwoo Kim 02/25/07)

 

 

e. Specifically, performance-enhancing drugs are designed to “improve” an athlete’s achievement; consequently,  adany medical reason justifies its use.

Yes, we can live without them; humanity before the 20^th century did so; so why couldn’t we do it? And trying it or not is a personal decision, but for athletes to do so is cheating their own beliefs and corrupting the media. (Felix, 03/04/2007)

f. I don't think getting rid of them is a good idea because there are some people who need them. It is wrong for an athlete because the person who use it will take advantage of it which is concederd cheating. ( Aziz )

 

Life

 

"Routines and habits... are the threads that tie your days together and given them the pattern deserving of the term 'a life.'" (p. 203)

 

Comment.

 

a. Routines sometimes give stability to your life. You feel that everything is under control. You believe that you have something called life. That is good, but sometimes it is also good to do something unexpected. We just need an idea that we are alive and our habits give us that. (Flavia, 02/25/07)

 

b. In our life, most things are routine day by day. Sometime I like the routine things; however, they can make me sick. In fact, simple and routine life is happiness. It is means we did well and we are lucky, because we don’t need to worry about illness and something different in our daily life. (Jennifer,022507)

 

c. It cannot change your life to do something for your goal today. We make a schedule and try to do something with it. Although the moment cannot change your life, routines and habits can improve your life. Your goal depends on your habit, not immediately on your behavior. (Dae Gun Kim 02/25/07)

 

 

d. It can’t be that way for all people. (Felix, 03/04/2007)

 

 

IVF

 

Do you find it strange that Armstrong would discuss this private matter in his book? Why do you think he did this?

 

a. Reading the past chapters, it does not surprise me that Armstrong discussed this important episode in his life. Another reason is that he wanted to inform people about this process. I thought that the process was easy. However, it is very long and complicated. For that reason is helpful to know a true experience if you are interested in IVF. (Flavia, 02/25/07)

 

b. The main reason why I like this book is that Armstrong wrote about himself very truly and directly. It really matches the book’s title, I think. If he did not describe in fact, it could not attract me or another reader to read. (Jennifer,022507)

  

c. I think that it is very hard for him to write about in-vitro fertilization (IVF) although the book is his essay. It is his private matter. He cannot have a baby because of his cancer. I think that he wanted to show that he really wanted to have a baby. (Dae Gun Kim 02/25/07)

 

 

d. I’m pretty sure here (in the USA), like in Costa Rica, the society “punishes” you when you can’t have a “full family”. Of course I do not agree with that disgusting pattern. (Felix, 03/04/2007)

 

 f. I don't think it is strange. Some people have the courage to talk about everything infront of anyone. He also wanted to share his problems with others to make them feel about the people who are in pain without letting the others know about them. ( Aziz )

Your questions:

 

 

1.

 

 

 

 

e. Armstrong wanted to join the Championship. Why he chose Boone, NC is that he was the winner of the Tour Du Pont twice. (Jinwoo Kim 03/05/07)