Relationships, Selfishness & Being A Mother

14-09-22

Can you have a balanced life if you are traveling, for training & competitions, a lot during the year? How does having children impact a freediving career? Is it doable? How does that affect one emotionally? Are we just selfish and simply don't want to acknowledge the fact?

In this episode of Alchemy Podcast, we chat with Enchante Gallardo about balancing the freediving life of a professional athlete, being a mother, and relationships. We’ll talk about how sometimes in certain aspects of our lives we have to be “selfish” - selfish with our training, selfish with the core group of people in our lives amongst a very friendly community of freedivers, and selfish with our emotions and energy. 

Freediving is an immensely emotional and psychological endeavor, so how does this affect other aspects of your life? How can you find the energy to balance multiple things such as family, friends, work, training, and competitions? One of the pillars of ancient Greek Stoic philosophy was to acknowledge that, “you have to direct your actions accordingly: your energy in this world is finite”. This includes our mental and emotional energy, and freediving is a sport that drains from that reservoir. 

So, today we will hear about Enchante’s experience being a national and (now) continental record holder, one of the deepest women in the world, a wonderful mother, friend, community member, and adventurous traveler. How does she do it all? How does she balance this incredible life? 

Chapters

00:33 Intro
00:54 Forming And Managing Relationships In The Freediving Community
03:30 Freediving Is An Emotional Sport
06:29 Selfishness VS Connecting With People
15:11 Being A Mum And A Professional Athlete
28:14 Surround Yourself With The Right People
38:14 Finding The Right Balance