His life story seems too much like a story, a tall tale, rather than real life. Because of his life, I was able to get through some parts of mine.
Who was Louis Zamperini?
His life was so much, I won’t do it full justice. Louis Zamperini was an American World War II Prisoner of war and an Olympic runner. He competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and had planned to compete in Tokyo when World War II started. He was known for his speed and trying to break the 4 minute mile.
During World War II, he was in a plane that went down due to mechanical issues. He was lost at sea for over a month with two other airmen, the only survivors of the crash. One of the airmen died during the time at sea. The two survivors, Zamperini and Phillips, survived on rain water and birds that would land on the raft. I remember reading how swollen their skin was from sunburns and how the raft started to disintegrate leaving the color of the raft on their skin. Eventually their raft floated into Japanese territory where they were captured. Zamperini and Phillips were sent to prison camps and tortured, physically and psychologically, for the next two years. Zamperini was repeatedly tormented by one camp sergeant called The Bird. The Bird was notorious for calling out Zamperini, for trying to break him, which The Bird found to be impossible no matter what situation he tried.
I read the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand in 2019 which detailed Zamperini’s life. I was so inspired by his strength, his will to survive. His unwavering resolve to remain…unbroken. I remember reading situations where he had to stand for hours holding a beam above his head, worked for hours on end, faced starvation, etc. His mind over matter was astounding to me. How can someone be so strong? So mentally tough?
After reading Unbroken I wanted to know more. I watched any YouTube video I could find of interviews with him. I found his personality quite witty and fun, at least at the time of his interviews. (SPOILER) Later in life he forgave The Bird, although The Bird refused to ever meet with him. This again takes strength and where I found my understanding of forgiveness.
How did he inspire me? How did his life help me through some parts of mine?
In 2019 I was in the mist of figuring out my separation. I knew I was strong, mentally tough, but I felt lost as to my direction in life. I was also planning to run a 5K with my son on Thanksgiving that year. I remember ANY TIME I didn’t want to run I would say to myself, “Look what Zamperini did, you can do this”. I remember ANY TIME I felt I couldn’t handle a situation, a question, or when I felt I was loosing my mental toughness, I would say to myself, “If Zamperini can endure years of torture, you can run 3 miles. If Zamperini can hold up a beam for hours, you can figure out how to do this task. You can overcome this situation. You are stronger than you know.”
His life and these messages to myself inspired me to keep pushing forward. That my mind could overcome what my body felt was sometimes impossible.
Please use this message to inspire you! You are capable of SO MUCH MORE than you know! When times feel tough, call upon your strengths. You can accomplish far more than your mind tells you sometimes. Keep moving forward no matter how you feel that day, no matter how tired you are, no matter what your mind tries to tell your body.
WHEN YOU FEEL YOU CAN'T....YOU CAN!!!
Oh by the way! If you'd like to pick up a copy of Unbroken, here is a link Unbroken(Affiliate Link)
XO
JessicaAnne
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