#77 - She Has To Face Her Fear Every Single Day!

Ginny Dye

Jan 22, 2025

Hello Bregdan Woman,

You have Ginny today…

Here’s a truth to start your day out with…

EVERYONE HAS FEARS.

No one is immune to being afraid. It’s what you do with your fear that matters.

I know… it’s easy to say, but much harder to do!

I learned a powerful life lesson from a young girl who had too much passion to stop doing what she loved – even in the face of fear she was more than justified in feeling.

Imagine…

Bethany Hamilton, born in Hawaii, grew up knowing she wanted to be a professional surfboarder. She built her life around her dream. She spent every available moment in the water. She opted to homeschool so she would have more time to pursue her goal.

But did she have what it took?

Well… she was only eight years old when she entered her first major competition – eventually taking the division championships that year.

So, yeah, she had what it took!

The next five years flew by – surfing, competing, being a young girl.

Being a young girl came crashing to a halt on Halloween morning, 2003.

Bethany was thirteen years old.

She was surfing with her best friend, Alana, and Alana’s brother and father. The waters were calm, not good for surfing, so Bethany was lying on her board, her left arm dangling in the cool water.

I can imagine the peace she felt as she relaxed in the environment she was completely at home in. The ripple of the water… the sound of the gulls… a slight breeze that ruffled her blond hair… the feel of the sun on her tanned body.

Until…

Bethany remembers a flash of gray, a lot of pressure, and a couple fast tugs. She also remembers watching the jaws of a 15-foot tiger shark cover the top of her board and her left arm.

She watched in shock as the water around her turned bright red.

The shark was gone as fast as it appeared. So was her arm – bitten off almost to the armpit.

Bethany was horrified, but not in pain at that point. She yelled to her companions, “I just got attacked by a shark!”

It was a combination of miracles that saved Bethany at that point.

High tide allowed them to make it over the reef quickly, without going the long way around. Alana’s father knew enough to wrap his shirt around the wound to act as a tourniquet while they paddled the quarter mile to shore.

While Bethany drifted in and out of consciousness, a nearby vacationer who was a paramedic rushed to save her – finally stopping the bleeding that left 2/3’s of her blood on the beach.

An ambulance arrived to whisk her away.

Surgery saved her life, but her arm was gone for good.

Everyone, Bethany included, thought her surfing days were over. Balance is everything when surfing. How could she balance with only 1 arm?

Everything she had hoped for and worked for was gone – carried to the depths of the ocean by a shark.

Or… was it?

Within a week, spurred by her passion for surfing, Bethany began to think differently.

I can do it. I know I can do it!

She wasn’t ready to give up what she loved so much. Somehow, she would find a way to surf again. She fought to believe it. She fought to feel herself back on her surfboard.

She fought to imagine that she could overcome her fear of another shark emerging from the water.

Still, it would take time for her body to heal. She couldn’t return to the ocean until she got clearance from the doctor. She willed her body to heal, and suffered through the nightmares that plagued her sleep.

There was a huge outpouring of love and support from Hawaiians and people all over the world. Love, food, flowers, cards, money… Bethany gathered hope and courage from the waves of love aimed toward her.

A mere 26 days later – the morning before Thanksgiving – Bethany, given that precious clearance from her doctor, headed back for the water.

Her family and friends were there to cheer her on when Bethany stepped into the warm water for the first time since the attack. Her smile beamed as brightly as the Hawaiian sunshine.

It was like coming home.

Bethany savored the moment before she smiled and waved, then jumped on her board to paddle out. It took time to navigate the waves with just one arm to pull her forward, but she dug in with her remaining arm and moved out past the swells.

Once she had accomplished that feat, she was face-to-face with the one thing that could destroy her dream if she let it. She fought to breathe evenly as she stared at the waters. She knew only too well what could happen – what might be lurking beneath the surface.

The fear threatened to choke her, but her passion caused courage to swell inside. She couldn’t stop herself from feeling the fear, but she could most certainly stop herself from giving in to it.

She failed at her first attempts to ride the board, struggling to push herself up with one arm and keep her balance.

She fell. Again… and again… and again.

But she also kept trying – again… and again… and again.

Tears rolled down her face, and the crowd cheered, when she caught her first wave and rode it in.

Bethany was back!

Really back. Only months after her vicious incident, Bethany amazed thousands by achieving the unimaginable, including taking 5th at the 2004 National Scholastic Surfing Association Nationals Championships. In September she struck again, winning the Open Women’s Division of the NSSA’s Hawaiian conference season opener. After her placing in the finals of the National Surfing Championships Bethany secured a spot on USA’s National Surfing Team.

Twenty years later, she is still a professional surfer. She is also a wife and mother of two sons, and an inspirational speaker – inspiring people all over the world with her story of courage and determination.

Ask Bethany if she is afraid of sharks and she’ll say yes. Her heart pounds when she sees a shadow in the water. She has nightmares. But she also has a dream, and moving beyond her fears is the only way to accomplish her dreams – the only way to fulfill the passion she has for surfing.

Are there fears you battle?

You don’t need to respond. I already know the answer is yes. Every single person alive battles fears of some kind.

Remember, it’s not the fact that you have fears that matters. It’s what you DO with the fear.

Bethany taught me to stare fear in the face, acknowledge my fear, and then GO DO THE THING I FEAR.

A Bregdan Woman does just that. Every time you move past your fear, you have an impact on the world. An impact on the lives around you!

What fear can you move past today??

What will you do today to impact history??

I’m on this journey with you…

Ginny

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