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“ mental health ,” continued to do the things that made him feel mentally strong . For him , this meant pushing himself physically through exercise . “ Even when I ’ m having days where I ’ m grumpy , or something ’ s on my mind , or I ’ m trying to work through something , I do the same thing ,” Armstrong said . “ I go for a long bike ride by myself and just work it out . Or I still love to swim . In these moments of getting in that zone of suffering and pushing yourself is when my brain totally turns on .”
CREATE AN OPEN-DOOR POLICY
Offering a profound glimpse into how to navigate personal crises with family , Armstrong stated that guiding his family through this storm has been the most challenging part . When he made his 2013 confession , Armstrong had three children in school and two toddlers . He faced the daunting task of explaining his actions to them .
Emphasizing transparency , he adopted an open-door policy , encouraging honest , ongoing , open dialogue . “ Their dad was on national TV with Oprah and on the front page of every paper ,” Armstrong reflected . “ We have a simple policy : We ’ re going to have a conversation about this today , and if you want to have a conversation about it next week or next year , we ’ re going to have a conversation . This is an open conversation . We can talk about this whenever you want . It ’ s not like we ’ re going to sit , talk about it , put it in a box , put it away . If this ever comes up and you want to talk to your father , come to me . I ’ ll tell you everything .”
This approach was particularly beneficial for his older children . However , the younger ones , initially too young to grasp the situation , eventually developed an awareness shaped by their peers ’ questions . “ Is your dad that cheater guy ?” they were asked , underlining the importance of maintaining open communication as they matured . “ They didn ’ t get a pass ,” Armstrong noted . “ Because what is true about this world today is everything is forever . While they were one and two and didn ’ t watch Oprah , they are growing into their dad ’ s complicated life history-all the good , the bad , and the ugly . It ’ s an amazing lesson for all of us that nothing goes away forever . This point going forward , whatever you say , do , maybe even think in the future will stick around .”
Armstrong acknowledged the pain of his circumstances but also recognized their value as a teachable moment . “ There wasn ’ t a reset in parenting ,” he said . “ You ’ re keeping it open . They can ask you anything . You ’ re not hiding it . This is who I am , and I ’ ll explain it because we ’ re all humans . And , at the end of the day , especially for my older kids-and the same will happen for my young ones as they grow-they ’ ve watched their father survive this .”
BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY AUTHENTIC
When faced with lawsuits and the pending fallout , Armstrong wanted to come clean on his terms by appearing on Oprah . “ I thought it would be better received if I got out ahead of it ,” Armstrong said . “ But it didn ’ t really work . Although Oprah came out swinging , it was too much for some , and for others , it wasn ’ t enough . Still , I answered all her questions honestly as I do now .”
Despite the situation , it was a turning point for him to become a completely open book about everything in his life . “ If we ’ d have done this talk 10 years ago , I would have BS ’ d every single person in this room ,” Armstrong said . “ I don ’ t BS anybody anymore . There ’ s nothing off limits in my life .”
DON ’ T GO DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE WHEN FACED WITH HATERS
When confronted by haters , negative interactions , and so on , many want to respond . You may be tempted to do something by rationalizing , “ I ’ m not going to take this !” or “ I must do something !” But too often , people respond in a negative way that they later regret . Armstrong admits he used to lash out , but now he ’ s changed his approach when provoked .
For instance , once while visiting Denver and waiting for an Uber , a group of haters recognized Armstrong and began chanting obscenities at him from a bar across the street . Rather than responding , he got in the car , left the scene , and didn ’ t interact . A man of action , he calmed down , called the bar where the patrons were , and asked to speak to the manager .
“ I was so mad ,” Armstrong said . “ The old Lance would have got a group of my friends and turned around . But I ’ m not like that anymore . When the manager came on the phone , I said , ‘ Hey , I ’ m Lance Armstrong . You got a bunch of guys out there who were yelling and screaming .’ He said , ‘ Man , I ’ m really sorry about that .’ I said , ‘ Here ’ s the deal . Here ’ s my credit card . Buy the whole table drinks for as long as they sit there . No matter how much they drink or what they eat , it ’ s on me . But you must go over there and say , “ This is on Lance .” I hung up , and I was like , that ’ s action . The wrong thing to do would have been to storm over there and get into it with them , but the right thing to do is to do something . That ’ s what I came up with , and I think it worked out well .”
Armstrong also avoids reading comments on social media . “ I ignore it ,” he said . “ I made one deal with myself : If anybody throws me the ball and I catch it , I ’ m not dropping it again because there ’ s only one person who can mess this whole thing up , and that ’ s me . I ’ m not dropping the ball . If people are not OK with it , that ’ s totally fine .”
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