In the pool as in life, there are things I can control, things that I can work around and other things I shouldn't waste my time on. The hard part is telling them apart!
Sometimes my shoulder hurts because I pushed myself little too hard. Some days the wind is harsh and the water is too choppy. Somedays my goggles go on strike and keep leaking after every flip. I can be annoyed, complain, or get out of the pool. But other than that, there is not much I can do.
What I can do is focus on what I can change: I can focus on my kicks if my shoulder is having a bad day; or practice underwater kicks to avoid the choppy surface; or skip the flips for one day and enjoy my swim without them. My body and my decisions are all things I can control and help me solve the problem in creative ways. Sounds easy, almost intuitive.
But in life, when I find myself up to my neck in water, telling apart what I should fight for and what I should let go seems a lot harder. A hundred of projects on tight deadlines, an unhealthy environment at work, a toxic friendship... Are they worth finding a solution for? Are they worth fighting for? Or should I leave the pool altogether?
The solutions on dry land is the same as in the pool: take a break, look around and think out of the box. There will always be thing that are under your control. And if there are not, leaving the pool is always an option. If you're lucky, there will be a warm shower waiting for you outside!
3/27/2010
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God,
ReplyDeleteGrant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change.
The courage to change the things that I can.
And the wisdom to know the differnce.
Warm showers are always a perk!
Thank you! You never fail to give me insights and a chance for much needed retrospection!
Are you alright?
ReplyDeleteHi Buzz, I'm OK now, but I had a deadly cold for a week and then passed it to my husband, so I've playing nurse back last week. Two sick people in the family meant no pool until yesterday... and it was the hardest swim in a long time! It's not like getting in a bike! The body forgets! Thanks for your concerns. I'll be back blogging and surfing the web in no time!
ReplyDeleteYugg! I am sory to hear that but I am glad you are up and stroking now!
ReplyDeleteAs much fun as they can be, and as great as they are a place to cool off, every year kids drown in back yard pools, lakes and rivers because somebody was not paying attention. Don't be that guy.
ReplyDeleteKnow what it looks like when someone is in trouble.
Most people assume that a drowning person will splash, yell, and wave for help; and why wouldn’t they? That’s what we see on TV. Without training, we are conditioned first to think of drowning as a violent struggle that is noisy and physical. In actuality, it is not.
Speaking of up to my neck in water, Would you know what to look for if someone was drowning?
The Instinctive Drowning Response represents a person's attempts to avoid the actual or perceived suffocation in the water. The suffocation in water triggers a constellation of autonomic nervous system responses that result in external, unlearned, instinctive drowning movements that are easily recognizable by trained rescue crews. Check out headsupdad for five things to watch out for when someone is in real trouble in the water...