Lifelong learning: Not just for swimmers

A while back, Cindy Hafner, the wonderful Aquatic Director here at Western Wyoming Community College shared an article she had read with all of us via email. It was called “Five Manageable New Year’s Resolutions for Swimmers” by Mike Gustafson and it was published in Splash Magazine.

The article listed five New Year’s Resolutions swimmers could make and do to become better at their sport.

They were:

1. Get to practice five minutes early – Get to your lane.

2. Say nice things about teammates.

3. Stop complaining. Complaints are the farts of any positive atmosphere. They stink and ruin it for everyone else. If you want to complain, excuse yourself to a private corner.

4. Breathe.

5. Before a big race/event, make a resolution to enjoy this thing we call swimming.

I loved this list, but it wasn’t because of swimming-I’m not a competitive swimmer.

Instead, I looked at the list as things that really pertain to all of life, not just swimming and not as a New Year’s Resolution. Let me show you what I mean. First, we all need get to our destination five minutes early, prepared and ready to go if at all possible. I hate feeling rushed and I hate being unprepared. I’m sure others I am working with hate it if I show up this way as well. Additionally, productivity goes out the window if you are late, unprepared and unready to participate.

Second, we all need to say nice things to ourselves and other people, at work, at home, and everywhere we go. We don’t usually need to point out to others when they make mistakes, because they know they make the mistake.

We all have flaws and don’t need constant reminders about them. Instead, we need to compliment and accentuate the positives and the strengths we all have. Our self-talk and talk to others, whether positive or negative are contagious and strongly influence the outcomes of efforts many times.

Next, we should all try to stop complaining, because complaining doesn’t get anything solved. Whatever has happened, has happened and complaining, blaming or rehashing doesn’t help solve or fix the situation at all.

In fact, if I complain for five minutes, all I’ve really accomplished is wasting five minutes that I could’ve used to head in the direction of a solution and my time is valuable.

Just as with swimming, every little bit, we should all take a deep breath. We should take a moment to relax and refocus. I know it helps me center myself. And lastly, no matter what we are doing, we should always try to enjoy ourselves. Even when I am working, I try to find joy in what I am doing, who I am surrounding myself with and what I am able to accomplish. Life is too short, not to.

As far as making New Year’s Resolutions, I don’t. If I need to make a change or try something new, I don’t think I need to wait until a certain date or time to begin implementation. If something needs to happen,

I need to start working on it now. And, if I start a new workout plan, a new eating plan, a new schedule for myself, and I fail, then I will just start again. I will try to figure out what went wrong, make necessary adjustments and then start over. I will not “beat myself up” over the failure.

Again, that does no good. Negative talk has no place. Swimmers do find themselves underwater at times, and for them, that’s ok. For me, I like to try to keep my “head above water” in all that I do, and this list was a great reminder. I hope it is helpful to you as well. Have a great day!

 

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