Whilst engaging in my regular Sunday morning swim, where I can’t talk to anyone under water, I found myself doing a lot of thinking. This particular morning’s thinking centred around my inability to do tumble turns.
The Tumble Turn Challenge
After a really long break, I have been back to swimming now for almost a year and I have successfully avoided doing any tumble turns for all this time. My excuse has been that whilst I do know the theory of how to carry out the action, it is certainly not with ease. On the odd occasion that I have given it a go, I either missed the wall, had a great deal of water up my nose or felt so out of sync with my breathing, that swimming the next lap seemed an effort of enormous proportion! I told myself that one day I would learn to do it as effortlessly as all the other swimmers in my lane, I just had to find the right time.
When is the Right Time?
I got to thinking about the parallels between my reluctance to taking up the tumble turn challenge for a whole year, and other challenges I have shied away from in the past. I wondered if I could crack the code of what it was that stopped me this time, then perhaps I would be able to circumvent my inaction into the future in other areas. I needed to become Sherlock Holmes and investigate exactly what it was that was stopping me taking action!
As an Occupational Therapist for over 27 years, and a Coach who specialises in Workplace Culture and Training, it was time to coach myself and discover this little known part of my mind. I knew the theory of how to do it, I knew full well that it would improve my times once I mastered this skill, and I had experienced a little embarrassment at being the only swimmer not able to tumble.
So where did that leave me in the “just do it” stakes?
I became an observer of my thoughts, listening to my silent words as I watched myself decide that “enough was enough” and that it was time to face the music! Here is what I heard myself think……..
Mantra: “If you never get started, you will never learn to tumble!”
Question: “But why do you want to tumble?”
Reply: “Why not?” It’s a challenge you have been thinking about and never really given a chance to master. You know you could do it if you put your mind to it.”
Statement: “But it is sooo uncomfortable! I can’t breathe properly and I’m always gasping for air before I come up.”
Response: “You know that is temporary. The better you get at it, the easier it will become. Just look at the others, they don’t seem to be having much of a problem.”
Question: “How will you feel if you don’t ever master this skill, or at the very least, have a really good go at it?”
Reply: “I will always be wondering if I could’ve achieved it. I will feel that I let myself down by focusing on the temporary discomfort, rather than focussing on the outcome I am after. I think that feeling is worse than the water up my nose!”
Question: “What could you do that would leave you feeling satisfied that you did not let yourself down?”
Reply: “I could commit to trying to tumble each time I get to the deep-end; at least for this session to see how it goes.”
Question: “How do you think you will feel after following through with this plan?”
Reply: “I will be proud of myself for having taken the plunge, so to speak!”
Making the Decision to Commit
It was the final reply that did it for me.
I had made the decision to commit because I wanted to feel proud of myself.
And guess what?
I am very happy to say I did a tumble every turn at the deep-end, and then unexpectedly, I started to do it at the shallow end as well, just because I wanted to!
The most amazing thing was happening. All of a sudden, I found myself looking forward to the end of the lap anticipating another opportunity to practice my turn.
As I was getting better with practice, I was gradually feeling more confident and consequently was starting to enjoy myself. I think I was beginning to feel proud!
Can You Relate?
There is nothing more satisfying than mastering a challenge that you never believed was possible.
I am not a master yet, but the lesson I took from this Sherlock Holmes experiment, was that it only takes a moment to make a decision to commit. The time it took to get to the decision was the space for improvement.
How long does it take you to decide to commit?
