How many times do you continue to try to accomplish something yet can’t seem to get it done. You feel the resistance every time you get up and try it again hoping that finally you will achieve and reap that reward you’ve been striving for. The swimming Paradox is an additional tool you can add to your tool belt to make it all happen.
When I started out in Sales the most difficult thing for me to do was cold calling. It was such a nightmare each day to pick up the phone, gather up all my energy to make one call, after it was all said and done, now I had to do it again. Can you imagine that? To take some of the daily stress and take my mind of the day I decided to learn to swim, and it is how the Swimming Paradox came about. After I applied that in my daily cold calling, it stopped being a burden and started meeting some interesting people and having great conversations..
The basics mechanics of fundamental swimming are simple yet the human mind has a condition that it does not understand simplicity. As humans there is a physiological perspective that if it is simple it doesn’t work. It has to be harder then that, otherwise everyone would be doing it.
Just as swimming most novice swimmers understanding that they must stretch each stroke long and hard, constant foot propulsion, and rapid movement to stay afloat and make it to the other side. That couldn’t be further then the truth, the paradox comes with the fact that in order to be a good swimmer there is only one key ingredient that MUST be in effect at all times.
To be RELAXED.
You see if you are tense as you swim it constricts the muscles make them full of blood, you take short breaths which in turn make you less buoyant. This now leads you to sink, and as response you start to condition your body to try to create more movement to stay afloat which brings over oxygenation, more energy consumption and fail miserably. Now consider the alternative.
You relax, you then take longer smoother breaths which fill your lungs and abdomen with air that now makes you more buoyant, automatically you now float. You now have no need to continue to kick hard to stay afloat, the legs barely move, each stroke enters the water in calm relaxed state you are with the water rather then fighting it. The result: a graceful swim.
Think about this, there has been a myth about piranhas actually attacking human beings in the water. National Geographic’s did a study and what they discovered is that piranhas WILL actually attack any object in the water that looks as if it is struggling and agitated including humans. If someone is calm and relaxed in river full of piranhas the will not be attacked.
Next time you find your self in a situation that you might be struggling with, take a breath and ask your self. If I was in a river full of piranhas, in the current state that I am in now will I be attacked? How can I relax in what I am doing now? How can I create a space for me to let go? It will take practice, bad habits take time to adjust but after that, it’s all smooth swimming.
ACTION STEP:
Write on a post it somewhere you feel the most anxiety “How can I maintain a relaxed state of mind right now?
Take 5 Mins from your day to be still and calm your mind.
If you’ve ever considered learning to swim i highly suggest This DVD and This Book
