This is a continuation of my previous post. These things just came to be randomly and I finally have the time to pen them down ;)
Embrace changes (in temperature).
These days, everyone is so used to having heater and hot showers. No one remembers the days we were still using cold water or having to boil them for a hot one. Swimming brought me back to basics, there is no hot shower at the swimming complex. After a swim under the hot sun, I have began to appreciate having a cold shower. Recently, there was a power failure at home and inevitably it has affected our heater, on certain days, it doesn't work and I have to endure a cold shower (fortunately swimming has prepared me for them)!
Be flexible and adapt to circumstances.
Things do not go how we want all the time, in fact, maybe even half the time! I have had a few occasions since school started, 80 students suddenly came plunging into the pool! I haven't got any space left, yet I had to finish my self-assigned laps. Being flexible doesn't mean cutting down the laps but instead work around it, instead of swimming the length, I need to do the width. Instead of swimming at my pace, I have to work around everyone's pace. That brings up the next lesson...
Be informed, go seeking to be informed.
So inorder to avoid another 80 students having their swimming lessons at the same time with me, I needed to know when they are not there! So I seeked for more information. Ask. Ask and you will get. Indeed, I have found the answer. So sometimes we can't just assume or presume or guess... if the factual information is available, go get them.
That's all for now, I will continue to note down more lessons when they come to me naturally!
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
26.11.13
5 life lessons I've learned from swimming (1)
This post is inspired by 5 life lessons I've learned from running.
If you don't try, you will definitely drown.
And if you do, you have a chance of survival. Most of us in Singapore grow up with us taking compulsory swimming lessons in school. I guess that's a good survival skill. I passed the beginner course with ease, but failed my immediate due to another human fault. But that didn't hinder me from swimming. Immediate course was to master "frog-style" and now I already did, I even invented "doggy-style" where you swim with the head above the waters. That said, it leads to the second lesson (below).
Don't let a failure set you back from achieving your goal.
Sometimes you have to drown to conquer that fear you have.
Exactly. I almost drowned once, not in the pool but in the sea (in Thailand). I always had this phobia of not being able to touch the ground with my feet. But this is exactly it, I can never touch the bottom of the ground in some situations. I have to learn to accept or overcome it. Of course, I have never thought about using drowning to conquer that fear, it was a freak incident. After that, surprisingly it did not deter me from swimming. I continued to swim in the pool (though usually those I can have my feet on the ground). More recently, I found myself conquering a new territory - swimming in the lap pool! To me, that's an achievement.
Stamina comes with practicing.
Like everything else in life, you usually get better and better by practicing. When I went back to the pool after months or even a year of not swimming, the first few half-laps left me panting like a dog. I used to have swim dates with a friend, it's a great motivation to have a sports buddy. But since she left for the States, I found my new friend (discipline). It's not as bad really. I have began to set myself a time frame to finish a certain number of laps. I began with 6 laps, then increased to 8, 10, 12 and occasionally 14 (all these in a few months)! 12 laps' pretty good for me since it's doubled of what I had started with.
Learn to enjoy it.
If you are passionate about something, you usually don't find it a chore. Doing it will help you relax. The best things about it - it keeps you active, clears your mind, relieves stress and also helps you to lose those extra kilos. In fact, I have shed a few and it does make me feel better about myself.
If you don't try, you will definitely drown.
And if you do, you have a chance of survival. Most of us in Singapore grow up with us taking compulsory swimming lessons in school. I guess that's a good survival skill. I passed the beginner course with ease, but failed my immediate due to another human fault. But that didn't hinder me from swimming. Immediate course was to master "frog-style" and now I already did, I even invented "doggy-style" where you swim with the head above the waters. That said, it leads to the second lesson (below).
Don't let a failure set you back from achieving your goal.
Sometimes you have to drown to conquer that fear you have.
Exactly. I almost drowned once, not in the pool but in the sea (in Thailand). I always had this phobia of not being able to touch the ground with my feet. But this is exactly it, I can never touch the bottom of the ground in some situations. I have to learn to accept or overcome it. Of course, I have never thought about using drowning to conquer that fear, it was a freak incident. After that, surprisingly it did not deter me from swimming. I continued to swim in the pool (though usually those I can have my feet on the ground). More recently, I found myself conquering a new territory - swimming in the lap pool! To me, that's an achievement.
Stamina comes with practicing.
Like everything else in life, you usually get better and better by practicing. When I went back to the pool after months or even a year of not swimming, the first few half-laps left me panting like a dog. I used to have swim dates with a friend, it's a great motivation to have a sports buddy. But since she left for the States, I found my new friend (discipline). It's not as bad really. I have began to set myself a time frame to finish a certain number of laps. I began with 6 laps, then increased to 8, 10, 12 and occasionally 14 (all these in a few months)! 12 laps' pretty good for me since it's doubled of what I had started with.
Learn to enjoy it.
If you are passionate about something, you usually don't find it a chore. Doing it will help you relax. The best things about it - it keeps you active, clears your mind, relieves stress and also helps you to lose those extra kilos. In fact, I have shed a few and it does make me feel better about myself.
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