About a year ago, I decided I was going to start swimming again, so I got myself registered to start swim lessons. I was not sure exactly what was holding me back but all I wanted to do was accomplish a goal on my “bucket list” while at the same time my brain made all the perfect excuse why I didn’t need to swim.
First few days of swim lessons went well but by the 7th lesson I realized I was still using a noodle. After seven lessons, something must be wrong with me and I finally figured what it was. I was afraid, I realized it was all fear, all in my mind. I was afraid I was going to drown; I was afraid my heart was not going to handle it. I filled my mind with all sorts of junk, all fear generated.
The mind games. My mind was playing with my head, it got the best of me and made me completely handicapped. I had taken swim lessons 13 years before and I swam “a little” or thought I did but the fear within me prevented me from even floating in the water on my own let alone put my head under the water.
That is exactly what fear does, it consumes you completely from your smallest muscle down to your biggest limps.
Fear will paralyze you to death if you let it. The devil is the master of mind games, he feeds your mind with fear and then gets you right where he wants.
I realized just how many years fear had taken control of my mind and prevented me from swimming, something I always wanted to do.
In my alone time I did some research on swimming, how to float etc. I watched videos and promised myself I was going to try; it was ridiculous enough to even imagine not being able to swim after 7 lessons even though I had swum “a little” 13 years before. That fear left me empty feeling worthless and beaten down.
The videos and research could only help me as much as I wanted them to, the real help had to come from WITHIN ME. The determination to swim had to come from me. The videos only gave me information I needed, and the drive had to come from me and me only. Right before my 8th swim lesson I started telling myself I was going to float and swim without thinking about it by the end of the lesson. Funny thing is before I even finished talking to myself while in the pool I dived right into the water and floated. There was still fear in me when I made that move, but I somehow quickly did it not giving myself time to I reconsider not swimming.
I had two choices only, to either swim or shamefully continue in my self-pity and never swim.
I did it!! I trusted in the unknown, believed I could do it and pushed myself to do it and it worked. I floated and made a few strokes. I swam!!
The lesson here is the power to accomplish any goal or move any mountain truly lies within us. Every one of us has those abilities, what you do with that power and how you use it is entirely up to you and will determine your outcome.
