I am not a strong swimmer. To be honest, I
swim like a rock and being in the water makes me uncomfortable. My daughter
swims like a fish; she loves being in the water and jumping in the deep end of
the pool. Earlier this summer we were at the pool together I noticed that my daughter splashed around in the shallow area with me
and didn’t go into the deep end or jump off of the diving board. When I asked
her why, she told me that she knew I didn’t like doing those things and she wanted
to stay with me. That was when I realized that my fear was holding her back and
I decided that it was time to face my fear of the water.
The local pool offers a swimming class for
adults called Scared Stiff. That seemed like a good place to start. The
instructor was calm and patient with everyone in the class. She started us off
with everyone sharing with the group why they were taking Scared Stiff lessons.
This created a lasting connection between the students. The students were all very
supportive of each other. We cheered when someone put their face in the water
even if they came up sputtering or tried floating on their own. We encouraged each other to continue
facing our fears and learning new skills. By the end of the session, the
majority of the students were planning to continue with lessons.
When Scared Stiff ended, I signed up for another
set of lessons. The instructor this time around was not as patient with the students
that needed help. She started the class off with asking each person one on one
about their goal for the session. The class was split in two based on ability. Most
of the students were focused on their own needs. More than half of the class
struggled and a couple of people stopped coming to lessons entirely.
The difference between the two classes got
me thinking about the importance of creating the right kind of environment for
learning. People are more likely to succeed in an environment where they feel
connected to each other; they can try, fail and try again; they are supported
and encouraged to step out of their comfort zones; and the effort is
celebrated, not just the results.
While I am far from swimming like a fish, I
am not as scared as I was before. Recently I took another step forward in
facing this fear and jumped into a 25ft deep pool in a sunken lava tube. The
water was dark and murky and it took way too long to get back to the surface. It
was a terrifying experience, but I did it and when I saw a couple of my Scared
Stiff buddies back at the pool I couldn’t wait to share with them.
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