“Focus on what you can do rather than stress about what you have no control over.” -Catherine DeVrye
Back in the late 1870s, there was a man who had heard about people attempting to swim across the English Channel but failing. He decided he wanted to be the first person to conquer the English Channel.
This is no small feat. At its shortest distance, the English Channel is 21 miles long. However, swimmers typically swim many more miles than that because the current moves them side to side as the tide ebbs and flows. Additionally, the water temperature at its warmest averages around 59-64 degrees Fahrenheit. To put this challenge in perspective, fewer people have made the 21-mile swim across the English Channel than have climbed Mount Everest.
So, this man trained and trained. He worked harder than he had ever worked before, getting into the best physical shape
possible. He was certain that he could do it. He enlisted the help of a friend to follow him in a boat. This way he would have access to food, water, and safety.
At first everything was going well. Then after about an hour of swimming, he was stung by a stingray. After a brief rest, he pushed on, but he dwelt on the pain from the sting. With each stroke, the pain got worse.
To add to his challenge, bad weather set in. The waves began getting higher and higher, and he struggled to keep from choking on the water. He stopped for another rest and told his friend that he wasn’t sure he could continue. His friend encouraged him on. After some deliberation, he continued.
Then a heavy fog set in. It was so thick he couldn’t see his friend’s boat, nor anything more than five feet in front of him. Overcome with exhaustion and uncertainty, he gave in to the pain and the bad conditions and climbed into his friend’s boat defeated.
His friend started up the boat and within a few seconds the swimmer realized his heartbreaking error. After only 400 yards, they hit land! 400 yards is nothing after you have already swam over 20 miles, but because the man couldn’t see the shore due to the dense fog, he allowed his self-talk and his focus to derail him. –Unknown
Summary:
If the swimmer could have seen land, he would have found it in him to continue beyond the pain, and the circumstances. Isn’t that exactly what happens to us at times? Often, we don’t achieve our goals because we let injuries and other adversity convince us it’s not worth it. We lose sight of our goals.
The English Channel swimmer started focusing on how hard it was, and on what wasn’t going right, instead of focusing on what he could still do, and his goal. He had trained hard and put in the physical work, but he hadn’t put in the mental work. He was fine as long as everything was going ok, but he hadn’t prepared himself to handle adversity. Too often, just like the swimmer, we lose focus and our negative self-talk kicks in, blinding us to what is good.
However, if you keep your vision alive and your focus on the next step, who knows what you can accomplish. The key is to keep the vision alive even when the fog has set in.
Reflections:
- What’s your English Channel (goal)? Write it down.
- List ways you can keep your vision alive every day.
- How can you and/or your team use this message to help you?
Moving Forward
- Create a team or individual vision board. Vision boards are collections of quotes, pictures, sayings, etc. that will motivate you. They are visual reminders to help you stay focused on your goal.
- For more on vision boards go to http://r2lc.com/vision-boards-for-success/.
- Share this message with someone that is struggling to keep the fog from blurring their vision.
“Your vision and purpose are greater than your circumstances. Don’t look at where you are. See where you’re going and remember why you’re going there.” -Jon Gordon
For more stories on overcoming adversity check out: Challenger Deep: Stories, Fables, and Lessons to Help You Rise Above Adversity – Tami Matheny