What if I start sharing a personal example of why I don’t swim, while I’m clear that to me swimming is one of the most enjoyable sport/physical activity! This is a question that comes up for me at least a couple of times a week!
When I was around 4 or 5 years old, one day during fall season, I was playing with my brother and his friend at our house. We had a small but rather deep pool at our house. The game was that, while one person gets blind folded, others would instruct him/her to go to the right, left, straight, backward or stop, of course just as a fun game. It was my turn to be blind folded and I was instructed to go to the left and further left and I was suddenly in the pool! of course I didn’t know how to swim then, which was very natural thing for a child like me, 65 years ago! This is what I clearly remember, but I am not sure what really happened when I was pulled out by someone, may be our house keeper, while my brother was angrily chasing his friend who just played the game and gave the instructions as he was supposed to!
I have never known and learned how to swim! That was and is “my reality’. In fact I have never asked myself about my limitation in swimming until couple of decades ago. I didn’t even see this event as the probable cause of my fear of swimming!
I am now much more aware and present to my other fears in life and their immense impact on my potential to be extraordinary! And yes, I have since learned and practiced many strategies around my fears and managed to be very successful member of society and community I live in!
What about you, do you have stories like mine to justify not being the artist that you are who everyone enjoys your artistic expression, the athlete that you are, who everyone follows as a role model, or the scientist that you are with the great sense of exploring and discovering many unknown areas of your life and the life of your fellow human beings?
Let’s begin the journey of exploring and cultivating human potential!
fred@fanaglobal.org