Swimming Part 3:

I am really starting to like swimming.  It wasn't always like this but it's starting to be that way.  Swimming is really a whole body workout, I like to switch between freestyle and breast stroke.  The cool thing about swimming, is most people don't think they can do it.  It's one of those activities that people are afraid of for some reason, when it's actually one of the most fun!  It's way more fun than running (sorry runners), and pretty much stomps biking too.  I think i like talking about swimming the most simply because most people have this mental anchor stopping them from going for it!  I'll ask, what's the worst that could happen?  I could drown... really?  seriously?  in a pool at a health club your going to drown??  How's that irrational fear working out for you?  not so well?  How about we kick it to the curb and be happier for it!!

I have a special kind of loathing for irrational fears, I have no time for them in my life and don't like them at all.  I see fear as something that at one point helped keep us alive, maybe, but I still think sound mind and confidence will do a better job of that even in the wilderness.  Either way, in our modern day, fear is totally pointless.  It serves only to chain people down and hold them back.  I work with a lot of people who are afraid of the strangest things.  Like making important phone calls for example, or talking to their wives about tough topics.  But every time without fail, once the call is made or the conversation is done, people are glad they did it.  OF COURSE THEY ARE!!!  Say nothing about the fact that the things we fear are also the things that will give us the most happiness and best benefits, people are glad they did it simply because THEY DONT'T HAVE TO DREAD IT ANY LONGER!!!

I have an idea.  Let's reframe fear for a second.  Let me just slay some demons for a moment.  First of all, fear is not the thing that keeps you from jumping off a cliff to your death, logic is.  Fear is NOT the device which keeps people away from dangerous situations, LOGIC is.  It is a sound mind which saves you, not your fears.  I know lots of people who have a lot of fear, and still do stupid life threatening things!  And I know a lot of stories about people who were fearless who still died in a car accident.  Does the fact that you can die in a car stop people from doing it every day?  No, because that would not be logical.  So enough about that.  Let's take a different angle on fear then.  Next time you feel fear, ask yourself one question.  Is it likely that resisting this fear could result in serious injury or death?  Is it even remotely possible?  If the answer is no, then my advice to you is to do the thing you are afraid of JUST because you are afraid of it!  Listen.  Let's say somebody came over to your house and held you down on the floor so you couldn't move.  They were not hurting you and there was no danger, just annoying because you couldn't move.  How long would you put up with this treatment?  How long till you just wanted to go to the bathroom for crying out loud??  Well, this is exactly what fear does.  Maybe not so extreem in most of our cases, but if we let fear run wild, we would never leave the house.

Make the decision today that fear is not a warning sign of impending danger, but a sign that you are about to do something good for yourself.  Your about to expand your horizons, become more confident, enable higher self esteem and bigger belief in yourself!  Go swimming if that's your thing, or skydiving, bungee jumping, whatever just do it!  Kick fear in the teeth and you'll love yourself for it!  After all, God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of sound mind.  If the fear doesn't come from God, where do you think it does come from???

Happy hunting!