Overcoming a Fear From the Past

This past weekend I swam at the Provincials Swim meet in Ottawa. As a follow up to my previous blog….I faced my fears. Quick recap…when I competed as a child at this one swim meet we had to dive from the blocks in the shallow end of the pool. I dove too deep smacked my head on the bottom. Thank goodness I was okay, but boy did it ever hurt. It not only hurt physically, but left a scar of fear that stuck with me until now. Life came full circle. I joined my local swim club fall 2010 and this past weekend I needed to face my fears and dive from the blocks in the shallow end and not just once, several times.

As I was warming up for the races, I practiced my dives. My fear emerged from my gut and intensified every time I stood on block and looked at the bottom of the pool. My first dive was fine, my second dive I over compensated and smacked my thighs on the water, and my third dive I dove too deep and smacked the tops of my feet on the bottom of the pool. When I got out of the water I already saw bruises starting to form.

What I realized after this third dive was that I controlled everything. I knew at that point I would not hit my head on the bottom. All I needed to do was to focus and be in control of my body. I breathed out my fear, breathed in confidence and dove again keeping my form tight and streamline. My dive was perfect. From then on, I simply focused my mind, took control and was in total gratitude for the opportunity to overcome a fear that I had with me for 31 years.

How freeing!!

At provincials I also had a opportunity to change my thought patterns about my swimming ability…this was a huge accomplishment for me. Stay tuned for my next blog.

(Note to Dennis: Thank you for coaching me on my dives pre provincials. Your guidance assisted me tremendously.)

Jacquie