When I was 4-6 years old my mom dutifully took my sister and me to the local pool to learn to swim. We got into a small section of a very large competitive pool with all the other kids. My sister went along with the program and did what the teachers asked. She earned each level letter that would eventually spell our hometown name Ventura.
However, I was smarter than the average duck (or so I thought). When they would put all of us little kids on a platform I firmly stood in the middle. I knew they kept the sharks under the platform and I was not going to risk getting bit. So there was a bit of over-exaggerated fantasy.
Do not put up with untrustworthy people
A teacher would tell me to swim. I would comply only after requesting that they not step back. As I would swim I could see them stepping back. I had no tolerance for this kind of trickery. Even if it came with, “See I knew you could do it”! Tune in here to listen to the podcast interview to hear Cori’s full swim story.
Trust is essential to learning and especially learning to swim.
There are many layers of trust that must be achieved to feel completely safe.
- Trust your physical location – are there sharks in the pool or not?
- Trust those around you – will others listen to me?
- Trust in yourself
These layers of trust go from wide to narrow. The further out they are, like location, the less control you have. Closer in, like YOU, the more control you have. For example, when you are standing in a forest you have very little control of the environment. You do, however, control whether or not to walk into the forest and what you will do there.
This gives you the starting point for getting scary situations under control. Learn to trust yourself!
Start with the area over which you have the most control.
For little me, this seemed like still being curious about the water. I found a place in the pool on my own, near the wall, close to a lifeguard. Here it felt fun for me to play, explore and discover how the water works.
Start Your Private Swim Journey
The confidence to explore, ask questions and discover comes from being able to trust yourself.
Want to learn more about how to learn to swim with a completely trustworthy system? Peek into Orca Swim School’s online learning platform to test the waters before jumping into the big pool! Our online classes offer a private swim journey to take the time you need to understand what has been missing so you can learn with confidence.
