Swim Now! Swim Against the Current!

Earlier this week while I was driving, I heard on the radio that the triathlon for the Paris Olympics was being threatened.? Not by protesters or lack of participation from athletes, but due to the water quality of the river that they will have to SWIM in.? Until recently, the river was failing water quality tests for E coli bacteria, which is an indicator for fecal matter.? You might not be aware, however there are limits imposed by sports federations on what appropriate levels should be.? Can you imagine, training for years on years, and finally making and getting to the Olympics and having the potential to not being able to participate in the event you trained for?? We can all probably relate in some way to the athletes who need to SWIM in the river.? What challenge are you facing?? Is it forcing you to SWIM against the current and face challenges you did not anticipate?? Let’s see if we can relate:

Struggle???????????

Struggles are real.? The goal of the Olympic organizers in Paris was for the Seine River (which has not been deemed clean enough to swim in since 1923 until recently) to get it ready and be ready to SWIM in.? Can you imagine the task that it took to get it to where it is now?? What daunting task are you facing as you SWIM upstream after your dreams or goals?? It can be done; it will just take a lot of work.? It took the originators of the Olympic campaign 9 years to get the water where the athletes can SWIM in it.? Interestingly enough, if the city gets a heavy rain during the events or prior to the actual events, they may have to change plans.? Are your plans flexible if life rains on your parade and causes you to SWIM farther upstream?? Are you up to it?? Are you really?? What is your struggle?

Water?????????????

Water you struggling with?? Ok, really, what are you struggling with.? “Water you”? sounds so much better for this article.? What is the first thing that came to your mind when you read that question?? What about the second or the third? ?Are there more? What do you need to do to get back in the proverbial water?? What part of your process concerns you?? Are your timelines accurate and do they allow for some potential setbacks?? You might not be facing high E coli bacteria levels, however that does not mean that you are not facing something that seems like it can’t be done or is overwhelming.? Interestingly enough, a previous mayor of Paris had promised to make the river clean enough to SWIM in but failed.? We know what he faced, but water you struggling with?? It can be a broad concept, however you will have to drill down to gain wisdom and to be able to break it into smaller portions.

Identify?????????????

Identify your challenges!? You have to name them to solve them.??? We can be afraid or concerned about many things associated with our current struggles or the journey to our goals, however if we don’t identify actual challenges, the setback may be real and knock us off our feet ?and into the river.? Are you just focused on one challenge?? Are there other possible challenges?? Why are you just focused on just one?? Is it possible that working on one might have parallel challenges to another possible problem or outcome?? What is your goal you are chasing?? Try this:? Turn off all distractions and get a pen and paper ready. Set a timer for 60 seconds and allow your mind to write down and identify challenges to your goal.? Don’t stop if it seems silly or too small, write it down.? Once you complete this task, group them together to see how you can potentially reduce the potential of them being a setback, or how you can possibly avoid them all together.? Identify the problem, then find a solution.? You can do it.?

Mitigate?????????

Mitigate the risk.? What are you doing to reduce the risk?? The officials in Paris are treating the water and upgrading the city’s stormwater runoff system by building a holding and treatment tank.? They also had to make improvements to the city’s wastewater network too.? You may not have the funds to be able to do that, however what CAN you do?? What can you do to mitigate the risk associated with your goal?? What signs of success are you seeing that others might be missing?? Some of the best work in our life occurs when we are working to reduce risk and pushing ourselves.? Some risk is acceptable, and if you have big dreams and goals (which I hope you have), you will face and have to accept some risk.? What are you willing to risk?? How far are you willing to go and what are you willing to risk accomplishing your dreams?? Don’t shy away.? Some say that the greatest risk is doing nothing. Do something and face your fears and risk and do this thing.? You see the risk, but you also see the reward.? Only you can determine what you are willing to do and risk. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you should risk. You be you and do what you do.

The Seine river water will be tested regularly at several points before each event and the authorities are confident it will be clean with 75% of the identified bacterial pollution eliminated.? If 75% is eliminated, that still means that 25% is still there.? That seems like an acceptable risk to the athletes.? That means that there is still a challenge beyond the athletic aspect of the event.? Some take the safe way and follow conventional wisdom and follow the pat set by others.? Chase your dream, even if they are off the beaten path.? Sam Walton was quoted as saying, “Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom.”? Understand that struggles are real.? Ask yourself, what aspect of your journey needs to be identified and focused on.? Once you identify it, mitigate the risk associated with struggle.? There are many statements and quotes that discuss SWIMming with the current. SWIM against the current, don’t just float so you won’t face challenges.? You got this!? SWIM away!? Seriously, SWIM away!!

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Stay safe and stay well!

S – Struggles are real.

W – Water you struggling with?

I – Identify your challenges.

M – Mitigate the risk.

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#SWIM #SwimAWay #FocusFriday #FocusOnTheFutureFriday #Focus