Progress

Today during my swim team practice I swam 3200 meters, roughly 2 miles. Two things stood out as I went through the drills and completed the workout.

First, 3200 meters (2 miles) does not seem long anymore. As I was swimming tonight, I realized how amazing this is. It was only in April of 2005 when I learned how to swim. One year ago I hired Heath Thurston as my swim coach. Later, I hired him as a triathlon coach.

But April of 2005, I hired Heath to teach me how to swim. Lets be clear, when Heath started teaching me to swim, I began by learning how to float on my back. I had to be taught the very basic and fundamental aspects of swimming. To add to the challenges already inherent to learning how to swim, my anxiety and panic disorder made learning to swim more difficult. But today, swimming 2 miles, with good form, does not seem difficult.

Second, as I was swimming, I noticed that I became unaware of the workout. My focus shifted from the drudgery of counting laps to the feel of my body's relationship with the water's surface. My mind became quiet and my attention became more aware of my form and relaxing during the workout. When this happens, peace ensues and my body feels connected to the water. This happens frequently.

I am not blowing my own horn. It is good to see how hard, persistent, and directed work yields progress.

Rob Schopke
Sr. Loan Officer
Principal Lending Manager
rob@schopke.com
©Copyright 2006 R. Robert Schopke
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