Not Water People

I’m 41 years old and learning how to swim. For those of you not aquatically challenged, this may not seem like a big deal. But as my brother so eloquently puts it, “We’re not water people.” So for my brethren, it is slightly a big deal.

On my 30th birthday I found myself in Steamboat Springs, CO, on a chairlift with a snowboard strapped to my foot for the first time. It could appear to those who don’t know me that I am one of those crazy, thrill-seeking individuals. However, I am the furthest thing from an adrenaline junkie. The more likely scenario is that I feel compelled to push myself beyond the limits I’ve become comfortable. I do this less out of sheer courage, (though a little bit helps every now and then) and moreso from an insatiable need to learn something new.

So back to learning how to swim, which is how I came to discover cadence in the first place.

The word itself flows from the lips with its own striking rhythm. Appropriately so, as dictionary.com defines cadence as:

1. the rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words: the cadence of language.
2. the beat, rate, or measure of any rhythmic movement
3. the flow or rhythm of events, esp. the pattern in which something is experienced

Finding the flow or rhythm of the swim stroke has proven to be one of the greater challenges of my sporty lifestyle. There are many things to think about in the stroke, while in the forefront of my mind is the not-drowning part, which I’m well aware makes the rest of the learning process a bit more challenging.

Psychologist, Mihalyi Czikszentimihalyi, wrote an excellent, and one of my all-time favorite academic reads, “Flow: The Optimal Experience.” He speaks of achieving the optimal state in any endeavor, athletic or intellectual, where skills are equal to the challenges at hand. Time passes without the participant’s awareness. Actions become fluid. Thoughts come quickly and apply deftly to the problem. This is cadence in its most supreme form. That which few experience, and many only fleetingly so. Hats off to the unique few who can access the state at will.

This high level rhythm also implies a type of balance. Or at least harmony with the action, environment or task to be mastered. My entire short life has been a quest for balance, often looking toward external sources in search of internal balance. I know I’m not alone in this quest. We all can be fooled into to believing the answers lie in promotions, love, financial freedom, children, or success, however that may be defined. But as my brother so aptly put it the other day, “try to hug a pile of cash.” Maybe balance is a life long pursuit. However, I think harmony can be achieved any time one is willing to tune their cadence to a greater good.

But again, back to swimming, which is how I came to learn about cadence in the first place.

I’m learning cadence in a particular action is harder to attain when anxiety or fear blocks the path. I know, I know. You’re probably thinking, "she’s a rocket scientist." Or for those of you I strive, but sadly will only continue to strive to emulate, you have found a peace that doesn’t come easy to those of us innately on edge. I believe I came out of the womb looking around the delivery room for the first sign of impending doom. Not so much, “put me back in,” but rather, “what’s that over there, is it heavy and will it hurt if it falls on me,”...which is a lot for a one-minute old. When one of your favorite movie quotes is Woody Allen stating, “I see the glass as half-full, it’s just half-full of poison,” you soon realize others may not see the world the same way you do.

So how do the innately anxious learn to find their cadence, their balance, their harmony with the world around them? By avoiding others and anxiety-provoking situations? Not in my book. I am personally too curious to miss out because of a little shortness of breath. As a very intelligent person once said after years of white-knuckle flying, “I refuse to participate in this anxiety attack any longer.” He decided valium and champagne was a much better way to fly.

Here's to not letting a little fear hold you back!