Take off the Floaties
Life Lessons from a Kid – Lesson #1 We all could learn something from a 3 year old. It’s amazing how if you pause for just a moment to see life through their eyes; you might just have clarity.
Take off the Floaties – You might just surprise yourself in what you are truly capable of.
Three days ago, I took my kids to the pool on a hot summer day. Up until this point, my 3 year old son has worn a puddle jumper to keep him afloat in the pool. I’m not sure if he had just seen his big sister jump right in or what happened, but he said “I don’t want to wear my floatie anymore”. I almost said, no, keep it on. But then I thought, why not, let’s try it. No, I didn’t just throw him in the deep end and go for a “Sink or Swim” philosophy here, what kind of mother do you think I am? If you know me, I’m more of a calculated risk taker. So, we went to the baby pool first where it was only 1 foot of water, but he put his goggles on, got right in and blew me away with how well he was swimming. He totally understood how to hold his breath, put his face in the water and kick his legs. After about 20 minutes in the baby pool, he was ready for the big pool. I was completely amazed at how he all of a sudden, made up his mind he was going to swim and we haven’t used the floaties since. That evening, I was telling my husband about this experience at the pool and it made me reflect. Why had I not practiced swimming without his floating with him? Was it me? Was I in my comfort zone? Had I been holding him back from this all summer? As a leader at work or parent at home, I think we can all relate to a moment like this. Have we unconsciously held someone back from reaching their full potential, because we were comfortable, or we didn’t think they were ready? Maybe we, ourselves, are still wearing floaties. Is there something your life that you have always wanted to do but just can’t quite fully commit because this path is easier? No doubt, my 3 year old, jumped right in the pool with no floaties because he had no fear. Fear of failure, fear of what could go wrong. As an adult, we know those possible outcomes, but we all too often let those thoughts hold us back from actually doing things we really want to do. I say, “Take off the Floaties.”
