We made it back home last night, driving through torrents of rain and blankets of snow pouring from the sky over Snoqualmie Pass. It was a dynamic weekend at the Washington State swimming championships.
Jenna’s 4A 200 yard medley freestyle relay team placed 4th in the State. A grand showing for the Richland high school group. Their time was 1:41:36.
Better yet, the team was awarded top honors for academic excellence in the State. The combined team, around 25 swimmers, averaged the highest GPA of all teams in the 4A category, a 3.69 GPA average for the whole team.
I guess swimmers are smart! I had no idea how smart…
The #1 team swam only .37 seconds shorter than Jenna’s team-time of 1:41:36. .37 seconds! What a micro difference. Goes to show every effort counts…
I was amazed during the meet at how much work and practice these swimmers put into their sport to swim for a brief minute or two during these meets. They practice hundreds of hours, and swim 1-2 minutes during competition. They have to get it right when they have a chance. They have to be ready for the moment when they’re up.
From one point of view, it seems the pressure is really on. What if they flub? What if they jump too early? What if they miss their turn? What if…???
But they don’t get stymied by the “What ifs…” They work to do their best, and after they race, they keep on working more to do even better. It’s non-stop.
If they get DQd. Oh well, we’ll do better next time, they agree. They do not stop practicing. They do not quit striving to improve. They keep on keeping on. It’s the joy of improvement and love of the activity that keeps them motivated.
Isn’t there a lesson for life here?
Don’t we all have our “What if…” moments?
Too many people let the fear of “What if…” stop their progress. They spend all their time thinking about the worst rather than focusing on improvement and performance that enables them to do better.
Winning is not getting the top award the world has to offer. Winning is moving forward no matter what. It’s not giving up. It’s making progress. It’s doing what you love to do because you love to do it.
We make many split-second decisions in life that have monumental consequences, and we usually get them right. Driving down the highway requires constant decision-making, much of it spontaneous. Important conversations with people require constant split-second decision-making. We learn to say the right words and do the right thing by practice and more practice. We succeed by improving, and increasing in moral and spiritual character day by day.
Practice, practice, practice…is the way to success in any worthy endeavor.
We can’t get stymied by the “What ifs…” We must strive to do better and let by-gones be by-gones.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The ultimate prize is understanding Life at-one with God in which there is no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain, and no more suffering. Heaven!
We have no time for “What ifs…” Each moment is for running the race of Life and getting closer to that ultimate prize of understanding Life in God which is destined to be gained by each of us. And it’s guaranteed as we run (or swim!) the race faithfully.
So…keep on swimming!
(In the 2nd picture, Jenna is first on the left.)