How to overcome failure

“If a tsunami is coming, you’ll be able to survive right?”

Someone asked me this a few weeks ago. Water is such a powerful element, and when I swim I am swimming in very mild conditions. For any open water swim we have to check the tides, the temperature, and the winds. Only if everything is corperating, then I can begin the swim.

Last year I was planning on swimming across the English Channel on a relay. I took a week off of school and went to England. When I arrived, the conditions were not good. They said I would have to wait another week and, since I traveled so far, I agreed. Another week went by and it was still too windy. Without even beginning the swim I returned home. A few months later, I was set to swim Roundtrip Angel Island, where I start at Aquatic Park, swim to Angel Island around it and back. I got all greased up, but then captain announced it was too foggy, and once again without even beginning the swim I returned home.

These two experiences were very difficult for me because I dedicated time and effort toward this swim, but without even trying I “failed.” I was disappointed, but I was able overcome it when I took a step back. I realized that when I went to England I had a great opportunity to take a break from school and have sometime to myself in a whole other country. I had trained for the swims, and each time I finished a training swim I felt like I accomplished a lot that day, and even if I didn’t get anything done at least I had swam.

When we want something there is a lot that goes into it, and when we train, study, or pay for it, and it does not go the way we plan, we become disappointed. But it is important to remember that not being able to accomplish something is not the end of the world. It is like the phrase: “It is not about the destination, but about the journey.” In this sense, yes we are doing all these activities for this one event, but we should be proud that we put in time and effort into our goals. We should be thankful that we have the opportunity to accomplish our goals and remember that there is always tomorrow in which we can try again.