Kayak to Kayak

Years ago, a good friend asked me to join her in completing a sprint triathlon. And despite being fairly risk averse in every other area of my life, I said yes. Never-mind the fact that I wasn’t a good swimmer (that’s actually very generous – I could barely swim)... I said yes. After putting in the work and navigating the drama of preparing to swim, bike and run at the same event, I arrived at Centennial Lake for the open water swim rehearsal. This was an important milestone; my swim training had only taken place in a pool and not a lake, the setting for the actual triathlon.

After a shaky start (that’s a post for another time), I was accompanied on my swim by a woman Jill, officially termed my swim buddy (but for me, my swim angel). Jill, an extraordinarily strong swimmer, seemed to sense that physically I could do the distance but intuited that I was experiencing a mental block that might derail my goal of finishing the course. Wisely, she advised, let’s just swim kayak to kayak.

During the swim portion of a triathlon, there are kayakers stationed along the course. You can stop, grab onto the kayak for a few, take a breath, and fix your sights on what lies ahead; in my case, the next kayak. And that’s exactly what we did. We’d swim to a kayak, briefly chat with the kayaker, mentally prepare for the next leg, and then put my head down and swim to the next. Each time I set out, I was buoyed (hehe – I couldn’t resist) by the knowledge that as long as I kept swimming I could make it to the next kayak - I’d done it before. We did the entire course that way and I felt so triumphant emerging from the water.

Each arm stroke, each kick, each kayak stop was a step along the way to achieving my goal - swimming the entire course.

Small steps, baby steps matter – a lot. I know this. I’ve seen it work over and over and over in my life and in the lives of others.

And yet, there’s often this persistent mental block around taking small steps toward a big goal. There’s the perceived pressure of time – I don’t have the time for small steps; I don’t have the time for the wrong small steps; I’m too old to waste time with small steps…And then, there are the usual suspects that show up when we think about doing something new - fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, unclear end goals, as well as the perceived and real expectations that we (and others) have of ourselves. Sadly, there have been times when I’ve chosen inactivity over small steps, allowing mental blocks and perceived barriers to sideline my dreams.

I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to live free to explore and pursue the desires of my heart, both the dreams that are big and scary and those that feel more manageable. I’m reminded of the Scripture “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin… (Zechariah 4:10)” Each small step is simply that – “a small beginning”. And sustained, small steps add up to goals and dreams realized.

So what do we do? Just because small steps are small, it doesn’t always make them easy or insignificant. Two ideas come to mind –

Try This: Pick a super small, manageable task that will move you toward your goal. It might even be a portion of what you might consider a full step. The important thing is to start. Do that and celebrate. Then, pick the next super small task that will move you toward your goal. Do that and celebrate. Repeat this step as many times as is necessary. Here’s the part when I’d complain …”but that will take too long!” and where my mother would say “the time’s going to pass anyway, you might as well do something with it.” Small steps are much easier to commit to over time – easy wins, consistent effort, and forward momentum is what we’re after.

Try This: Get a squad - a cheerleader or two – to stay with you, to encourage you, to hold you accountable. The key criteria for choosing your squad? They genuinely want to see you succeed. No haters, enemies, frenemies welcome. Just encouragers, supporters who can see your success, especially when you cannot. They might even be strangers...like Jill, my swim buddy. For some reason unknown to me, she was extraordinarily invested in seeing me achieve my goal.

So, let me know what you’re working toward and the baby steps you’re going to take to get there. I’m excited for you and here to encourage you to keep swimming!