How Do You Navigate Chaos?
ask an open-water swimmer
So many people are teetering in precarious places thanks to the chaos created by the Trump administration’s first week disaster drill, I am asking myself two questions:
Who knows how to navigate chaos with a Fit to Finish mentality?
What can they teach us?
The answer to question #1 is: an open-water competitive swimmer.
Photo by Gregorio Dorta Martin
In an open water competition, the swimmers start in large groups (appropriately called waves) all diving in together. From the spectator’s perspective, it’s a mess. The surface of the water roils. Arms and legs flail. From the swimmer’s perspective, it’s chaos. How do they navigate this so they can get to the finish line? Here’s what they say:
Keep your head above water.
If you get shoved under, look to the surface. Natural buoyancy causes us to float if our lungs are full of air. Let yourself rise to the surface. Once you’re there, be ready to absorb the blows and bumps of bodies trying to push past. Even, some who seem to be trying to pull you down in order to pull past. Their overexertion will take its toll a bit further along in the race. Conserve your energy by establishing your position and finding your steady stroke.
Reach-pull/Reach-pull-turn-breathe/
Reach-pull/Reach-pull-turn-breathe/
Mantra beats chaos.
Keep your orientation
In the dark open water and without lane lines on the bottom of the pool, it is easy to veer off course. Precious time and energy is lost when we sprint to lead, only to find we have headed in the wrong direction. Every so often, lift your head to be sure you are still swimming toward the finish line. You’re still on course. Your goal is still within your sights.
This is why it is essential to confirm our objective and chart our course before the race. Even if (especially if) obstacles present themselves midway… a storm blows in, another competitor cuts in front and tacks in the wrong direction, the buoy we’re headed to at the turnaround point slips its mooring, a stitch in our side or a cramp in our foot develops… we need a surefire way to confirm our direction and recommit to our goal. Find an unmoving point in the distance that represents the finish line.
Like the drishti in yoga class, steady focus and a strong center serve to balance us.
Calm the chaos.
Trust your preparation.
Difficult tasks challenge us. We engage in them, if we’re fortunate enough to have a choice, in order to stretch ourselves and improve our abilities. We are not certain, at the outset, whether we can complete the challenge. If we knew we could do it, it wouldn’t be worth doing.
Long-distance swimmers rely on their preparation. Telling themselves… all those morning workouts, all those laps I’ve swum, every flip-turn, every push off the wall, every dry land workout, each shorter race, each time I envisioned myself crossing the finish line… all of these prepared me for this. This moment. This hardship. This heaving of my chest, arms feeling like lead, legs trailing numbly. Trust your preparation.
Preparation eats chaos for breakfast.
Collect your finishers medal.
Be proud of your effort. You did this! You completed this race. You rose to meet the challenge. You didn’t let it defeat you. Tomorrow will bring new challenges. Just for today, celebrate being a finisher. Maybe even check the score sheet to see how you placed or where you finished in your age group. This isn’t why you swam, but you may find it motivating to quantify your finish, so you have a benchmark for next time.
Take time to rest, recover and celebrate. Go ahead. Bask in the glow of this moment. Congratulate others who competed with you and pushed you to be your best. Look down at that medal or ribbon or certificate or handshake, take a deep breath and say to yourself, “I am a finisher.” Be proud of something you worked so hard to accomplish.
Celebrate in the face of chaos.
Sign up for the next race.
There’s always a next race. Something else that needs tackling. Something hard that’s not getting any easier. Something you’ve put off, perhaps, because it seemed daunting.
Fresh off this achievement, you’re feeling pretty invincible. What is calling you next?
Mantra
Calm
Trust
Finish
Celebrate
Repeat
Of course, none of this is about swimming. It’s about life.
Not being a competitive swimmer, this was still valuable. Should you ever feel the need to rework this article, I was also thinking of the crush of people at the beginning of a marathon. That’s another example to use. I restacked this because I thought your article was very good, to the point and well written. I’m going to save for constant future use: preparation eats chaos for breakfast. 👏