Learning to Dance

Sunday we went to the Presidio Yacht Club to watch the Blue Angles scream around San Francisco Bay. Very impressive display of tight teamwork at high speeds right there in front of us. When people of high stature do anything in their chosen field they make it look so easy. Yet at some level we onlookers know that it isn’t easy at all; rather it is incredibly complex and takes years to perfect.

Then we went inside to the bar where the band Lonestar Retrobates was jammin’ up a swing storm. And there were several couples on the floor doing the same. Man, those folks could dance! Their footwork and teamwork was impressive. They had obviously been doing it for a long time. We watched their feet and arms and bodies move with certainty as they went through a never ending series of moves…Dancing with the Stars right in front of us! We were tempted to give it a whirl but declined, thinking maybe this was not the place to practice…HaHa.

They and those pilots before them had clarity of vision, many hours of practice and a willingness to “go for it.”

We then wondered how many swimmers never reach their potential because they are unwilling to “give it a whirl” thinking that this is neither the time nor the place to “look out of place” among those so obviously superior to themselves?

Yet, this begs the question, “If not now, then when?” Tomorrow when the perceived stakes aren’t so high? When I get in better shape? When no one is really looking?

Before you know it the big meet is here and you are not prepared; all because you decided at some point that “now” was not the time. Getting in shape and learning new athletic skills is easy…all you need to do is take one step at a time and absolutely not care about success or failure; rather care about personal improvement, doing something new each day, perfecting a stroke or a turn or a race strategy. In an alarming short number of days you will be making it “look easy” for someone else…then you are on your way to the top.

Olympians hurt just the same as you do; the difference is that they don’t care.