”I almost got second to last!” My daughter was thrilled and she let us know by singing this over and over. It took a moment for my brain to catch up. She was celebrating coming in last place – but “only by ONE second!” We signed our youngest daughter up for swim team because she wasn’t progressing very quickly with lessons. For me, swimming is a non-negotiable life skill each of our kids will learn. My grandfather drowned in the Mississippi River, leaving a widow and my dad as “man of the family” at age 3 with two little sisters. I grew up learning the importance of this life skill. In her first swim meet, my daughter looked to me to quit. I walked her along the pool, encouraging her as she stopped and held on to the rope as she needed. The whole place was cheering her on when she finished her race a good 45 seconds behind the next girl. With consistent practice, she was closing the gap quickly and now almost got second to last. What are you beating yourself up about that would allow you to move more quickly ahead … if only you celebrated your progress?
