Ferriss is known for his book 4-Hour Workweek and several other "4-Hour" category books. Maybe one of these will make my reading list one day, but I came to Ferris through a Ted Talk and after a few minutes of watching, felt a connection with this (at the time) 31 year old person who had just learned to swim while also having picked up a new language and the tango.*
I was a little older than Mr. Ferriss when I took the plunge (literally) into swimming. I can vividly remember the first lessons: 1) standing in the pool while trying to put my face in the water 2) floating for one hour and then 3) the little by little improvements that came before 4) losing my swimsuit top in the pool and then 5) starting to overcome the fear again.
I have an abundance of gratitude for the patience of my first teacher. A NASA engineer, he broke swimming into science and engineering, a language that was as familiar and comforting to me. We talked about propulsion and Archimedes' screw. We also talked about fear and how slowing down was the best way for me to control it.
So as I make my lists for 2020 with items out of my current comfort zone, I am thinking about "sisu":
The best way I can describe the feeling is a Finnish word, "sisu"- the mental strength to continue to try even after you feel you've reached the limits of your abilities. I don't think failure is sometimes part of the process- it always is. When you feel you can't go on, know that you're just getting started. - Kyle Maynard, Tribe of Mentors, (p. 15)
*Cue person who is still pretty recent to life in Argentina.
No comments:
Post a Comment