“Years ago while vacationing in the Midwest I almost drowned in Lake Michigan. I’d been swimming with friends but not paying attention and got caught far out late in the day. I tried to swim straight back to shore but kept getting pulled further out.
I was exhausting myself struggling against the waves. When I realized this I stopped struggling. I shifted onto my back and floated. You’re more buoyant horizontal than vertical in the water. Fighting the waves, fear and treading water had tired me out. I stopped.
I relaxed and let the water hold me up. Good thing I thought to do this. I learned this swimming in the pool as a youngster. You don’t need much energy to just float. I floated, but was getting carried further out. I needed to rest. Rest I did. Further out I went.
What You Resist Persists – Turn Resistance Into Assistance
Rested, I positioned myself in the water to assess my situation. It was then, from this relaxed place, I noticed something I had learned in a geology class in college. Waves hit the shore at an angle. They don’t line up going straight in. 45 degrees I think it is.
I watched wave after wave hit the beach. It occurred to me to swim along the angle that the waves went in. I did. No longer did I fight against the waves and current. Instead, they carried me it. It still took quite a while to get back to shore but now I wasn’t fighting.
I was relaxed, calm and knew I could make it. I was lifted up on the waves instead of trying to cut through them. Some 30 minutes or so later I was safe ashore. You may take any number of lessons from my experience. I’ll recount a couple I learned right then.
Stop – Drop It – Go With The Flow – Let The Current Carry You
I apply them to my life. When fighting stop and relax. Struggle is exhausting. It doesn’t matter if you are struggling with others, yourself or circumstances the struggle will wear you out. Stop and relax. Let go. Get neutral or buoyant and then go with the flow.
Stop resisting because whatever you resist or struggle against persists. When you collect your resources, your energy and can resume in a resourceful state, you’ll be far more productive. This lesson has saved my ass and my life numerous times since.
You can benefit from my experience, too. Keep a level head. Don’t let fear get the better of you. Relax, let go and let god. Learn how to be carried to your destination. You don’t have to fight. Give in to gratitude. Be thankful. Live and enjoy each moment. You are blessed more than you know. Celebrate everything!” Rex Sikes
PS This blog today is a repost because I felt it important to share.
GET LIFE ON YOUR TERMS AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE
“Rex’s understanding of how the mind works and mindset is second to none. He wrote a book called Life On Your Terms. It’s a newer book. He jumps around a lot in the book with mindset topics; creating the life you want and developing a champion mindset. He’s really good. You can’t read this book and not think better, not think more productively, not think more efficiently, and not think with a lot more directed happiness in your life because he shows you how to do it in the book. I’m really glad he put out this book. I encourage you to buy it. It’s really good!’ Joe Soto International Marketing Specialist
Horizons photo used with permission of Phil Koch
©2020 Photo Rex Steven Sikes & Rex Sikes Entertainment, LLC