“I read somewhere… how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong… to measure yourself at least once.”
― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild
How is it that the act of treading water is widely accepted as a vital life-saving skill, yet when used as a metaphor to describe someone’s effort in life, it’s uttered with pity at the lack of progress a person has made?
As a swimmer, it’s in my nature to appreciate efforts that take place beneath the surface. Yes, fighting gravity is undoubtedly exhausting. But in my opinion, willing your mind to stay calm while mustering up the strength to keep your body afloat should be admired both in and out of the water.
Your unseen effort to survive should not go unappreciated, by you especially.
The Great Quarantine of 2020 has forced many of us to put our expectations on hold. We’re all too familiar with the stories of postponed weddings, laid-off workers, or cancelled moves across the country in hopes of new adventure. Rather, we’ve been forced to really evaluate the life we had been living and make amends with its imperfections instead pursuing a newer, shinier short-term exhilaration. We’ve reckoned internally, with our mental health while balancing exterior home renovation projects. We’ve transformed into part-time teachers while still working full-time jobs. We’ve distilled a mind-numbing amount of news into tolerable bites while cooking now seven days a week.
This is what treading water looks like and it’s relentless as it is rewarding. It takes power, intentionality, and fortitude — and when asked “How are you doing?”, you should never reduce your efforts to answering with a mere, “I’m just getting by”. Just because you aren’t moving forward along the path you envisioned doesn’t mean you aren’t already making waves on a different, potentially better one.
On my bad days, I try to remind myself that the goals I set before this pandemic don’t necessarily have to be the same goals I need to progress towards in these new, unknown realities. It’s unfair to myself. My expectations must be recalibrated — my sense of time, aptitude and control already have been without my choosing.
Progress does not need to to look like how it used to look like.
Rather than looking at progress as forward movement towards a goal, I’m choosing to adhere to its alternative definition. Progress can also mean gradual betterment. I prefer this open-ended interpretation because there are no qualifiers for what could be the subject of this wide-eyed improvement — it could be betterment of a goal, of a process, of a movement, of a relationship, or even of one’s self.
And isn’t that what treading water is? It’s building your strength and stamina beneath the surface. It’s discreetly bettering yourself unbeknownst to the naked eye so that one day your inner self can reach an equilibrium that shines outward, authentically. So yes, I believe learning how to metaphorically tread water is a life-saving skill, and appreciating yourself for doing so is hard-earned progress.
Life is forever unfolding whether you like it or not and like most of us, you’re doing your damn best to adapt to a landscape that has no map. When the weight of the world brings you down you only have your body and mind to survive. A will to resurface, isn’t that enough? Shouldn’t you be seen as an optimist? A fighter? You are living. You are surviving. You are keeping your chin up and are empowering yourself with each breath.
So if you ever find yourself treading water, make sure you find the time to enjoy the process of self-improvement too.
