Swimming

I was pre-school in age when I learned how to swim. In the years that followed I spent many hours in the water: local swimming pools and even in the ocean on family vacations. Yes, playing in the water was fun, but just as gratifying was actually swimming it in. Free style, backstroke, breast stroke and even the butterfly were among the various strokes I could do (not great by any means but well enough to get me from one end of the pool to the other). As the years passed, however, my opportunities to actually swim grew fewer and fewer.

Recently, I joined a swimming club and have started swimming again. I confess the first couple of times have been pretty rough. While I can remember how to do a backstroke or butterfly, for instance, the actual doing of it has been the opposite of smooth or pretty. My form is awful. My breathing is erratic. And my speed is, shall we say, non-existent. My lesson here is that no matter how proficient one might be at something, it is essential that they remain active - practice - if they are going to continue being any where near as comfortable or good as used to be. The fact is our skill level in anything erodes if we do not do what is necessary to make sure our skills remain fine-tuned. This is why, for instance, professional baseball players take batting practice and golfers spend time at driving ranges.

The same thing can happen when it comes to communication. We all know how to listen. You simply do not speak while others are talking and you pay attention to what is being said. Yet if one does not practice listening, then their ability to do this even reasonably well is going to decline. The same holds true for speaking. Communicating is a physical act that requires focus. These days as I strive to regain my swimming mojo, I am sensitive to how much this resembles the desire most of us to communicate well throughout our lives. They key is found in the practicing.