Things You Learn in Therapy
Things You Learn in Therapy
Finding Your Rhythm: Lessons from the Pool Lane
Have you ever been in a perfect rhythm only to let a tiny distraction derail your entire momentum? That's exactly what crossed my mind during a recent swim session that turned unexpectedly profound.
While gliding through the water in a perfect cadence of stroke-stroke-breathe, a single drop of water leaked into my goggles. That tiny irritation threatened to break my rhythm completely. My first instinct was to stop and fix it—but something made me push through instead. Two hundred meters later, I realized how often we abandon our positive habits, routines, and progress because of minor inconveniences that, with a bit of persistence, we could easily overcome.
This brief, reflective episode serves as both a personal check-in and a gentle nudge for anyone who might be letting small distractions pull them away from their goals. Whether you're working on fitness habits, creative pursuits, relationship building, or personal growth, the principle remains the same: sometimes the most important skill is simply continuing despite discomfort.
I'm also excited to share what's coming up on the podcast! We have fascinating conversations about burnout, culturally responsive practices within the biopsychosocial model, and practical strategies for managing anxiety in today's challenging social and political climate. Plus, don't miss this Friday's crossover episode with the Core Essential Values podcast where we explore parenting with initiative. Listen in, stay in your groove, and remember that your momentum matters more than momentary distractions.
www.bethtrammell.com
Hey listener, this is Beth Tramiel. I'm your host and I just wanted to fill you in on a few things that are happening this week. I'm going to try to do a few in between episodes like this to just give you a sense of what's coming and maybe sometimes just, you know, share some things that are happening that I just want to share with you. So, anyway, I have been kind of back into swimming and it's so interesting for me that for some people I know, when they're running or when they're working out or if you're, you know, finding time for yoga or meditating, you just seem to have these sort of things that come to you during that time. And I often find it in the pool, because it's kind of a rhythmic kind of exercise, right, where it's just swim, swim, swim, breathe, swim, swim, swim, breathe, flip, you know. So, anyway, I was kind of getting back into swimming more and this past week I was struck by this sort of symbolic moment, right, and my poor kids, right, they're like Mom, why do you have to draw meaning from everything? It's like I don't know, it's just how my brain works, friends, I don't know, but I was swimming along and I was kind of in a groove right, and sometimes I'm like not in a groove and I feel like I'm gonna drown in the middle of the pool, because I'm like and if you've ever been a swimmer you might relate to that idea and I was kind of in this groove where I was just kind of going and then all of a sudden I started to get. I had like a little drip of water in my goggles Right, and this little drip of water was just annoying. Mostly when I would turn my head to the right it would kind of like drip down into my eyes and I thought, dang, you know, I'm like really in a groove and now I gotta stop and let this water out. And I was kind of reminded in this moment that I think sometimes this happens in our lives, right, that we're kind of in a groove and then we're distracted by this tiny thing and then we stop, we sort of stop the momentum we have going, we stop the groove that we're in for just this tiny distraction of a thing. And so I kept going and I kept going and I kept going until I finally was like, yeah, I can't see anymore, you know, but I had made it another like two or 300 yards in the pool or meters like I guess it's meters in the pool. You know, I made it two or 300 more meters in the pool, even amidst this little distraction, and I was really just struck by that that how many times in my life have I kind of gotten into a groove where, whether it's working out or it's eating healthier, it's drinking more water, it's connecting with friends or it's these things that I know are good for me, and then I get this tiny distraction that then pushes me off track. I just wonder if that message relates to anything that's happening in your life. I don't know who this message is for. Maybe it's just for me and I'm only just sharing it with the world, for no one else. But if this message is for you, I just wonder if you can push through to push through to distraction. Right, get, get past that distraction and stay in your groove so you can become further along in whatever that goal is you're trying to achieve.
Speaker 1:Look, I have some great episodes coming up. I have done five interviews already. I've got two more in the queue that are to the editor I am so excited about. You know, we've got some episodes around burnout. We've got some episodes around burnout. Recorded an episode on how to be culturally responsive amidst or kind of within the biopsychosocial model. Recorded an episode on kind of managing anxiety around the current state of where things are in our country and perhaps in your community or your workplace, and some very tangible strategies toward that. I'm just so excited about the things I have coming up.
Speaker 1:This week I have another crossover episode with my friends at the Core Essential Values podcast. So this was the sort of final episode of the academic year for my partnership with CEV and we talk about initiative and how do we parent with initiative, and so that's coming up this Friday and then next week you will hear from the guests that I have been kind of interviewing these last couple of weeks. So until next time, friends, thanks for tuning in and I hope y'all have a great weekend and we'll talk more next week. Ciao.
