by Coach Mike

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” -Ferris Bueller

We are in our second month of competing now and we have been teaching how to develop your own process. At our last swim meet I had two contrasting examples of this. This swimmer who we will call Process made up index cards with the events she was scheduled to swim and little reminders to herself on what to focus on during the race. I like to refer to this as the plan. Contrast this to another swimmer who we will refer to as Outcome, was really upset after his races because he didn’t get the result he wanted. When I asked him what his plan was, he stated “I just wanted to go faster!” In turn I asked him did you do the things that you have been practicing? Outcome stated, “No…I just wanted to go faster!”

Process was focused on the process while Outcome was focused on the outcome. After speaking with Process at the end of the meet she knew where improvement could be made and how to modify her plan for the next time she raced and what to focus on during practices. After speaking with Outcome he changed the way he raced the following day and made plans for each of his races and executed them leading to an improved day of racing and now he knows what to improve upon moving forwards as well.

Moving Pebbles

A while ago I had this vision pop into my head which mirrored what Confucius said, “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” Then I pictured what people today might do when trying to move a mountain. Can you guess?

• They look for a better mountain to move because this one is too difficult.
• They look over at everyone else’s mountain and start comparing and second guessing should I even be spending my time on this, their mountain looks so much better, FOMO.
• They try to move too much at once when they are not ready because it isn’t happening fast enough and quit or hurt themselves.
• They just start hurtling stones because they fixate on “I have to move the mountain” and when they are done the mountain may have been moved but look at the mess, they made.
• They stand there looking at the stones wondering which one is the best one to move first because they don’t want to make the wrong choice, and nothing gets moved.

There is a saying that I like to keep in mind when things get complicated in life, it is…

K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid

Einstein stated once; “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

How I look at what Confucius stated, is to start small by moving the smallest pebble you can find. It may seem insignificant now and you may question how will I ever get this mountain moved? Remember that by starting with that one pebble you have begun. Moving that one pebble is easy and you will go back and grab another and another. Now you have started to build the habit necessary to move the mountain. As you progress, you start taking bigger stones and rocks because you have gained the strength to do so. With momentum you start to see the mountain moving and you don’t look at what other people are doing because you see your progress. Because you started small you learn from your experience and pick up so many more skills like the most efficient way to carry bigger and bigger loads, you develop relationships, processes to move everything better, all because you started by moving one pebble at a time. Since you have developed the habit of moving pebbles, even when you come across something bigger than you can currently handle you break it down into pebbles once again allowing yourself to keep moving forward and learning from each pebble.

This goes back to the swimmer we called Process. Her events are the mountains and practice are her pebbles, while the notecards are her reminders on what she has learned thus far to keep her focused on her own mountain.

Next time you see a mountain you want to move, look at the pebble at your feet and pick it up.

What mountain are you looking to move today?

Tabono is Dedication

By Coach Mike

So far we have explored kaizen and how it symbolizes our team’s core value of mental toughness and ‘ohana which symbolizes our value of family. This time we are delving into our third core value of dedication. When researching this I came across an African Adinkra symbol called tabono. Tabono means “oar” or “paddle” in the Adinkra language of Western Africa. It is a symbol of unity of purpose, strength, confidence and hard work to reach a destination or goal. Drawn as four conjoint paddles/oars, tabono symbol means that one cannot simply achieve greatness without sacrificing, working hard and staying strong.

How does this parallel our core value of dedication?

What does dedication really mean? Defining dedication will allow us to uncover the true meaning of tabono and how it relates to the team.

The dictionary states it is the quality of being dedicated or committed to a task or purpose. I don’t think this does the word justice. There are about 16 different synonyms listed in the dictionary such as commitment, devotion, faithfulness and loyalty to just name a few. It can be interpreted many ways and it truly depends on many different circumstances. I think a better way to go about defining this complicated word is through experiences and people. The experiences I’ve had myself and watching people that inspire me to go deeper into the meaning of what it truly means to be dedicated or have tabono.

Purpose

Why do you do something? By joining BLUE WAVE, you share the team’s purpose on becoming the best person you can become through the dedication of mastery in the sport of swimming. Dedication to this purpose gives us common ground to stand upon in our individual journeys. When we have purpose, it helps us navigate the choices we must make each day. From what to eat, when to go to bed, how we treat each other, etc…

This states that none of us are just here to be better swimmers but by dedicating ourselves to this one unifying purpose we develop the tools to be the best version of ourselves. This team and sport give us a playground to test ourselves and learn from each other with the support of our ‘ohana. It will allow us to develop the strength, confidence and work ethic through kaizen.

Why Symbolize Our Team’s Values?

Human cultures use symbols to express specific ideologies and social structures and to represent aspects of their specific culture. Thus, symbols carry meanings that depend upon one's cultural background; in other words, the meaning of a symbol is not inherent in the symbol itself but is culturally learned. A cultural symbol is a physical manifestation that signifies the ideology of a culture or that merely has meaning within a culture. Culture is an accumulation of the beliefs, traditions, language and values of a group of people. Generally, it is an object representing another to give it an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant.

When we combine all these together we get this powerful symbol. It reflects who we are and what we stand for. It’s a symbol that speaks our language and is as unique as the people who make up this team.

BLUE WAVE ON 3…BLUE WAVE ON 3…1...2…3

GO BLUE WAVE!

‘Ohana Means Family

by Coach Mike

Last time we explored Kaizen and how it symbolized our team’s core value of mental toughness. This time we are delving into our second core value of family. When thinking of this the first thing that popped into my mind was the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch and its famous quote from the movie

“ ‘Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”

I had an opportunity to experience Hawaii years ago and the culture really brought this to life. Right off the plane I felt a sense of belonging, a sense of ‘ohana. This is what the essence of our team’s core value of family is all about!

‘Ohana extends beyond your core family to include both blood and other people such as friends, co-workers, teammates, classmates, teachers, etc…basically your informally adopted kin. Being part of an ‘ohana comes with the responsibility to act with integrity and to bring honor to them.

Responsibilities of ‘Ohana...

Being a part of the BLUE WAVE Swim Team makes you a part of the BLUE WAVE ‘ohana. In turn we share in the responsibilities of our ‘ohana and some of these responsibilities include: care for, relate to, lead, direct, build relationships, plan, organize, teach, mentor or be a role model. It means being accountable for the consequences of the choices we make.

When you are a part of an ‘ohana, it includes everyone in that family: those accepted into the family, those of the past, and those of the future. The people who make up our ‘ohana are bound together by genuine compassion, culture, support, loyalty, and love for each other. These relationships cultivate growth with an eye toward the future. At BLUE WAVE we want to see relationships grow, sustained for the long haul. For this reason, we are focused on community. There’s a saying: “Prepare for the seven generations ahead.” That means do your work so that those seven generations from now, will also benefit.

Preparing the Seven Generations Ahead…

We each have the responsibility to mentor and cultivate the next generation of team members. Therefore, knowing and sharing the team’s values of family (‘ohana), dedication (tabono) and mental toughness (kaizen) is so important for the next generation of youth. We all have a responsibility to share and teach these cultural values which prepares for the “seven generation ahead”.

Cultivating Our ‘Ohana…

Being mindful of our ‘ohana we look outward and include others. There is a strong desire within to find connection with others. We are all interconnected and once the connection is found there is acceptance. BLUE WAVE Swim Team is full of unique individuals that are bound together by the common desire to swim. From there we can make powerful waves of positive encouragement, support and love—all aspects found in ‘ohana.

Now how do we symbolize this very powerful word?

Of course, I went to Google. Many symbols came up for “symbols for ‘ohana”, but something that was used quite often was the honu or Hawaiian green sea turtle. Turtles are one of the oldest creatures on earth. The honu symbolizes good luck, endurance and long life. This really spoke to me and felt this encompassed the meaning of our BLUE WAVE ‘ohana.

I’m looking forward to delving into the symbol of dedication the next time and unveiling the combined symbol of our team’s core values.

We are all in this together, so let’s make it great! Although our swims are individual, our team ‘ohana helps push us along to reach new levels of personal achievement. The growth within each of us creates a powerful ripple effect that can reach far beyond the pool. Personally, I think the world could use more ‘ohanas and that everyone should know the comfort and support with being a part of one. Who is part of your ‘ohana? Everyone on the BLUE WAVE Swim Team is mine!