This is a long one…but I promise I have a point.
As I jumped off a boat into the water, I felt prepared and ready for anything…until I didn’t.
Wearing my neoprene wetsuit, swim cap, and goggles (yes, I looked as cool as you are imaging) I surfaced to one of the most traumatic and chaotic 10 minutes of my entire existence as an “athlete” or a human in general.
I had trained. I had prepared. I had swam the 1.2 mile (1900m for my metric-minded friends) before and gotten ready for this event over the past 6-8 months.
In that moment, though, NONE of it mattered.
As my head came up to take my first strokes forward, the choppy waters of Lake Erie (Sandusky, OH) and the swarm of other swimmers all around felt like nothing I had ever experienced. I struggled to take a few strokes and was hitting people’s ankles or getting smacked myself.
I tried to gain some composure and momentum, but the current pushing against me made me feel like I was making ZERO forward progress. The only thing I kept thinking was “I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.”
Months of preparation, race fees, equipment, and focus had just been a total waste and I felt like NONE of it had made me able to accomplish the goal I had set for myself at that moment.
As I struggled to move forward any way I possibly could – sidestroke, back stroke, flailing – I thought my race was over before it started.
Then I just stopped.
Floating in the water, I tried to compose myself. I slowed my breathing and focused on a single thought. Just. Move. Forward.
I floated on my back and tried to lower my heart rate and breathing, and started to back stroke (something I didn’t plan for or practice). It was working. I was moving. I saw the first turn. I was making progress, but still struggling.
I had thought my race was over because there was a cutoff time and I was sure I had wasted too much time in the first 300 meters to even make it. But I had no choice, I was in the middle of Lake Erie and had to get to the end anyway possible. I was not going get carried out of the water if it was the last thing I did.
As I slowly made it to the first turn, I was now behind a large rock wall that was blocking the current. The water calmed and I was able to get into a rhythm and slowly gain some momentum. I put my head down and got to work. I focused on staying relaxed and got into a more familiar pattern, like I had worked on for months.
I made a few more mistakes, but I ended up making the cutoff and got out of the water with time to spare.
Fast forward through a (dare I say) relaxing 56-mile bike ride, and then an exhausted 13.1 mile run and…
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I finished the race! I made it!
This was my first ever triathlon, and I was absolutely thrilled. To think that I almost gave up in the first 10 minutes was surreal.
So what does all this have to do with education?
A few things…
1. The start of the year never indicates how it has to go.
Sometimes we have a rough start. What gets us through is the focus on relaxing, finding our rhythm, and continuing to improve. Just keep moving move forward.
2. The challenges you face make the success more valuable.
You’re going to feel challenged and go through difficult times at multiple points this year, but getting through those times will make the success and growth you feel at the end that much better.
3. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
Our job is hard. Education is one of the most challenging careers in the world. We teach those who don’t seek knowledge, with limited resources, time, and energy. But we make it work. Somehow we make it work. If everyone could do this job, they would. But they don’t – we do.
My first triathlon was hard. It was such a struggle for me. But the payoff was so worth it.
Here’s the thing – That struggle? It’s nothing compared to what educators push through every day. And the payoff? Yes, it was great, but it doesn’t come close to the reward of knowing you are changing lives every day in your classroom.
So, no matter what challenges face you this year, what waves try to push you back, or what current attempts to pull you under…
KEEP. MOVING. FORWARD.
About Chad Ostrowski
Chad Ostrowski is the co-founder of the Teach Better Team, and creator of The Grid Method. He is also a co-author of the Teach Better book. But Chad is a middle school science teacher at heart. He now travels the country sharing his story, working with teachers, schools, and districts to help them to reach more students. Chad is also a member of the Teach Better Speakers Network.
