Just Keep Swimming!



A Picture of Perserverance

 One of my favorite films is Disney’s “Finding Nemo.” In this film, there is a character named Dory who reminds the other characters to “just keep swimming” when things go awry or they don’t know where to turn. One of my weaknesses- and I am confident I’m not alone in this- is quitting too soon and assuming that it won’t work if I keep trying. Lately, however, I have been reminded in the least productive of places to “just keep swimming” and keep working at it in my personal and professional life.

I consider playing video and computer games a time waster. But recently, they have helped me make a discovery. You see, up until now, I avoided strategy games, because I felt inadequate if I couldn't figure them out right away. I was supposed to be one of the “smart” kids, but I stink at Chess, Debate, Risk, Rubix Cubes, etc, pretty much any kind of strategy activities that are supposed to prove your intelligence. Hence, I can spell like nobody’s business and put words together, but I don’t try that hard to figure out mathematical equations or strategy questions because I don’t like to focus on them. But since I got my Ipad, I have been “wasting time” playing strategy games, and I been trying harder at some basic strategy games and not just giving up the first time I lose. What I am finding is if I “just keep swimming,” if I keep looking at it and trying different things, I can come up with an answer, and the longer I work, the better my answers become.

        This is somewhat of a metaphor for a lot of my adult life. Trying to stay fit, trying to get out of debt, trying to organize myself effectively at work- these are areas where I have been afraid I will fail because the answers are not readily apparent. And yet, as I continue to work toward these goals, new ideas come, and slight shifts are made which improve my overall strategy and outlook. If I “just keep swimming,” I find I am usually reasonably successful at most endeavors. But if I stop, and get discouraged, and give up, I’m out of luck.

So today’s lesson: if it’s not working today, it may work tomorrow. Keep going and looking for new solutions. Just Keep Swimming.