You’re Closer than You Think — A Story About Long Distance Swimmer Florence Chadwick
In 1952, a woman named Florence Chadwick decided to attempt the 26-mile swim between the California coastline and Catalina Island.
During her swim Chadwick traveled with a team whose job it was to keep an eye out for sharks and be prepared to assist in the event of unexpected cramps, injury, or fatigue.
Roughly 15 hours into her swim a thick fog began to set in clouding Chadwick’s vision and confidence. Her mother happened to be in one of the boats at the time as Chadwick relayed to her team she didn’t think she could complete the swim.
She swam for another hour before deciding to call it quits. As she sat in the teetering boat she discovered if she’d just continued on for another mile she would have reached Catalina Island.
The Lesson
Many people quit a dream on the brink of its realization. It’s when the challenges feel the most daunting that we’re often closer to our destination than we feel ourselves to be.
Irish poet, John O’Donohue writes the following in his book, Anam Cara:
“If you have ever had occasion to be out early in the morning before the dawn breaks, you will have noticed that the darkest time of night is immediately before dawn. The darkness deepens and becomes more anonymous. If you had never been to the world and never known what a day was, you couldn’t possibly imagine how the darkness breaks, how the mystery and color of a new day arrive. Light is incredibly generous, but also gentle. When you attend to the way the dawn comes, you learn how light can coax the dark.”
If we can paddle through a little fog we’ll discover that haze eventually gives way to a sense of clarity and self-belief.
But what’s important to remember is the fog never stays away for long. Like doubt it comes and goes, its density varying like the seasons.
The key is to recognize the value of forging along anyway — to bring your own weather when it comes to pursuing meaningful endeavors. Keeping your poise is an essential skill and will enable you to navigate adeptly through moments of uncertainly.
Land Ho
Two months after Chadwick’s failed attempt she tried the swim once more. Once again, a thick fog set in.
But this time she had a mental image of the shoreline in her mind as she pushed herself along. And not only did she succeed but Chadwick ended up making the swim an additional two times.
For good measure, Chadwick also became the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.
She did so in record times.
