Stay calm, float with it
Last weekend I was attending a seminar by Dr Rob Brander about rip currents. He also gave an amazing live demonstration by pouring dye into the ocean to show how quick a rip flows. His message was clear. When caught in a rip…
- Stay calm.
- Don’t swim against the rip or else you will tire quickly
- Let it take you out to the back of the surf and signal for help
- Or swim to the side when you are a good swimmer
- Make sure you understand what rips are
This seminar really helped me to become more confident when I am at the beach. I learned how rips develop, behave and can look like. Above all, in case I get caught I know what to do now. I stay calm, float with it and signal for help.
What also caught my eye was the similarity in strategy when dealing with emotions such as anxiety or stress. When experiencing anxiety we often want to push it away. This askes all our attention and soon starts to deplete our energy while keeping our focus on suppressing it. The same thing happens when trying to swim against a rip current. It is impossible to keep up and it doesn’t get us where we want. Namely the safety of the beach.
While struggling we don’t have much energy left to focus on things that are important. Whether this is working on a plan to grow our business or spending time with our partner.
It seems counter intuitive to just let the emotions and thoughts come to the surface but research has time and time shown that the more we “try and push intrusive thoughts down, the more they pop back up, stronger than ever.”
In my last newsletter I wrote about how curiosity can help coping with unwanted feelings and thoughts. Curiosity comes into play when learning about the cycle of for instance stress. Have a read and find some tips on how to learn to become curious.
And if you are interested in rip currents, watch this video “Don’t get sucked in by the rip…”
