SEA SWIMMING AND FACING OUR FEARS WITH ORGANIC BASICS
There are a lot of things I’ve wanted to do but haven’t felt confident enough to pursue, and most of them are centred around the idea of looking silly or not being comfortable in my own body. For a long time, I believed that not being the best version of myself while I was doing something meant that I couldn’t even imagine starting it in the first place. At the route of all of this was fear; I was afraid of failing, or over-committing to something and letting it drop before it was ‘completed’. Fear does that to a person, it tricks you into standing still and calling it safety.
Sea swimming brought all my fears together; doing something new on my own with little awareness of the outcome, feeling foolish for not knowing the ‘ins and outs’ already, unexpected routines, and of course – my vulnerable body in a swimsuit. I admired those who seemed to do it with such ease and confidence, and it held a place in my mind as something that just ‘wasn’t me’ along with early morning starts and routines.
Once I took the time to evaluate the expectations and limitations I had placed on myself I began to understand that I was holding other peoples voices and opinions above my own inner compass; counselling showed me that perhaps the voice that held me back wasn’t actually my own and my sessions encouraged me to look around at all the wonderful people who were there to support me; parents, and friends – including all of you and the local sea swimming community. Somewhere along the way I had placed limiting beliefs on myself which said I wasn’t able to do these things; and for a long time they reigned supreme in my mind.
Two years ago, there was no way I could have imagined getting up at 7am to do yoga or go for a walk before I started my day-to-day projects. One of the things about having a platform where people get to know you is that they really only get to know the you that you choose to show them. Recently I have taken the time to speak more about my mental health journey since I’ve started seeing it in retrospect. It is often said that when we are removed from something we can reflect on it with our freshest and deepest understanding. One of the greatest steps in that process towards unpacking my self-imposed limitations was unlearning all the things I had told myself I wasn’t capable of per suing.
Swimming in the ocean seemed like something I just wasn’t able to do; because I had told myself, adamantly – that I couldn’t do it. ‘I am not’- followed by ‘a sea-swimmer, a morning person’ or whatever it was I had decided I couldn’t do was commonplace in my thinking; even when I largely saw the best in the world around me. I couldn’t see the goodness or possibilities of trying these new and uncomfortable things in my own life because they were drenched in fear. But nothing in this life is permanent, especially our thoughts – and so this week that doubting mindset was shifted forever. On a sunny Saturday I went with two of my favourite humans to the wonderful Galway sea in my Organic Basics swimsuit which is made from recycled ocean and landfill plastic and took my first steps towards a new me; which were both small and colossal all at once. Stepping into the ocean in my swimsuit was not just one single act but an accumulation of all the steps, struggles and milestones it took me to get there; it was a composite of many tiny changes and those who had helped me, in the louder and quieter moments on my journey for personal growth.
The truth is that the things you love, and the dreams and projects you want to experience are always there for you whenever you want. You can pick them up and explore them at your own pace, and you don’t need to worry about how good you’re doing it or how you look in the process. Remember, the sea doesn’t care how you look, it just hopes you’ll show it kindness. And, that’s the thing about living our lives and facing our fears; when I reflect on my first sea dip of the year I don’t think about how my body looked or what I didn’t know. Instead of this, I will always remember how good it made me feel, the wild Atlantic wind in my hair, fresh sea water dripping to my toes and the warm embrace and support from the people I love when I stepped back onto land; ready to hold me and start again.
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If you’d like to get yourself a new re-swim swimsuit (I also wear mine as a bodysuit under jeans) or something else from the Organic Basics website remember you can use my partnership code which gives you a lovely 10% discount worldwide: PAPEROB2. Thank you to Organic Basics for partnering with me and to all of you for encouraging me to step outside my comfort zone and try something new. I urge you to do the same.
