The Power of Awareness
This week, one of my swimmers said something that got me thinking:
“I used to like swimming. Now I love it.”
It had all the makings of a testimonial, but what moved me was the subtle shift in language — because words matter.
We do this in SwimMastery all the time. I’m sorry, you don’t have a “hand,” because the moment you think hand, your attention goes there and you disconnect from your engine. You send your books away from your feet — not your head — because thinking about your head makes you try to hold it with your neck. That tiny bit of tension costs energy. Energy that could be used to send you forward.
And for this swimmer, as her awareness of her movement grew, one word shifted — and that’s all it takes.
Awareness changes us.
A few classes ago, we took turns observing how we push off the wall. I noticed one of my swimmers poofing out her cheeks — I call it monkey cheeks — and it made me wonder, How do I push off? So we each took a turn and talked to each other about it. No judgment. Just observation. We were growing our awareness.
This is how we change. It starts with awareness.
So, I’ve been bringing some awareness to shed a light on my habits. I used to think of habits as the way we start our day — whether you do yoga first thing or have a coffee ritual. Those are easy to spot, easy to name, easy to feel good about.
But what about the habits I’d rather not examine?
Leaving the water running while I’m doing dishes. Driving to a store that’s half a mile from my house instead of walking or biking. Drifting to the pantry as a way to stall on tasks I don’t want to do. Slouching at the dinner table. Hunching over my desk. That right arm that creeps a little too close to my ear in the water, compromising the joint. The knee that insists on kicking — and hurts when it does.
These aren’t “bad habits.” They’re simply patterns that attention hasn’t yet touched.
And like anything in swimming (and in life), what we repeat becomes what we do.
The first step isn’t fixing them. The first step is seeing them.
Really seeing them — without judgment, without shame, without immediately jumping to what you should do instead.
Just noticing. Just naming.
Because awareness itself is transformative. It’s the difference between liking something and loving it. Between going through the motions and actually being present. Between repeating what we’ve always done and choosing what comes next.
Next week: What do we do once we see them?
With growing awareness,
Shannon
P.S. Last chance to join me for Crack the Speed Code, tomorrow at Rogue X from 8-10 AM!
