Florence ChadwickMy Thoughts:
Although this is an early Happy New Years, I want to wish everyone a happy and prosperous one. When we think of a Happy New Years it usually means we are happy to welcome in the new year, along with setting goals.
Setting goals has not been one of my favorite things to do. I never feel like I will accomplish them, so I would rather not do them at all. I do make daily small goals and that seems manageable to me and that is usually the best I can do.
Setting goals for some can be a very hard thing and often when the year is over, we find we didn't accomplish it after all. For others that probably is not the case and they possibly thrive with setting goals. I just don't happen to be one of them.
I will share with you a story about Florence Chadwick. When I first read this story, I realized that to accomplish any goal in life I need to keep my eye on the ball, so to speak. Her story sparked me forward with a renewed desire to actually set goals, even long term ones, and to actually accomplish them. Sometimes a story or some little phrase someone might say, may make all the difference in the world. Such was the case for me with Florence Chadwick. I love biography's of people's lives because I learn so much from them, and even though it is a small synopsis of her life, I have learned a great deal. Here is her story:
"Keep your goals in sight"
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On the 4th of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on--hour after hour--while millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had--until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it." It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog.
She was unable to see her goal.
Two month later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
Author Unknown
A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On the 4th of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on--hour after hour--while millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had--until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it." It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog.
She was unable to see her goal.
Two month later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
Author Unknown
A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
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