Inspiration Works Both Ways

We inspire our children and they inspire us.
This fact has resonated strongly with me recently but perhaps we don’t always realise it?

My 11-year-old son swims for a club and last weekend won (smashed!) both his 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle races. I was and still am beaming with pride and reflecting on the fact that it was only a few months ago he was attending his trial sessions for the club, full of nerves and anticipation but, he wanted to get better, loving watching me compete at triathlon & swimming together when we could.

be inspired by others not intimidated

I was of course there to encourage and reassure him; try to replace the fear of something new with excitement; remind him of his qualities, motivate him to believe in his abilities; tell him “be inspired by others not intimidated!” and point out the fact he would, like everyone else, be there to learn because there is always room to learn and improve no matter how good you are. He took a deep breath and he took that step and again, like so many times before with both my children, I felt immensely proud.

He has grown hugely in self-belief and ability and now inspires me with my swimming not only with regard to performance but also confidence because, amongst other scenarios, next week it is my turn to trial at the club and I am feeling all the nerves!! I do feel intimidated by the ability of others! When this became apparent to my son he simply said “You love swimming so just go and swim, do what you do and anything you can’t do or haven’t done before you will learn, just enjoy it!” He basically passed the message back to me that I try to instill in him and my daughter in all sorts of situations. He said it and I could see he believed it.

I think as adults we overthink…

I think as adults we overthink, we have usually experienced more in life, ups and downs and previous feelings tend to stick with us. Yes, I struggle with anxiety so new places, new people, new activities, putting myself out there can feel extremely difficult but, hearing my son say those words touched my heart and instantly helped ease the anxiety and give me an inner strength.

I often fail at listening to my own advice, but hearing my own child say those words to me was powerful and got me thinking about other similar instances. For example – encouraging my kids on their bikes when they first came off stabilizers and then when they went out on their first road rides – the feelings of trepidation not dissimilar to when I first clipped in on a bike on a track and then headed out clipped in on the roads!! I had motivated my children to be determined and brave on their bikes, how could I then not be?

A sad situation recently where upon seeing my tears & the fact I was trying not to cry, my 8 year old daughter asked “Hey do you like Christmas? What would you like for Christmas?” Distracting me and trying to brighten things just as I do with her & she did, she made me smile, deeply (NB Santa, please see list….). I hear both my son and daughter speak similarly to their friends – comforting, praising and reassuring them.

Our children make us proud and we make them proud too. Encouraging one another reflects in many different aspects of life not just in sport but also at school, work, social engagements. Inspiring one another to be the best we can be; believe in ourselves; be brave; try new things; take that next step to the next level and; encourage others to do the same.