THE SWIMMING COMPETITION
Alex is a brilliant, good-hearted, respectful student whom all teachers and his classmates love so much. He also loves and respects his teacher. He treats his classmates with a soft heart. But one day, when he entered his class, he had lost the joy from his face. He was depressed about something. What was the reason for the sadness on his face and why? Let’s read this story.
Alex was a student of St. James School. He was very good in his studies, had participated in many competitions, and won awards. He always helped and was friendly with everyone and respected his teachers. He always had a smile on his face. But one day, while entering his school, he saw a notice board hanging on the school gate written by his principal that said, “Dear students, we are organizing a swimming competition next month in Wave Lake. The winner will get a reward also. All are requested to participate mandatorily.” After reading this, he lost the joy from his face. He went to his classroom and sat in a corner. Everyone was talking about swimming, saying they would do this and that. One student said he would win the competition, and another said no, he would not. After hearing their conversation, he was sadder as he didn’t know how to swim. He was always afraid and had never tried to swim. After his classes were over, he was returning to his home. On the way, his friends asked him about swimming. He didn’t say anything and returned home.
When he reached his home, his mother asked him, “Why are you so sad today? What happened in school?” He told his mother that their principal had announced a swimming competition next month, but he was afraid of swimming. “Oh! My dear son, no need to worry about this. My friend knows a trainer who can train you in swimming,” his mother said.
The next day, he went to the trainer for swimming. On the first day, he was with the trainer, so he wasn’t afraid. His trainer showed him the basic moves of swimming. The next day, his trainer suggested he practice alone as the trainer wouldn’t be in the competition with him. He went near the pool, but by seeing the water, he was again afraid. He stood there for a minute, then his trainer pushed him into the water. He was drowning in the pool where the water was not so high. His trainer shouted, “Try to swim.” But he had made a mindset that he could never swim. After 10 minutes, he was found unconscious, so his trainer took him out to a dry place. He felt frustrated after thinking about the swimming competition. He was restless and couldn’t sleep at night.
The next day, he woke up early and went for a morning walk in the park. He saw a teenager trying to do push-ups but couldn’t do them properly. Every time his body lay on the ground, his hands couldn’t support his body, but he kept trying. He saw a person, who was too fat, trying to run fast, but after running a round of the park, he was too tired, but he kept trying and running. He saw a bird trying to fly, but after jumping from a high place, it fell on the ground. Its body was filled with wounds, but it kept trying. After seeing them, he thought if they were trying while in very bad conditions, why shouldn’t he try? He intended to try swimming and do his best.
The next day, he was full of confidence. He was ready to try. There was no fear on his face. He went toward the pool and was just about to jump, but after seeing the depth of the water, fear once again appeared on his face. However, he jumped into the pool. He swam for a minute but again was drowning. He returned home and was sadder than before. His parents noticed that he had been sad for a few days. His parents asked him, and he told them the problem he was facing. His father, who understood the matter and knew how to solve it, took him to a place where many rocks were lying on the ground. His father said to take all the rocks home. Alex said with astonishment, “How? I can’t take them home at once.” His father smiled and said, “You can’t do it at once, but if I told you to take as much as you can in one day and take the rest another day, you would do it, right?” Similarly, you can’t swim well with only one day of practice. You will improve every day by doing it consistently. Never think before swimming that you will do it very well like your coach, but you can do better than before. You will never improve if you are depressed about it all day, as a good mindset plays an important role while learning or doing a difficult task. You have to forget about what happened while swimming; it will make you sad. You can take care of a depressed mind by doing something you are good at. It can make you proud and happy, which will help you make a good mindset and improve your skill every day.
The next day, he went again for swimming. He closed his eyes to minimize his fear and jumped. He tried to swim and was swimming much better than before. He found that he had come far, smiled, and drowned there. Once again, he was rescued by his coach. This time he wasn’t sad because he had done what he wanted to do. He forgot everything and went home proudly. His parents saw him; he was happy again, like he was before. They finished their work early and took him for a picnic to enjoy. This increased his happiness. He was mentally prepared for the next day. The next day, his coach taught him some moves to use while swimming. He tried his best and achieved the target he had set. Day by day, he was improving, and the day of the competition came near.
On the day of the competition, each participant had undergone very hard practice. There were many participants in the competition, which was divided into many batches. Each batch had a different time schedule for the race. There were only eight participants in Alex’s batch. As per the schedule, Alex’s batch’s time came. He was nervous, but just as the race was about to start, he became depressed again. The race started! Everyone swam at full speed, doing their best to overtake each other. Alex also did his best, using the technique taught by his coach. In the middle of the race, he started drowning and became discouraged. Everyone was swimming, and the race was about to end in a few minutes. But then Alex remembered his father’s advice that he didn’t have to focus on what was going wrong but instead have courage and try his best. He got up and swam again, slowly at first, then increased his speed. But it was not enough, as the other participants were too far ahead of him and about to reach the end point. Alex maximized his speed and was swimming very perfectly, like he had never swum before. He was very near to the other participants. They also increased their speed. One person finished and won the race. But still, there were some other participants ahead of him. Another person finished, and one after another, they finished, but Alex couldn’t reach before them. There were only three participants left. Alex was in last place. He stopped, and everyone thought he had lost and didn’t want to continue, but he took a long breath, closed his eyes, and swam at an extremely fast speed. He overtook one after another and finished before the last two participants. He ranked 6th in the race and was very proud of himself. Even the participant who ranked 1st wasn’t as happy as him, just because he didn’t over-expect himself.
Alex learned that success isn’t about being the best but about doing your best and growing stronger with every challenge.