We often measure success in what we accomplish. Getting an A on a test, hitting a home run, or mastering a new skill. Most of us want to forget about our failures, right? What if we changed what the word failure means? The exact definition of failure is “the lack of success.” At Wisconsin Swim Academy, we want to change that. You know the old saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” That is exactly how we approach each lesson. Your child my not figure out each skill right away, and that’s OK. With continued patience and perseverance, your child will succeed.
Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” This leads us to an awesome story about an exceptional young man named Gerald, who decided to not be afraid of failure. Instead, he choose to face the fear of not being good at something and use that to define what success means to him.
“If I couldn’t handle not being good at something, how could I consider myself a successful person?” Those are powerful words! When your child tries something new, do they give up if they don’t get it right the first time? As parents, we can teach our kids how to handle failure from a young age. Thomas Edison, when trying to invent the light bulb, failed 10,000 times! It was attempt 10,001 that he finally succeeded.
Defining Success
At Wisconsin Swim Academy, we measure success by showing up, working hard and having fun! We don’t have levels or pass/fail classes because we feel each child’s individual strengths and needs are important. One child’s success might be wearing goggles for the first time, while another’s success might be treading water for 30 seconds. What is important is to keep at it and to keep trying. Repetition is the key to success when it comes to swimming. It takes time, patience, understanding and trust. And most importantly, learning to swim and learning how to be safe around water by taking swim lessons saves lives. Need a reminder about water safety? You can read about it here.
If you’re interested in registering your child for lessons or want to learn more about Wisconsin Swim Academy, please give us a call at 920-427-8286 or send us an email at swim@staging.wisconsinswim.flywheelsites.com and we will be happy to help!