Challenging Yourself on Vacation

I just got back from a beautiful (and long-overdue) vacation in the Caribbean–and I must say, it was hands-down the most inspiring and challenging vacation I’ve ever been on.

And what’s the reason for this inspiration, you may ask?

I went swimming.

Any adult who has had to learn something new at ‘our age’ will know just:

1. how frustrating the process can get…
2. how vulnerable you will need to be… and
3. how unbelievably fulfilled you’ll feel afterwards

 This vacation was so much more than a chance to lay by the pool…  It represented all the hard work, sweat & patience that I had put into learning how to swim over the last year.

This vacation was the cherry on my sunday!

The trophy to my marathon!

The top of my mountain!

I had battled through it and overcome the obstacle of learning how to swim.

There was nothing more that could be thrown at me… or so I thought..

 After having parasailed, snorkelled and boated around for a few days, I was feeling like a champion. Unstoppable!

Until…    Excursion Day.

After a beautiful boat ride out into the ocean, the organizers announced that it was finally time for our snuba diving activity (a cross between snorkeling & scuba-diving).

 Snuba Diving? I did NOT remember seeing that on the website.

 No. NO way. I’ll stick to the shallow end of the pool, thank you very much.

There is no way on earth that I’m diving down to the bottom of the ocean… For fun!?

Nope, I’m good. I’ll sit this one out.

 And then, one-by-one, the gang started pulling on their gear and jumping into the water as I stood by and watched. After having become the designated ‘Watch over our belongings’ person, I started to feel a little left out.

I thought: Wait.. I can do this. I’ll have all the safety gear on.. no problem!

(Note to self: peer-pressure still works at this age)

I could feel my heart pounding.  I got in the water, panicked, and then, less than a minute later I climbed right out of the water again.

 After I pulled myself together and gave myself a little pep-talk, I decided to get back in.

Round 2 — And Voila: I was scuba-diving!

I can’t even explain how amazing it felt or how much of an accomplishment this was for me.

I learned something new, challenged myself even more, and conquered my fears.

What a rush!

The plan for my next vacation is to get to the point where I am comfortable snorkeling without all of the extra equipment.

 Maybe I’ll even be the first one to jump in the water and snuba during Excursion Day!