I've always gravitated toward swings. How about you? There is something calming about being suspended from the ropes and swinging back and forth. Yes, I know I said ropes. Sounds much better than saying chains. When I was a child we did not have a park anywhere nearby. We had two ropes and a plank hanging from a tree. I recall being pushed, sometimes not hard enough. So I had to learn to pump my legs if I wanted to soar higher. I remember the day my mother sat on that swing to demonstrate the technique. I couldn't wait to grow tall enough to touch the ground so I could get some momentum to push off on my own. Sometimes we were able to pursuade dad to just leave us a rope for playing Tarzan. It was so special to have a swing in our yard that I never cared that our seat was slightly off of level. No matter how hard he tried my dad couldn't knot the rope ends just right because the weight of all us kids and mom made the branch dip a little each day.
Today, I don't know which is more fun, sitting or standing up to pump my legs to gain height and speed. Oh, and I still like to rotate round and round until the rope is tightly twisted before I lift my feet. When I do, I spin in the opposite direction and the momentum makes the world spin for awhile afterward.
Anyway, I was in the park yesterday on a swing seat hanging from a chain. I was very conscious of that chain twisting because it is not as smooth or quiet as a rope. The metal links clink as they slide over each other and in the spin the chain has a jerky vibration. The contrast made me so conscious of my easier childhood days and I was thinking how the swing was a metaphor for my growth through adolescence to adulthood. Oh, the things I had to learn or have patience for... well, you know how it is when some little thing like a noisy swing chain leads you to contemplate life's highs and lows, its twists and turns.
I lingered on that swing, all by myself. Just swaying and thinking of life in terms of all the ways I enjoy that swing. I remembered the joy of creating an air current that toussled my hair. Where our feet touched the ground we gouged out the grass into a dirt trench. During a heavy rain water collected there so we had to where mud boots if we wanted to play on the swing. My brother was more of the dare-devil, trying to do handstands on the seat, or diving headfirst through the ropes to launch into a sommersault. That tree and our swing were companions for several years. While we were in school, it waited in the sunshine, swayed in the wind, and endured the rain and snow. It was a long wait for me, too. Once I got home that swing got a work-out.
What stories that swing could tell about my childhood. It witnessed scraped knees, girls and boys whispering secrets and churning out songs, giggles and squeals of delight. Everything I remembered was a perfect combination of serenity, mild adrenaline, and child-like joy.
The time I spend on swings now is trifling in comparison to years past. I supposed that is the case for most adults. It is rare to see adults on swings unless it is a hammock or patio swing. It's a shame since we all need the mild adrenaline rush a swing can offer. Besides, it is such fun, convenient, and free entertainment. We adults should give swings more exercise and stories.
I'm one of those people that needs a metaphor to make sense of complicated things. I've created some fairly wearisome metaphors for myself as a means of trying to understand a situation. I'm partial to metaphors - conspicuous, clever, understated, illusive, wild, and confounding, even those that are peculiar or have become clichés.
On the way home from the park, the metaphor of a swing continued to seize the whole of my attention. I thought about all the variations - tires hanging from ropes, kids propelled over water, hammocks, carnival swings, Cirque du Soleil trapeze acts, floating chair swings for babies and adults, George of the Jungle swinging from vine to vine and pirate Jack Sparrow's swinging escape - what a marvelously entertaining invention.
I did not think my swing metaphor was an original idea, so when I got home I Googled it. The pendulum metaphor was popular, and it took some doing to discover Mark Rabo, a blogger on Medium, who was the only person I could find who used the swing as a metaphor for life. His analogy is unadorned, thoughtful. It appropriately put some of my thoughts into words.
He asked and answered the question: Might the swing connect us to the fundamental truths in life? Mark Rabo deserves credit for a powerful metaphor, so I must quote him here:
Swings are pretty amazing when you think about it. You can go from just sitting there alone to flying through the air by just moving your legs. No external forces, no help from anyone, just you. All around us — in our careers, building something, staying motivated, and mental health — the swing is the perfect metaphor.
In your career, you can start with no knowledge, no experience (i.e. no momentum), but with some effort applied over time, you can get higher in your field and become an expert.
As an entrepreneur, you start with only an idea (i.e. you’re alone, just sitting there), but a little movement creates some momentum, and if you keep moving you can get really high. But stop too early and your idea won’t take off.
With mental health, if we dwell on the negative, we stop moving, and eventually lose momentum, dropping to a low point. And it takes a lot more energy to get out of that low place than it does to get through a low if we keep moving.
Timing matters (but also doesn’t). Time those leg swings perfectly and you can get higher faster. But even if you don’t know the right timing, as long as you keep moving you’ll be better off than doing nothing.
And with life in general, it’s a never ending series of highs and lows. No matter how high you are, you’ll eventually be low. And no matter how low you are, you can always get out of it by just starting to move.
Responsibility. You can’t wait for someone to give you a push. Even if they do, you’ll eventually stop again if you don’t do something yourself. How high you get is ultimately on you.
So yeah, swings. They seem to connect to the fundamental truths in life: with ups come downs, it’s up to you to make something of it, and a little movement is all it takes to start.
Life can be complicated. When you think of a metaphor as a piece of string coupling a complex idea to one blindingly familiar, the ordinary swing is the perfect way to illuminate something as complex as moving more certainly through life. I love Mark's straightforward explanation and hope you do too.
I must admit that before I found Mark Rabo I got sidetracked by "Snapchat" worthy images of swings on lazy beaches close to the equator or overlooking mountains. I was mesmerized, by those lithe athletes who wrap themselves in aerial silk, spiraling their bodies, striking poses while swinging, flying, and dropping through the air . If I were a thrill seeker I could visit every continent and find a "giant" swing or two. One of the newest and most thrilling is in China. The swing is suspended from a 328 foot arch built out from the edge of a 2,300-foot-tall cliff. The swing stands 30 storeys tall and faces a 2,300 foot drop. I would be flung out at 128 kph! Thank you very much, but I'll leave that for the daredevils who live for such thrills.
Swings are not new inventions. Antiquities, 3000 year-old, depict people on swings. Centuries ago, professional acrobatic performers would swing between boats over water to entertain a crowd. Today, kiiking is gaining momentum. It is a fairly new swing sport made popular in Estonia. The goal is to swing with so much momentum that you pass over the fulcrum. Instead of chain, the swing is suspened from stiff shafts. In competition the swing shafts are adjustable, so the person who swings over the fulcrum with the longest swing arms is the winner. The current record is over 7.38 meters. That's a lot of leg pumping and energy transfer.
Swings work by converting potential energy into kinetic energy. Potential energy is the high part. Kinetic energy is the fast back and forth part of swinging. Pump after pump, the energy we burn in our legs increases the height and also the swing's potential energy. More height is more speed just waiting to happen. Swinging converts that potential energy into kinetic energy over and over again.
The science of it all is not something I normally think about when I'm on a swing. I'm on a swing to disconnect from all the distractions and connect with nature. When my emotions are swinging back and forth I find a swing or even a trusted swing rocker can settle me. Today, I'm more aware of what slight body movements can do on a swing. I don't have to lay back and pump my legs to get momentum, I can make progress, though smaller sweeps, by simily moving my head or feet. I don't have to move my body at all, I can rouse my mind and stimulate new thoughts when I'm on a swing. Like Mark said, a little movement is all it takes.
Flexible thinking allows
you to think about something in more than one way. It plays a key role in reducing anxiety, as well as not being overwhelmed or stifled by unpredictable circumstances in
your life or workplace.
Inspiration can strike when you least expect it, but that is an inefficient way to develop an idea or approach decision-making and problem solving. Instead, try one of these 7 quick and easy individual brainstorming techniques.
True professionals do not do things just for the sake of appearances. Your commitment and what you do back stage and unwitnessed is garners the respect of others, gives you satisfaction in life, and contributes meaningful value to a project or organization.
Do you know why you procrastinate. It may not be that you are simply overworked and under pressure. Identify a cause and fend it off with an easy-to-implement strategiy that can be implemented easily and set the tone for an non-procrastination-type day.
With the right sensory technique you will feel a sense of assuredness and always have a rescue tool to relieve stress on the spot. What is your sensory resuce toolbox?
As a professional, you want to get the job done – and done well. You also want to keep advancing and identify opportunities. This easy pen and pencil tool can help you with a plan.
