Fear of open water swimming is common among triathletes. There are three kinds of anxiety that can manifest in this context:

1)    Anxiety as a survival mechanism. Anxiety can serve to keep us out of potentially dangerous, life-threatening situations.

2)    Performance anxiety. This is a frequent phenomenon, affecting all kinds of performance (e.g. musical, sexual, public speaking).

3)  Separation anxiety. This is a universal, existential fear.

The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon is an iconic event. It consists of a 1.5 mile swim, from the island of Alcatraz to San Francisco, followed by a scenic bike ride and run. I have participated in this triathlon for each of the last ten years. In order to do so, I have had to overcome my own anxiety.

Swimming across San Francisco Bay is exhilarating, challenging and awesomely beautiful. Due to ever changing conditions (weather, fog, tides, currents), the swim is unique at each crossing. For the swim, 2,500 athletes are taken by boat to a position adjacent to Alcatraz. At the start of the swim, each swimmer jumps off the boat into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay. At the beginning and end of the swim, one is surrounded by a large number of fellow swimmers. However, crossing the shipping channel between Alcatraz and San Francisco, the swimmers become separated. While there are, of course, numerous support craft surrounding the swimmers, there are nevertheless stretches during which one sees no one else in the water. These are the most psychologically trying times.

On the occasion of my first and second crossings, I made arrangements with an individual kayaker to serve as my personal escort for the swim. Neither attempt worked. It is impossible for a kayaker to identify and to follow one swimmer out of 2,500. In subsequent years, I simply entrusted my fate to a Higher Power.

Here are some of the techniques that have helped me to transform fear into exhilaration, and to achieve my goal. These techniques may help you to overcome your own fears, and to achieve your own goals.

1.  Training

For years, I met weekly with an open water swimming coach. This experience offers two take away lessons. The first point is the importance of asking for help. The second aspect is a technique known as in vivo desensitization. This phrase refers to a process of entering into the anxious situation gradually, progressively, usually in the presence of a reassuring other person. Doing so leads to a gradual extinction of the anxiety response.

2.  Positive self-talk

Take control of your mind through positive affirmations. Stop negative thoughts (e.g. there are probably sharks out there). Replace such thoughts with positive statements.

3.  Visualization

This technique is not limited to the realm of athletics. Visualize yourself achieving your goal, stroke by stroke. Incorporate as many senses as possible, as you rehearse your calm, confident, successful pursuit of your goal.

4.  Navigating
Navigating in the context of open water swimming involves sighting on landmarks. Metaphorically, we can use this technique in all situations. What are the landmarks you can use to assess your progress towards your goal? For the Alcatraz crossing, it is important both to focus on the finish line, as well as to cast the occasional glance back at Alcatraz. Doing so helps to verify that you are swimming in a straight line. In life as well, it is important to use where we have come from as a point of reference in staying on course to where we are going.

5.  Controlling your breath

Anxiety leads to hyperventilation, which in turn heightens our anxiety. It is a very helpful practice to develop an awareness of our breath, and to take slow deep breaths.

6.  Staying in the moment

All anxiety pivots on “what if’s.” Make it a continuous practice to stay firmly and completely present in this very moment. Doing so will steady your nerves and strengthen your resolve.

7.  Embodiment

Stay in your body. Maintain continuous awareness of your bodily sensations. This practice will keep you grounded in the physicality of your being. In the Bay, the body is a sensitive instrument for providing information regarding moment to moment shifts in tides and currents. So too in life.

8. Staying focused on your goal

This focus will block your anxiety response. In the Bay, I maintain an intense fire burning within me to reach my destination. This liberates me from doubt and fear.

9.  Faith in a Higher Power

Like getting on an airplane, jumping off a boat in the middle of San Francisco Bay is an act of surrendering the ego to a Higher Power. As in Alcoholics Anonymous, and many other spiritual traditions, this surrender, if whole hearted and complete, engenders inner peace.

For me, Escaping from Alcatraz is a metaphor for liberation from the shackles of past fears. Like in the Book of Exodus, following this path will liberate you from the Land of Pharaoh, and deliver you to the Promised Land.

“If you have zest and enthusiasm, you attract zest and enthusiasm.  Life does give back in kind.”

Our most characteristic moods are a residue of our early life experience.  People who experienced abuse, neglect or emotional deprivation tend to be sad and in low spirits.  This low energy vibration will tend to attract others who themselves are vibrating at the same low frequency.  As a result, our early life experience is perpetuated in present time.  We take these conditions to be “reality”.  The world seems to be populated by wounded, downbeat needy people.

Living in such a world is demoralizing.  Life becomes “stale, flat and unprofitable.”  Under such conditions suicide may become an increasingly compelling option.

It is vitally important to recognize that the outer world is nothing other than the projection of our own mind.  “Reality” is a highly subjective construction, “like a dream, like an illusion” (Milarepa 11th Century Tibetan Yogi).  Once we grasp this truth we can change our world by transforming our mind.

How to Transform Your Mind

1.    First, you must become aware of your current state of mind.  Keep a journal of your recurring thoughts and feelings.

2.    As you identify characteristic negative thoughts, train yourself to “stop!” every time you notice such a thought occurring in your mind stream.  Replace the negative thought with a positive thought, or affirmation (self statement).

3.    Look at yourself in a mirror.  Do you see a scowling face looking back at you?  Make a conscious effort to change your facial expressions.  Make it a practice to smile at people.  You will be amazed at how powerfully a smile evokes a responsive smile from others.

4.    Open your heart.  Make genuine positive emotional connections with as many people as possible.  Raise your emotional state from sullenness to love and compassion.  You will be responded to in kind.

5.    For those of you who are open to visualization, try the following experiment:

Visualize your crown chakra* (at the crown of your head) glowing at a bright, gold color.  This corresponds to the highest frequency of emotional vibration.   With practice, you can learn to transform yourself and your experience using this technique.

If life is “like a dream,” make it a happy one!  Learn how to liberate yourself from the nightmare of bitterness and sorrow.

Please feel free to let me know how you are doing.  If you need some help along the way, I would be delighted to assist you.

*Chakras are energy centers. They are considered to be the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies. Seven major chakras or energy centers are generally believed to exist, located within the subtle body.