Pause, Research, Adapt

It’s been one week since so many of us heard the news from the Canadian Red Cross and their decision to retire the Water Safety Program. For many of us it has left us spinning, as we try to process the news.

As a programmer and aquatic enthusiast, especially since covid has hit, I have learned to embrace change and react quickly to many situations.  I am famous for rolling with the punches and have many examples of overcoming an unexpected challenge.

BUT this is NOT a challenge any of us anticipated and it is not something we can just make a quick decision about and move on.  This brings me to the 3 words I keep repeating to myself, to my community, to my peers and now I would like to share them with you.  PAUSE, RESEARCH, ADAPT.

After the news rocked me, I started listing all the new tasks I was going to have to undertake to transition my program.  All the while harboring the grief of losing a program that I held so dear, we add a short timeline of 11months to transition and its easy to understand how this news feels like a daunting task.

PAUSE.   I had to tell myself its okay to take a breath.  I had to tell myself it was okay to not know the answers. I had to tell myself its okay to take the time I need to process this and grieve this incredibly sad news.  I had to tell myself it was okay to pause. 

It felt so odd to do this…and almost selfish.  But, so far, it has been one of the most valuable gifts I have given myself. And now, the concern for me is, how long do I pause for?  When does pausing turn into procrastinating and avoidance?  This also meant I had to set a timeline on pausing, my pause will end Feb 1, 2022. I will not allow myself to get sucked into that space for any longer than that, you may be different and that’s okay.

Honestly, I have surprise myself and have already started transitioning into the RESEARCH phase.  Maybe its my curious nature? Maybe it’s the conversations that have been happening in peer groups? Whatever it is, it is helping me to progress at a comfortable pace without the pressure of needing instant answers. 

There is a lot of research to do to when making this decision for your facility/community.  Once I pressed pause, I was able to gather my thoughts and I asked questions.  Questions like:

• What is the simplest solution?
• What is the least expensive option?
• What allows my young staff to move into aquatic positions in other communities when they leave?
• What will meet the needs of the families regarding water safety education and swimming skills?

Now, I must start coming up with answers to the stream of questions that are dumping out of me. That’s the point, right??  Take the time to make the list, come up with plans on how to attack those questions, create a list of non-negotiable items that are must haves for your community and staff.

Then ADAPT.  Take that research and start implementing it.  I haven’t figured out what that looks like yet, so stay tuned.  I do have some timeframes that we have set for ourselves, like staff first, then public lifeguarding/instructional training programs, and finally swimming lessons.

Covid was fast paced and full of pivoting. There was an overwhelming number of changes to react to, only made worse, by the endless interpretation of guidelines; this change is not like that.  It can be completed at a much slower pace and with the knowledge that once you make changes they will be there to stay, let that sink in.  It’s a wonderful thought to know that once you put the hard work into it, it will be here for a while.  Again, Covid took that confidence away from us. Remember you make the decisions that affect your community.

I am not pretending this won’t be hard and, it won’t be without its, challenges but with a little thought and consideration to PAUSE, RESEARCH and ADAPT we can make it through…together😊.