Am I Going To Drown?

Humbled in the Pool: Why Starting Messy is the Ultimate "WOW" 

What if progress requires the courage to look like a beginner? In this high-vibration episode of the Living Lucky® Podcast, Jana Banana turns a chaotic, late-arrival swim practice into a masterclass on mindset and personal development. From "survival backstroke" to the burning lungs of a new challenge, we explore how to pivot from embarrassment to an upward success cycle.

In this episode, you will learn to:

• The Coach Effect: Why an outside guide pulls "one more rep" out of you than you ever could alone.
• The Stretch Zone: How to identify the "growth space" between comfort and panic.
• Biological Breakthroughs: Why building cardiovascular stamina upgrades your energy, focus, and intimacy.

Living Lucky® Wisdom Nuggets:

• Permission to Suck: High-performance identities are forged in the "messy middle." (Believe in yourself)
• Borrowed Belief: A coach sees capacity where you see a limit. (Believe in the people around you)
• Oxygen as Strategy: Never skip the breath-work (in the pool or life) to chase speed. (Believe in your circumstances)
• Universal Endurance: Physical stamina builds the spiritual "shoulders" needed for bigger missions. (Believe in a higher power)

Stop waiting for a "perfect" start. Hit play to find your "One More" and start Living Lucky® today!

• Self-help, personal development, mindset shift, life coaching, positive thinking, How to overcome imposter syndrome, benefits of cardiovascular training for mindset, starting something new at midlife, how to stay motivated when you want to quit, why everyone needs a life coach.
• "Why is a coach important for personal development?" A coach provides external perspective and "borrowed belief," pushing you past your internal "safety meter." While individuals often stop at their comfort limit, a coach identifies latent capacity and helps you achieve "one more rep," compressing the timeline for growth.
• "What is the 'Stretch Zone' in mindset training?" The Stretch Zone is the optimal area for learning, located between your Comfort Zone (where no growth occurs) and your Panic Zone (where high stress prevents learning). In this zone, tasks are challenging enough to require focus but achievable enough to bui

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The 4 pillars of Living Lucky
Believe in yourself
Believe in the people around you
Believe in your circumstances and
Believe that God is working through you, for you, and always conspiring in your favor.

*Previously Recorded

Chapters

• 0:00 From Negativity To Living Lucky
• 0:18 Joining The Swim Team
• 1:06 Lost Between GPS And The Pool
• 2:00 Late Start And Gear Fumble
• 2:50 First Laps Hit Like A Wall
• 4:10 Coach Says Keep Going
• 5:32 Backstroke Survival And Lane Traffic
• 7:05 Tapping Out At Warm-Up
• 8:00 Why Swimming Humbles Athletes
• 9:15 Two Big Lessons From Coaching
• 11:05 Embracing The Stretch Zone
• 13:20 Humor, Stamina, And Real Talk
• 14:25 Smile, Reflect, And Live Lucky

Transcript

From Negativity To Living Lucky

Jana Shelfer 0:00

Are you ready to create a life you crave? Let's spin that doom loop of negativity into an upward success cycle and start Living Lucky®. Good morning. I'm Jana and we are living lucky.

Jason Shelfer 0:18

You are too.

Jana Shelfer 0:19

I joined a swim team this morning.

Jason Shelfer 0:22

Oh yeah. Get in the You were gone so early. What time did you leave the house?

Jana Shelfer 0:28

I left at 5 30. 5 15.

Jason Shelfer 0:31

Yeah, had to, because I got up at like 5 30.

Jana Shelfer 0:34

Okay, well, let me just tell you what happened. So I got first of all, I got lost getting there. And I should have known exactly how to get there. It's almost a straight shot. It's exact because I did all the underwater scuba. It's in the same pool. So I'm thinking, okay, I know exactly where I'm going. So I didn't put it in GPS.

Jason Shelfer 0:52

And I don't need to pay attention because I know where I'm going.

Lost Between GPS And The Pool

Jana Shelfer 0:54

I'm listening to my pink music and I'm singing and I'm like, wow, I'm the only one on the road. And so I get lost. And I had to pull over, not just once, not twice, but three times. I had to pull over to Google, where am I even going?

Jason Shelfer 1:13

And I the funny thing about that area is it's part of the hospital system. And I got it. So they all look the same. All the buildings look the same. And knowing that parking lot for the pool is finding that is something that most people have a hard time doing the first time.

Jana Shelfer 1:29

So my GPS, when I finally did put it into GPS, it took me into the hospital parking lot. And once you get into that parking lot, you can't get out.

Jason Shelfer 1:38

You can't get there from here.

Jana Shelfer 1:40

Okay, so I finally get to the pool, and I I grew up in sports. I know that you need to be right on time. Well, I literally got there at like 6:01. Oh no. And they everyone else was already in the pool, and they had already started the pool.

Jason Shelfer 1:58

I'll come back next week.

Late Start And Gear Fumble

Jana Shelfer 1:59

And so I talked to the coach and she's like, Well, are you prepared to get into the pool today? Because you're here. And I'm and I said, Exactly.

Jason Shelfer 2:09

You got to made it to the gym. Okay. Let's grab a weight.

Jana Shelfer 2:14

So she says, Do you have a pool cap? And I'm like, what? A swim cap. And I I did because I ordered one on Amazon. You know how to put one on Amazon? I said I've never used it before.

Jason Shelfer 2:27

I wouldn't know how to do it right. I'd probably put it on backwards.

Jana Shelfer 2:30

Trying to struggle to get this plastic thing over my head. It's like a rubber.

Jason Shelfer 2:35

It is. It's a head condom. It's super thick.

First Laps Hit Like A Wall

Jana Shelfer 2:37

And I'm thinking, I don't really know why I'm doing this, but I've got to look the part, right? And anyway, so by the time I got into the pool, it was like we don't want any other swimmers having hair envy. Right. By the time I get into the pool, it's 6'10. Okay. So we're like 10 minutes after. Okay. I do the rest of the warm-up. So the warm-up had already started, right? And I get in on the tail end of the warm-up. I go down. And after I go down one.

Jason Shelfer 3:11

This is a 75-meter pool.

Jana Shelfer 3:13

I stop because I'm like, oh my God, that was like so hard.

Jason Shelfer 3:18

And I'm going as fast as I can. I wasn't. So did you so you didn't pace yourself in the warm-up? You were like, I got to catch up. I was just trying to fit in.

Jana Shelfer 3:28

That's what I was trying to do. I was trying to blend. And I get to the end, and I'm like, oh my God, I need to like hold on to the side and take it.

Jason Shelfer 3:38

That's how marathoners take out their competition. They're like, I'm going to make someone pace with me and I'm going to change their game. Okay, I love it.

Jana Shelfer 3:47

And all of a sudden I hear the coach yell, Jenna, keep going. I'm like, oh my God.

Jason Shelfer 3:54

I almost spit up my coffee. Right? I remember I you do this to me when we just work out. Like when we're doing shoulders.

Jana Shelfer 4:01

And now I am so sorry.

Coach Says Keep Going

Jason Shelfer 4:03

Because I'm like, my shoulders, I don't use them as much as you. I use them every day. But you will wear my shoulders out in your work in your warm-up.

Jana Shelfer 4:12

So the coach is yelling, Jamie, keep going. I'm like, oh my God, I gotta keep going. So is she okay? So then I start coming back, right? And I get halfway through and I'm like, I like seriously, I don't know if I can do this anymore. So I'm like, just get to the end. Just get to the end of the pool, right? And so go to a safe spot. I literally, I mean, I'm I'm like an inch away from just grabbing the side of the rope.

Jason Shelfer 4:43

Are you allowed to grab the ropes?

Jana Shelfer 4:44

No, you're not allowed to grab the rope. Do not touch our ropes. And so I I'm I'm like 10 feet from the end, and I'm like, you could do it, Janna. Like, I'm giving myself every just 40 more strokes.

Jason Shelfer 4:57

10 feet, 40 strokes.

Jana Shelfer 4:58

And in that last 15 feet, I felt like I was not making any progress at all.

Jason Shelfer 5:04

Current's too strong. Oh, this hurts.

Jana Shelfer 5:10

I'm glad you're finding this funny. So I literally turned to my back and I'm like, the last 10 feet, I'm just gonna like get there. Okay, I'm just gonna pull this back. Just gonna get there. So I pulled, yeah, I did. I turned to my back and I get myself in, and I'm like, okay.

Backstroke Survival And Lane Traffic

Jason Shelfer 5:28

When you're doing the backstroke, you can or that that your type of backstroke, you can keep your mouth or head out of the water and breathe.

Jana Shelfer 5:34

Yeah, it's just so nice. I get to the end and I'm like, I'm just gonna let these other three people in my lane pass me.

Jason Shelfer 5:42

There were other people in your lane.

Jana Shelfer 5:44

There were three people in my lane.

Jason Shelfer 5:45

Oh no.

Jana Shelfer 5:46

So from the minute. I know, but but not really, because once you're all spread out.

Jason Shelfer 5:52

Okay, as long as no one's blocking traffic.

Jana Shelfer 5:55

I was the traffic blocker. I'm glad you're getting such a kick out of this.

Jason Shelfer 6:01

Well, I can relate to this.

Jana Shelfer 6:03

I'm like, I'm just gonna let everyone pass me. So I let the three other people pass me. So I got like a brief little break.

Jason Shelfer 6:11

I'm not getting rushed.

Jana Shelfer 6:12

And then I hear, Jenna, keep going. And I'm like, damn. Okay, so then I I start again, and this time I'm doing freestyle. And I again I get halfway through, and I'm like, oh my god, like I am breathing really. Swimming's no joke. At this point, I am breathing so hard.

Jason Shelfer 6:36

I'll fight a swimmer. I don't want to race him.

Tapping Out At Warm-Up

Jana Shelfer 6:39

And I finally get to the other end of the pool, and I'm like, oh my god, I like I am done. I am done. And again, I hear keep going. Like it, and I'm thinking, okay, this coach and I are gonna butt heads here. So I turned to my back and I literally did my last stroke and the back stroke. And then when I reached the end, by the time she even saw that I was done, I got out of the pool. I got out of the pool and I started getting back in my wheelchair. And she was like, Oh, she goes, We're just on the warm-up. And I said, That's all I got today, coach. I'll be back on Monday, and we'll just try to do so.

Jason Shelfer 7:27

I did four, you know, down one, back two, down three, pretty back four. Yeah, at a pretty good pace.

Jana Shelfer 7:37

Well, as fast as I could go. It was just the warmup. Everyone else was just in the warm-up, but I was like, that's all I got, coach. I'll be back on Monday. And when I came home, Jason, you were having your coffee. You were so happy and supportive and excited for me. And then when I told you the story, you busted out laughing.

Why Swimming Humbles Athletes

Jason Shelfer 7:58

I know. And you also said, I feel I almost feel embarrassed.

Jana Shelfer 8:02

I felt so embarrassed.

Jason Shelfer 8:03

And and then you remember we talked about how when you first did your first ski competition.

Jana Shelfer 8:08

Here's the thing: I ski almost well, yeah. I've been on a little bit of a break.

Jason Shelfer 8:14

We gotta take a break.

Jana Shelfer 8:15

But in the last year, I've skied so much, and so you think that okay, I'm strong.

Jason Shelfer 8:20

I'm strong, my respiratory system is great. However, it's a different animal swimming. That's I remember doing when we were doing triathlons, the short ones, not the long ones. The sprints. The sprints. I would almost, I'm a great swimmer. I would almost feel like I'm gonna drown here at the end of the swim. That's how I felt like three-quarters of the way through the swim. I was like, I love you. I had a good life. I'm glad we're going out like this, but I think this is gonna be it.

Speaker 2 8:49

Those were the thoughts going through my head.

Jason Shelfer 8:56

Except for when we were in Miami doing the that Miami one, because that we were in deep water. We were in the ocean. I know. I didn't like it. I was like, I'm not gonna make this at all. I remember I remember flipping over and swimming on my back, and every time a wave would come over and just fill my mouth with water, I was like, This is getting worse.

Jana Shelfer 9:15

I I am I was appalled at how hard it was.

Jason Shelfer 9:20

I wonder if I should go do this.

Jana Shelfer 9:22

Cardiovascular, that's what it is.

Jason Shelfer 9:24

Yeah, I would love to have more stamina when I'm out on my runs, when I'm I don't run. But so I do feel myself sometimes getting out of breath doing things.

Jana Shelfer 9:36

Yeah, you know, and I'm I'm wondering should I just start swimming?

Jason Shelfer 9:41

I mean, I bought when we were doing our triathlons, I bought these big buoys to put in the lake in this thought that you did. I'm gonna go and I'll just swim across the lake. I know, I know. Because I didn't want to feel like drowning at the end.

Jana Shelfer 9:55

All I can say is that if coach Sarah hadn't been there, I would have stopped after the first down. I would have said, Someone go get my wheelchair, I'm getting out of this pool.

Jason Shelfer 10:09

I think there's two really big learning points here.

Jana Shelfer 10:12

Okay.

Jason Shelfer 10:12

The first one is you'll never do as much as your coach wants you to. Like you'll always stop before your coach sees that you can stop or need to stop.

Jana Shelfer 10:21

Okay.

Jason Shelfer 10:21

So your coach will always get one more out of you, which is in like we need a coach. Everyone needs a coach just in life. Because everywhere we go, we will stop ourselves before doing that one more repetition, before trying one more time, before we move to that next level of us.

Jana Shelfer 10:41

Yes.

Jason Shelfer 10:42

We always.

Jana Shelfer 10:43

Yes.

Jason Shelfer 10:44

The other thing is we all suck in the beginning. Whether it's sucking air, being the slowest, anything, when we're doing something new, when we're go, when we're up leveling, we're not used to that level yet. So it's gonna suck. It's gonna feel embarrassing, it's gonna feel like it's not working.

Embracing The Stretch Zone

Jana Shelfer 11:02

I mean, I felt almost uh ashamed of myself. I felt like I do not belong to it.

Jason Shelfer 11:08

It's kind of imposter syndrome. Yeah, it's a different version of imposter syndrome where it's like this, I don't know if this feels good. However, it's one of those things where you don't you may not like going to the gym, but you love having been because the person that leaves is not the same person that goes.

Jana Shelfer 11:25

Yes. I I will say, once I came home, I do have this I'm proud of I do. I have this internal empowerment, and yet everything that you're saying. I'm I'm not kidding you. When I was doing the breaststroke, this was coming back.

Jason Shelfer 11:45

That's what I'm talking about.

Jana Shelfer 11:48

I was like, Do I have to breathe every time? Can I just get like a couple?

Jason Shelfer 11:52

Can I get three strokes in and breathe?

Jana Shelfer 11:54

Right? And she was like, No, you gotta breathe every time.

Jason Shelfer 11:56

Don't want to lose your oxygen, you keep it going out.

Jana Shelfer 11:58

And then that was when the last 15 uh feet I was not moving at all. It was not moving at all. And one thing I realized is my hip flexors are so tight that they kept spasming in, and I I wasn't getting anywhere.

Jason Shelfer 12:15

And so she probably doesn't coach a lot of paras, parables. So it might just be that you really have to move your shoulders out opposite of each other so your head comes over. Oh, the breaststroke, you can't do that. Anyway, that's a tough one.

Jana Shelfer 12:33

It just was a learning experience for myself, and I just want to say I'm glad that I put myself in outside of my comfort zone or in the stretch zone.

Jason Shelfer 12:45

There you go. The stretch zone.

Jana Shelfer 12:47

Which is exactly what I came home, and I'm like, I need to stretch my hip flexors. So uh get a coach, get a coach, allow yourself to push you a little further.

Jason Shelfer 12:58

They will push you a little further than what your internal compass allows you to go, like your internal gas meter, whatever. You will always stop yourself prior to doing that one more when you still have one more in you.

Humor, Stamina, And Real Talk

Jana Shelfer 13:12

It's it's almost um caveman instincts because we don't want we want to protect ourselves, if that makes sense.

Jason Shelfer 13:22

Yeah, we want to well, we want to stay in a safe zone, we will stop ourselves, and the coach, and then the coach says, You've got one more, they believe in you. Yes, so you're like, okay, I will because they believe in me, I will I will show them that I've got it. Yes, and then you prove to yourself I've got it.

Jana Shelfer 13:39

Yes. Anyway, I just want to encourage anyone out there, try something new. I learned so much about myself.

Jason Shelfer 13:49

Allow yourself to suck.

Jana Shelfer 13:50

I learned that I I do need to get in better cardiovascular shape.

Jason Shelfer 13:54

I do too.

Jana Shelfer 13:55

And that will help my circulation, that will help my energy levels.

Jason Shelfer 13:59

Sex.

Jana Shelfer 14:00

Sex.

Jason Shelfer 14:02

That's the real reason we're I just want to, I just want to have some stamina. I mean, I go all night. Oh my long. And I gotta have the breath work for it. That might be a total fabrication of my abilities. I'm just gonna say I'm allowing myself to suck at it for a while.

unknown 14:23

Stop.

Jana Shelfer 14:25

Oh, okay. Well, I hope this uh makes you smile, makes you laugh, and also helps you self-reflect. Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 2 14:38

If the idea of Living Lucky® appeals to you, visit us at LivingLucky.com.