Swimming, Living and Being Selfish

There are two I's in swimming, which means that when, I'm under water, all there is, is me. I am in a different element that's thick, quiet, and feels distant from daily life. That is until someone yanks me out of my zone!

In our hectic days, we rarely have enough time to focus on just ourselves. Swimming is my time. My mind is listening to my heartbeat and my breathing; I can feel how the water moves around my body, and how turning my hand one inch closer feels better than before. I can focus on the details to be better at something I enjoy. Some days I want to see how fast I can go and I'm first on my lane; somedays I want to experiment and go slower; those days I move to the end of the lane so I don't bother other swimmers. But occasionally, they seemed to be bothered nonetheless. There are those who get offended if I want to swim ahead of them or that insist that they are slower and refuse to go ahead, but keep on puffing behind me.

There are also two I's in living, but we can't live our lives ignoring the world around us. So I'm reaching out to you to see how you deal with putting yourself first sometimes, and not others? Do you ignore people? Are you blunt? At work, at home, how do you say "I'm in my zone, don't bother me" without sounding selfish?

Defunk

Yesterday was a bad day. Maybe it was all the recruiters ignoring my job applications; maybe it was the three hours stuck in traffic; or maybe I was just in a funk, but in days like this, I just want to crawl in a cave.

Counting yards, repetitions and seconds, was not in my list of priorities (along with smelling like chlorine and having pool hair), so I was not looking forward swimming. But working out generally helps me relax, so it was worth trying.

I swam in automatic. I had no idea how the set was, how long or how fast. One girl offered me to lead and I simply grunted "No, thanks". I just let my lane mates swim ahead and I followed along. One hour later, the bad mood had stayed at the pool and I was feeling like a normal human being. In fact, my workout was rewarded with a couple mojitos that night!

Sometimes, the only alternative to not doing anything is to allow others to guide us. So next time you're having "a day", lend the driver seat to somebody else in order to stay on the road.

No one to blame but myself

Today at swam at night with swimmers I hadn’t met before. It was a fast and very rewarding swim (with fins, this time). But in the last 100 yards, the coach wanted us to time ourselves giving 100%. I have been postponing timing myself because I really don't want to know yet. But today, I took the challenge! I told the lady behind me to go ahead of me so I could be free to go at my own speed, but she insisted she was slower. I went first and before reaching the other wall, she started bumping me with her head. I had to stop and let her pass, ruining my timing… and my swim.

After the swim, talking with my husband, I discovered why I was so mad: When working out, as well as in life, we should not allow others to ruin our plans. We know our limitations, we know our goals, so we give them the chance to go first, to get out of our way. But if they pass, then their rights have been revoked. Many times we have a coworker, a boyfriend, a sibling who maybe with good intentions want us to stray away from our plan. Ultimately, we have the power to decide if we give in and live with the guilt, or to put our foot down and assert our rights.

Lady, you made me mad today, but you taught me a lesson. Thanks.