Life Lessons from Swimming

I'm a pretty weak swimmer - I can get around in the water just fine and I'm mostly confident that I won't drown on a given day. However, I've only just learned to swim since last year, so I'm still I pretty big newbie. Likewise, I've only been out in the real world (post-college) for three years and I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. Just as it takes a lot of concentration for me just to make it from one end of the pool to the other, it takes a lot of mental imaging and forethought just for me to get from Monday to Sunday. The following are the things that I am constantly telling myself in the water and I realized they work on dry land too.

1. Keep breathing: Regular, short breathes are more efficient over the long haul rather than elongated and/or infrequent gulps of air. Take your vacations and weekends regularly and seriously as breaks from the office. You'll feel more recharged and ready to go consistently.

2. Keep your head down: In swimming, the more efficient way to move forward is to look backward. Day to day it can be easy to get frustrated and think that you're not moving quickly enough toward your goals. It's important to take a step and look back at how far you've come already and realize that you are the one that provides the momentum - you HAVE to work hard to get somewhere.

3. Don't freak out: Swimming can be scary - it's one of the few sports that you have to actually think about breathing, and if you screw up you get a lungful of water. It can be very uncomfortable and easy to get flustered. Just remember to stay calm you're much more likely to survive the pool, networking event, friend's drama and life in general.

4. Kick, Pull, and Push constantly, and in the right order: Figure out a cadence that works for you and keep it. You are constantly fighting the force of the water and if one aspect of your technique falters, the remaining parts of the system are weakened. Same goes for real life - you are constantly battling the forces of time, money, slacking off and responsibilities in order to make things work. Some areas may be stronger than the other, but you must have a good balance to be effective and efficient.

5. Keep Going: The only way you'll get better at swimming is to keep practicing. Good technique and form don't just happen while you're waiting in between sets; they come after hours of repetition and practice. As boring as that may be, the same goes for life in general. You just have to keep plugging away and eventually it starts to feel natural.

6. Stretch: Stretch your goals, muscles, willpower, whatever. It's good for body and mind at any time, day or age.

That's what I have so far. Maybe someday I can break down rugby, running and biking into similar lessons, but that would mean extra concentration in the areas that I can usually just tune out my brain.