Hi.
About two months ago, I started going to the community pool near my place once or twice a week in an attempt to break out of a funk in my life I'd like to call unemployment. Going regularly, I see a couple of the same few people every week and have figured out the pool culture, and realized that it's pretty similar to how it should be in your day-to-day life.
1. Most people don't understand that you have to get ready before swimming.
Besides the obvious point that you have to be dressed appropriately, you have to warm up/stretch before going in for a swim. Like most exercises, you need some form of pre-game before really getting down to it, or else you'll end up with the horrible foot cramp we're all familiar with.
It's the same with life, you can't just be well-groomed or have a nice job title. You have to be ready and doing good internally too! Are you mentally prepared for that job? Are you emotionally ready to be in that relationship? Or are you constantly eating food that you know is junk? It's all about being well inside and out.
2. No matter how many times you've gone up and down what you've established is your lane, some bastard will ruin your groove.
You know when you've been in the same lane for at least 20 minutes, and some fucker, who has been in the area for long enough to have at least noticed that you've been in the same lane for at least 20 minutes, just decides to float about and just stand there right in your lane for no apparent reason. This legitimately makes me so mad, and as much as I've accepted that this is a thing that happens, it still pisses me off.
No matter how long you've been doing your job or you know, doing things in general, there is always someone there to unnecessarily ruin things for you. It really isn't a big deal, but it really ruins a couple of minutes of your day and you just spend the rest of the day glaring at that person. And it's okay, it happens, but don't let it ruin your whole day. Use that rage as fuel to do better for the rest of the day.
3. No matter how clean your pool is, just accept the fact that someone has and will pee in it.
Unless you have your own pool or you're the first person in after a cleaning, just accept that the body of water you are willingly dunking yourself in for an extended amount of time contains a small percentage of urine. There is no way around it. The earlier you accept this, the earlier you'll forget and get used to it.
Nothing is perfect, and no amount of effort on our part could change that. Sometimes we see flaws in ourselves, and sometimes other people see flaws in us. We just have to accept that shit happens (I hope to God, not anywhere near the pool) and we can only do so much to fix it.
4. If the pool is dirty, don't go into it. Obviously.
Accepting that you are soaking in water mixed with a bit of pee is one thing, willingly going in a pool that is clearly dirty is something else. Call me stupid, but I love wave pools with every fibre of my being, and one incredibly hot summer day, my cousins and I decided to go down to the water park and attempt to cool down. When we got there, we found out that the entire city had the same idea, and the wave pool ended up being more people than water. From afar, it literally looked like the scene from World War Z where there were literal waves of zombies. The water was just disgustingly murky and there were a lot of unmentionables floating about, but my child-self couldn't walk away from the wave pool and I ended up itching so bad for multiple days and got scars and rashes. As much fun as I had at the wave pool that day, it just wasn't worth it.
Don't do something knowing you're have a substantial problem with it. Be it sticking with good-paying job when you know you're slowly developing alcoholism from dealing with soul-sucking co-workers, or going on a "spiritually-fulfilling" backpacking trip when you know you're gonna end up in debt. Putting yourself out of your comfort zone is a great thing, but do it smartly. Obviously.
5. For everyone's sake, shower before going in the pool!
I will admit, I didn't know this until I started going more regularly, but showering before going in the pool is actually really important! A good chunk of the impurities in pool water is actually not from pee, but is actually from the dirt from people's skin that just mixes in with the water right as we all, basically take a communal bath together. Just shower, guys. With soap please, or at the very very least, drench yourself before going in. Please.
This point was mostly made because I want people to understand that you have to shower before going in a pool, but it's also good to mentally and emotionally cleanse yourself before you go about on your day. Don't hold on to the negative thoughts you had the day before and carry it into a new day. It is not gonna do you any good, and it could possibly be affecting other people as well. Feel clean, from the inside out.
