Please can we talk about this - often unhealthy - aspect of our society...

“So, you have all that faff and it takes all that time for about 10 mins* in the water and not much ACTUAL swimming?”

It’s our conditioning to focus on outcomes - sometimes to the exclusion of many other (often more important) factors.

It isn’t that outcomes are bad per se, not at all. 

The danger is, there is SUCH a tendency to focus on the metrics which we have been told matter so we begin to miss noticing the others that could actually really help us, if we focused on them. And we do this because these are the messages that we hear and take in. 

For example - winter swimming…First things I ALWAYS get asked:

“How long do you stay in for?”

“How low is the temperature?”

Barely anyone ever asks “what does it feel like?” or “what’s the best thing about it?”

Sometimes, I WILL talk about these metrics, but they aren’t why I do it. 

Sometimes we seem incapable of valuing things that we can’t immediately measure, or judge, especially in COMPARISON to others’ performance or lives.

And I REALLY do get it. I used to do it all the time, too. And I still do - and occasionally think I could be spending that equivalent time getting ready and being in the water ‘doing’ more exercise that ‘gets me fitter’ or ‘burns more calories’. And that’s because I am conditioned to think this way, too. 

And we live in a world of Fitbits and Garmin watches (I have one!) and Strava and apps and smart gadgets to measure almost everything if we want to.

And we see it with children as they grow and learn…often a hobby is fun and they love it, until they see that they’re not ‘as good’ (whether that is they’re not as fast or talented or skilled at something as others). They often then will say that they don’t like it any more and they stop. The activity hasn’t changed…but their perspective on it has. 

And how often do we get – and stay – discouraged because we’re not ‘as good’ at something?

I’d love it if we could actually SEE or tangibly measure in a really obvious and quick way how we feel in the same way that we can see how strong/fast/skilled/good etc someone is. 

If we could see how SHINY we are as a result of an activity– rather than it being something invisible that we have to make an effort to take notice of. 

Not to compare with others, but so that we could start to focus much more on this obvious and tangible piece.

In fact, as I type, I think I’m going to start adding that into my journal for each day – to rate my ‘Shiny’ for the day or activity, so that I can think how to BE more Shiny if I need it.

So, I’d like to suggest that these usual – sometimes utterly irrelevant – metrics and ways of thinking are challenged by all of us.

Start by noticing how often you do it and think it about yourselves and others – we all do - it will surprise you. 

*when it’s really cold I can’t stay in much longer than 10 mins.

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