Just Keep Swimming and Forget the Boogers!

It’s inevitable. You get 30 or 40 snotty kids in a pool swimming laps, and there are bound to be boogers floating around. I distinctly remember dodging the nasty little things during countless hours of swim practice growing up. As disgusting as it was, it didn’t stop me. I loved swimming. It was who I was.

The older I get, the more those floating boogers gross me out. So I stopped swimming. And not just in pools. I don’t swim in oceans because a shark could bite off an appendage. And in the lake, I risk an amoeba entering my nose and eating my brain. That just leaves the bathtub. Flip turns are impossible there, so I’m out of luck.

So far this year, a calf injury, back issues and plantar fasciitis have made it difficult to do anything with impact. Swimming is an excellent exercise, especially for individuals with injuries. So, off to the pool I go to face my fears of those icky balls of snot.

Wearing my new reversible Speedo, I stand at the end of the lane and place goggles over my eyes. I take a deep breath and think of two things.

1.         I have the lane to myself. No snotty kids = less chance of floating boogers. They probably aren’t even there.

2.         If they are there, just keep swimming and forget the boogers. They are harmless (Thanks to chlorine!). The only way they can hurt me is if I think about them.

When I’m finished, I remember all the reasons why I love swimming. How could I have let something so trivial keep me from an activity I love dearly?

What “boogers” are keeping you from doing what you love or know is good for you?

Many people say they want to run or work out in the gym, but they fear people will judge them. They don’t want anyone to see them in their spandex worried people will laugh if they run slow. Or they are afraid someone will make fun of them in the weight room if they happen to use one of the machines wrong (for example, the triceps extension).

1.         People who see you running outside are thinking they should be out there, too. And others in the gym are focused on their own workouts, not you. They probably aren’t laughing or even looking at you.

2.         If someone does laugh, forget about them. The only way the opinions of others can hurt you is if you let them.

So keep swimming, keep running, tackle those weight machines and Forget the Boogers!!