Navigating Life’s Currents: One Important Lesson from Open Water Swimming

I'm training for my first Olympic-distance triathlon, and because I didn't swim growing up in NYC, I've been focusing on my swim technique in an indoor pool. Swimming in open water is a new experience for me and a few weeks ago, I went for my first one-mile open water swim.

After overcoming the initial jitters of zero visibility and irrational shark attack fears, I aimed for a building on the horizon and started my freestyle stroke, breathing every two strokes. This is where I learned firsthand why sighting — lifting my head to check my course — is so crucial.

I'd tried sighting a few times in the pool, but it always seemed to mess up my stroke rhythm. Since I felt I was swimming straight and wanted to cover more distance smoothly, I didn't sight until about ten minutes in. When I finally did, I was shocked at how off course I was. I had wasted a lot of time and energy not making much progress. I ended up needing to sight every few stokes just to stay somewhat on track.

Reflecting on this, I saw a parallel with pursuing goals in life.

My Takeaway: Sight Often to Avoid the Illusion of Progress

In both swimming and life, it's surprisingly easy to get caught up in immediate tasks that we lose sight of our true goal. Are your efforts directed towards reaching your objectives or are you just so busy that you don't realize that you're swimming off course? Are you aware of the currents in your life that may be pushing you unexpectedly sideways and adjusting early enough to ensure you're still on track?

Sighting in open water involves briefly lifting your head out of the water to check your alignment with a distant marker. It's a deliberate act that ensures you're heading in the right direction. Similarly, in life, we need moments of reflection and assessment. Regularly stepping back to evaluate our progress against our long-term goals helps us course-correct before we drift too far off course.

Take a moment to sight right now. Look at the emails in your inbox or check the meetings on your calendar this week, and ask yourself whether or not what you're doing is leading you to where you want to go. Just as in swimming, regular sighting can keep you on track, ensuring you reach your true destination in the shortest possible way.