How not to be obsessed with swimming

Swimantabuse? For what it's worth, I think swimming obsessions actually reduce the other kinds of obsessions. And unless your swimming obsession makes you unhappy (mine doesn't; if anything, it makes me happy), then a case could be made that we obsessives may not be able to cure ourselves, but with luck we can channel our mindset into something that's actually pleasant to obsess about!

Swimming is a magnificent obsession and adds years to your life, so you get back all the time you spend underwater. :)

I agree, Puff. Swimming can be extremely important to some, and there is nothing wrong with that whatsoever. In general, the word "balance" makes me cringe. Obviously, life requires balance because there many different components that all clamor for our time. However, balance and moderation in all things can be frightfully dull and unrewarding. There is nothing wrong with a magnificent obsession. If it makes you happy to immerse yourself in something -- swimming or whatever -- no reason not to do so, if you're not neglecting other responsibilities. If it means you take less classes or watch less TV, is that really a loss? I've had to cut back on other hobbies/interests to accommodate competitive swimming in my life. Right now, I'm perfectly happy with that trade off. Doesn't mean I'll always be, but I can regroup and refocus anytime I want. Obsession flat out beats variety for me. The "chop wood and carry water" analogy is great, Puff! Mr. Fort is currently sidelined, for the first time in his life, with an injury and can't run. It's absolutely horrible for him.

I agree. Might as well be obsessed with swimming instead of something bad. :coffee:

Isobel, How are things in boston? How not to obsess? Obsessive people, obsess. Quit now before you're in too deep, Don't socialize with masters swimmers in person or online. If you're new you'll go through the "honeymoon phase" Join a great USS team, train in the distance lane, won't take long for you to burn out Train with a team, by a coach, so you can just show up, do what you're told then leave & get on with your day If you train alone it takes some thought because you need to plan what to do that day My interest in swimming has changed over the years. Remember "there is a very fine line between “hobby” and “mental illness.”" Have a busy life and other interests, if all you have is swimming, you'll think about it (obsess) when you're away from the pool. It's impossible to tell yourself to not think about swimming. That's like saying "don't think of the color blue." Obsession isn't so bad, that's how people become great. They focus their minds and bodies. If you don't want to think about swimming so much (obsess less) then fill up your life, calendar, & mind with other stuff. Ande

There are two sides to every coin. Thomas Paine: "A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." Or, you can go with Yeats: "I balanced all, brought all to mind, the years to come seemed waste of breath, a waste of breath the years behind, in balance with this life, this death." But in the end, it comes down to Santayana: "Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it." Which is to say, you have to decide. Americans have gotten into a bad habit of waiting to be told what is right or correct, abdicating personal critical thinking. Jefferson is spinning in his grave. :bitching: Rant off.

Which is to say, you have to decide. Americans have gotten into a bad habit of waiting to be told what is right or correct, abdicating personal critical thinking. Jefferson is spinning in his grave. :bitching: Rant off. Interesting that you mention Jefferson...at the entrance to UVa's aquatics center (which also has weights, etc, for the students), there is an engraved saying of his to the effect that two hours daily of physical activity is necessary for a healthy mind. "Give about two of them every day to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong." wiki.monticello.org/.../Exercise Of course it bothers me to no end that I am giving UVa (or "Jefferson's University" as they so ponderously proclaim) kudos for anything. My wife, a William and Mary alum, is quick to point out that Jefferson actually attended HER alma mater...

Isobel, Don't socialize with masters swimmers in person or online. Remember "there is a very fine line between “hobby” and “mental illness.”" Ande You make me laugh! Don't socialize with masters swimmers. ha ha ha ha. They are my favorite people, most of them. Boston is fine. Some other obsessive people are running 26.2 miles today (I think that's the conversion). You couldn't get me to run a block, or "uno cuadro," to reflect otra curiosidad que me gusta mucho. Hay mucha gente en Boston que habla espanol; hablo con ellos cuando they will let me. Not a good idea to talk about your "tricks" with Spanish-speaking strangers on the bus. (I have this great trick where I fold a quarter in a dollar bill and toss it over the tracks at Park Street T Station to the street musicians. One night I did it and suddenly all these tourists were handing me quarters and dollar bills to toss over over the tracks for them. Very difficult to describe in bad Spanish without giving wrong impression. "El truco" finally one guy said who had been pretending to look out the window but was actually listening.) I swam by myself yesterday and then went sailing. I need to learn my vectors. Kept going up and down the river not IN to the dock. The wind was blowing straight off the dock so the guy at the boathouse told me it would have been tough for anyone to get in. I managed to dock without crashing, an accomplishment. The teenagers at Community Boating love me; it took me 14 times to pass my helmsman test, kind of a record! And the windier it is, the more they encourage me to go out, then I think they time me and take bets as to when I will go over. Boston is chilly. I love Boston. I love how it looks. I love blizzards more than swimming. There: I love blizzards more than swimming! We haven't had a good blizzard in three winters. I may have to move to Calgary.

Apologies up front for my heresy, but swimming isn't important. Keep it all in perspective, and focus on what makes you happy. I swim because it keeps me healthy and I like my team mates and that makes me happy, but other than that, it's meaningless in the big sceme of things. Until pretty recently, I had this mentality too. If a colleague or friend asked about my swimming, I'd often end the story with something like, "It's just swimming," or, "It's just for fun. No big deal." What made me start to question the "it's just swimming" mentality was when over the past few years several close friends and contacts of mine were diagnosed with different life threatening illnesses and/ or serious injuries (certainly life changing events). Some of these friends are still fighting the battle and others have succumbed to the illness or injury and are no longer with us. One common link among all these individuals was that they were determined (and they desired desperately) to get in the pool for another swim or another bike ride or another meet/ competition. They would alter their life and schedule (and often treatment) to make accommodations for just a swim. Often, one of the first questions out of their mouths was, "When can I swim?" Take Marin Morrison for example. She was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2005. However, even after the diagnosis, she was determined to keep on swimming and competing even while the right side of her body was paralyzed and it was difficult for her to speak. With the support of her family, friends, and medical team, she met a dream to swim in the 2008 paralympics games. Although she finally passed in 2009, family and friends dressed in caps and goggles during her memorial to celebrate "Marin's last swim." Swimming or biking became a MAJOR life priority in addition to being with family. So my question is, is it really meaningless in the big scheme of things? Perhaps, but now I'm not so sure. While reading this thread I can't help but think of the saying "Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water" referring to the art of Zen living. Perhaps for some of us, swimming is our "chop wood and carry water." Deceptively simple. Yet extremely important and meaningful in the big scheme of things.

I agree, Puff. Swimming can be extremely important to some, and there is nothing wrong with that whatsoever. In general, the word "balance" makes me cringe. Obviously, life requires balance because there many different components that all clamor for our time. However, balance and moderation in all things can be frightfully dull and unrewarding. There is nothing wrong with a magnificent obsession. If it makes you happy to immerse yourself in something -- swimming or whatever -- no reason not to do so, if you're not neglecting other responsibilities. If it means you take less classes or watch less TV, is that really a loss? I've had to cut back on other hobbies/interests to accommodate competitive swimming in my life. Right now, I'm perfectly happy with that trade off. Doesn't mean I'll always be, but I can regroup and refocus anytime I want. Obsession flat out beats variety for me. The "chop wood and carry water" analogy is great, Puff! Mr. Fort is currently sidelined, for the first time in his life, with an injury and can't run. It's absolutely horrible for him. Sorry to hear about Mr. Fort Leslie. I hope it's nothing too serious and that his time away from running is minimal. When I had to have eye surgery a few years back and the doctors nonchalantly told me that "there is a risk of blindness," I literally swam through my anxieties and fears. I was fortunate to be able to swim up to the day of the surgery. In retrospect I think that I was so determined to swim as I really recognized that each session could be my last. Without swimming, I was very concerned that I would resort to more self destructive activities which shall remain nameless given my current heightened anxiety levels.