You’ll Never Regret a Swim

by Jenna Pastuszek

As a storyteller, I’m drawn to good stories.

And so I loved my coach, Peter Shepherd’s, recent story on The Long and the Short of It about how and why he got to 100 days of swimming in the ocean.

You see, his mum (as they say down under), Meron, proudly displayed a magnet on their family’s refrigerator which read: “You’ll never regret a swim”. And Pete never forgot it.

Unfortunately, as a landlocked dweller, I can’t really relate to the whole living by the beach and casually popping into the ocean every day for a few laps. But I love Meron’s intention behind the mantra. I love the reminder that there are a few things in life which may seem difficult at first or like a huge anxiety mountain to conquer, but when you sit down or stand up or drive or walk to do said thing, you ALWAYS feel better afterward.

One of those, for me, is singing. I always feel better after I do a warm up and sing music that I love.

Another is going on a daily walk. Not to go anywhere specific, but just to walk about and look at things. I’ve fallen in love with this practice in quarantine.

And my favorite is getting lost in a book. I went through a dry. spell. in 2020. Couldn’t pick up a book, a magazine, anything that wasn’t my phone from March until the end of December. And then I picked up this and this and have been devouring things ever since. Even absorbing a small paragraph or a quick page before bed helps me drift off into dreamland and wake up feeling more curious to start the day.

What’s your version of “You’ll never regret a swim”?

PS- There’s still time to sign up for Pete’s REVEAL Lab which starts next Monday! I’ll be there co-piloting the ship.