This post is inspired by my efforts since January to get fitter, which has meant 3-times a week gymming and swimming. All has been going swimmingly (ahem) and I feel much much better for it. Long way to go, naturally, and it’s something that I treat as just a part of my life now, not  a ‘go for a few months then give up’ type deal. It’s a new ongoing life plan.

So yes, I duly turn up 3 times a week (normally 2 times swim, one time gym), get stuck in, do my stuff, then leave knackered but pleased I’ve achieved something. Swim wise, my normal routine is to now swim a mile each time, which equates to 66 lengths. I’m a middle of the road swimmer, so I’m not quick enough to keep up with the ‘fast lane’ there (I go early when it’s lane swimming) and being in the slow lane infuriates me cause it’s just tooooo slow for me.

You tend to see the same old characters in the pool every time, many of whom have nicknames that I have allocated to them. (Without their knowledge or consent, naturally). Green Goblin (green goggles man who’s highly annoying when he cuts you up and splashes you), Walrus (so-named for his swimming style, and the fact he has more body hair than I thought physically possible outside of the Silverback Gorilla community), Whistler (for obvious reasons, a man that essentially trots up and down the shallow end, barely swimming at all) and Giraffe, a woman that seems so paranoid about getting her hair wet that her head cranes out of the water in a manner I’ve never seen before.

Many of these swimmers have styles and speeds that are not suited to their environments. Walrus, for instance, swims so slow in the middle lane that people in the slow lane are going twice as quick. I’ve had to time my lengths very carefully to avoid him, and at times have had to overtake as it’s just unbearable being stuck behind him, ruining my and other people’s flow. Thankfully Whistler is resident in the slow lane so doesn’t annoy me as much, other than the fact that his whistling is at a pitch that could make dolphins’ heads explode. Green Goblin has learned from numerous swimmer’s (including mine) tutting that he’s better off in the fast lane, as he tended to swim down the middle of the middle lane banging into people. Good.

It isn’t just me who has a problem with the above people, I’ve heard murmerings of many other swimmers who have shown their despair at some of these people who are blatantly in the wrong lane, and I see numerous head shakes and tutting regularly of people looking exasperated, just as I am.

And this got me thinking. It’s the same in the business world. Do you know at what level you’re playing? Are you pretending to be something you’re not, playing in the big leagues where you’re only batting at rookie level? To me, it’s a case of being self-aware at all times, knowing the environment you’re in and making sure you’re not treading on anyone’s toes; and, conversely, making sure that if you’re better than the level you’re currently performing at, change it and perform better.

I suppose the main message is this. Always be self aware, make sure you’re not annoying people and getting in the way of others in an obstructive manner. Know at what level you work – are you the lower end or are you world-class? Whichever you are currently, it’s totally fine to aspire to be something better, just make sure your output reflects that.

And yet another blog post that’s turned into a rant. Am I just a grumpy old man? Jeez. That’s started early in that case. I’m not even 30 yet.