The Trick is to Leave it Open

Last night after my swim a man in the pool asked me if this was my only exercise. "I also like to take long walks to Harris pond with my dog," I said. "That's important for experiencing distance and it's social too but swimming is the secret to my life. I could preach about it," I said.
"I can tell you love the water. I loved the water as a kid. Now I need the water because I do construction," he said.
"You'll get back into it but you have to be gentle with yourself. I still have to trick myself every day to get here. I tell myself 'just put on your bathing suit and get your toe wet, or just do one lap.' I have to make it a super achievable goal. This is true for so many things in life, just play one song, just write one sentence, just swim one lap and you win." The man smiled. "It has to be an outrageously achievable goal and it has to really be okay to stop after that. I want to come back again tomorrow and the only way to do that is to make it a pleasant experience, and a liveable one. Like I said, I can preach all day about swimming."
"That's okay," he said.

"Swimming is good for the sinuses, it can help tamp down allergies, you'll get fewer colds, it lifts or tames moods, dispels anxiety. It's hydro-psychotherapy! It's good for posture, breathing, it's like meditation, yoga, and tai-chi all wrapped into one," I said. The man nodded in agreement. "Yes I've noticed that about my sinuses too," he offered.

"Swimming is never a bad thing. Actually it's only bad when I ruin it by trying to control it. I used to tell myself I had to swim a mile, or an hour or whatever and if I did less than that I went home feeling like a failure. That was awful. "Some days I feel as though I have been swimming a long time and I am surprised to see only ten minutes has passed," he said. "I know, it varies, it depends on perception and mood," I said.
"Okay, I'm going to swim my one lap now," he said. I said goodbye and left.