Form

There’s a guy in my apartment building who comes out to the pool everyday to swim, sometimes pretty early in the morning. I know this because often times I am woken up at 7 or 8 (or sometimes 6) am by the sounds of splashing and gasping coming from my south facing window. Being nosy, I peak out my blinds and there he is doing his laps. Now I’m no swimming expert, but I can at least tell this gentleman does not have the best form. It looks like a mixture between a breaststroke and a doggy paddle. Despite that he is out there (almost) every morning for 10-20 mins going back and forth, and to me having that kind of discipline is admirable.

For some things form is everything. You have to always make sure you are doing an “exercise” correctly so you don’t learn bad habits for it or, in the case of some physical exercises, so you don’t injure yourself. For other things, the practice and discipline itself is the most valuable part of it. In an ideal world, one could and should prioritize both, but in the mean time focusing on one or the other is a good place to start.