Here are 10 things I learnt from swimming over the years:

1) Preparation is the game.

You learn quickly that you cannot “fake” aerobic fitness. You cannot “fake” muscle strength. You have to put in the repetitions, before you get rewarded with results. In other arenas of life, you can take shortcuts. You can cheat on a school test or you can put a filter on an Instagram picture. But with the human body, you can’t. That is humbling.

2) Swimming is meditation.

You are floating through a clear transparent cool medium. Alone with only your own mind. Almost in silence. Sometimes, you are thinking. Other times, you zone out and leave your body on auto-pilot. It feels cleansing. It feels therapeutic. Physically and mentally.

3) That satisfactory high.

That good feeling you feel after a hard main set. It almost feels like a hypnotic state. That feeling is your endorphins. Your body’s natural chemicals released to create a sense of euphoria and pleasure. Like many other emotions it is hard to put into words, but when you feel it you know.

4) It keeps you out of trouble.

Swimming training is an uncompromising commitment and a rigid schedule. There is not much room to stray from the straight path. And that is a good thing. My hunch is that in your teenage years, its more important to stay away from negative influences than to necessarily be around positive influences.

5) The practice of dealing with disappointment.

I am still learning how to deal with disappointment. But I am a lot better than when I first started. Sport creates a micro-environment where you get to experience small doses of ecstasy, satisfaction, disappointment, suffering in quick cycles. And you get to practice coping with each.

6) Shared suffering creates strong bonds.

Psychology studies say that “One of the surest ways to build strong bonds between human beings is through shared suffering”. It seems counter-intuitive but I have experienced it first hand. All through history, shared suffering has played a deep role in bonding groups.

7) Vulnerability creates even stronger bonds.

I think we spend so much of our day with our “mask” on, projecting an image of ourselves we want others to see. I feel that stripping away all those layers is cathartic. Physically and psychologically. When you have nothing to hide is when you build camaraderie within a group.

Cathartic: providing psychological relief through open expression, leading to renewal and restoration.

8) Learning to grapple reality.

Every young swimmer’s dream is to become an Olympian. Early on, that dream is available to everyone. That changes with time. You have to learn to contend with that shift in direction and desire. Learning to grapple reality and change directions is a necessary life skill.

9) Having a secret identity.

Identity is the universal struggle of everyone growing up. Before we evolved to think independently, I feel our identity was largely defined by what school we belonged to. Being a part of the swimming club and community added a new dimension to my identity. It felt like a second alternate world. And at many stages of my life, I identified with that more than regular school.

10) The ultimate equaliser.

When every competitor is standing on the starting blocks, everyone is effectively equal. All differences – in race, ethnicity, religion and color – are muted. Every advantage or disadvantage you might have in life is stripped away. The only deciding factor is performance. It is as close to an even playing field in life as you will find.