HUMANS 101

Why Ignorance Is Bliss When You’re the Underdog

How underdogs chase progress, not perfection

Photo by Elise Wilcox on Unsplash

“Are you just learning to swim?”

That’s what a stranger asked me while I was joyfully swimming in the Pacific Ocean.

I laughed and replied. “Oh — am I that bad?”

I told him I’d been practicing open water swimming regularly for the past two years and I was surprised by his comment. He told me he was a swim instructor and offered a few tips. He watched me swim a few strokes and provided feedback on my technique.

“Well — you’re not horrible.”

Although he was friendly and meant to be helpful, the comment was a killjoy, and it made me question my swimming technique.

“The most oblivious people are often the happiest.” — George Meyer

Before I trained for my first-ever triathlon race at age 51 this year, I was oblivious that I wasn’t as strong a swimmer as I thought I was. I later learned I was slower than average, but I didn’t expect to be the slowest swimmer in my age category and the second slowest swimmer out of 255 racers. I was out of breath every second lap, my technique lacked grace, and swimmers glided past me until the pool was quiet and nearly empty.