When I was in high school, swimming was my best sport. I still remember the first time I saw Gary Hall, Jr. swim. I was a freshman and he was a senior. We were at the hallowed grounds of the Plummer Aquatic Center at Arizona State University in Tempe. Gary Hall, Jr.’s father was an Olympic swimmer and Gary Hall Jr. would one day join that class. In fact, Hall would go on to win ten Olympic medals. I had never seen anything like Hall in a pool before. At 6’6” and probably 225 pounds, Hall looked more like a linebacker than a swimmer. In the water, his body rose above the water higher than anyone else’s, seemingly buoyed at his hips by an invisible force. He swam freestyle with a hitch, almost strutting through the water.

I was mesmerized: Hall wasn’t just the best swimmer in the pool. He was so cool. (I know what you non-swimmers are thinking “Cool in a Speedo? C’mon! My low standards for cool probably just show you how uncool I am.).

I remember returning back to Tucson and trying to emulate Hall’s hitch in my own stroke. You would be correct to assume that it didn’t magically propel me to the top of the water. Frankly, I’m sure I just looked stupid.

Four years later, I would be a decent swimmer in my own right. I would never get anywhere near as good as Hall, but every year I shaved more and more time off and would eventually be able to compete with the very best in Arizona.

Do you know how I got better? Hard work. Long practices. By refining my stroke with my coach.

Do you know how I didn’t get better? By trying to look cool.

Isn’t it amazing how much the lure of looking cool can have on us? Most of us expend a tremendous amount of energy trying to gain credibility in our circles. From the style of clothes we wear, to the type of car we drive, to the music we listen to, to the people we spend time with, we offer a lot of ourselves in order to be perceived as cool.

Just to be clear, what “cool” is varies greatly. You might think you’re off the hook because you don’t care much about what you wear or drive, but how about your political opinions? Are they influenced by what you fear others will think of you? How about the books you read? Do you read certain books to gain credibility? Do you feel pressure to watch certain shows because your group is into that show? I know people who use a specific brand of journals because of the perceived cache of the brand they use. Most of us are susceptible to this trap in one form or another.

Two of the greatest female swimmers of all time happen to have two of the least cool looking strokes ever to grace a pool. When Janet Evans retired in 1996, she held seven world records. But to the end, Evans looked like she was thrashing her way through the water more than gliding. Katie Ledecky has managed to surpass Evans’s incredible career. Ledecky has broken fourteen world records and is considered by most to be the greatest female swimmer to ever live. Similar to Evans, Ledecky’s stroke is more wooden than graceful, her power seemingly coming more through force of will than technique.

I’ve observed an older gentleman at the gym. He’s an interesting guy. He’s always chewing gum and he has a unique way of riding the stationary bike, with his arms crossed across his chest. He may not be trying to look cool, but it seems to me that he might be. There’s something else I’ve also noticed about him: I’ve never seen him out of breath or sweating hard. He seems to be working so hard to preserve his image that he isn’t accomplishing what he probably wants to accomplish: improved fitness.

Coolness has so little worth. The sooner you can dispense with running after it, the better. Coolness will be an obstacle to hard work, self-improvement, authentic living, and spiritual growth. Whatever you do, don’t try to look cool.

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Photo by Zachary Kadolph on Unsplash