The cold pool is only cold for about thirty seconds. Then it’s just swimming.

Cold water shocks you for about half a minute, then your body adjusts and it turns into an ordinary swim. Most of the dread gets spent standing on the edge with one wet foot, stretching out the worst part while you negotiate. The negotiating is the suffering; the water itself is brief.

Put the same clock on the small dreaded things this week: the phone call, the first day, the awkward message. Count to three and begin, then notice how fast it becomes normal. Standing there longer has never once warmed the water.