Counting to three at the edge of the pool for ten minutes isn’t being careful. It’s just a really long count.

A countdown that keeps resetting is not preparation, it is the sound of deciding not to go. The purpose of counting is to hand yourself a moment where the decision is already made, and repeating it removes exactly that. Ten minutes of almost is more tiring than the jump.

Let the next three be the real three. Move on it whether or not you feel ready, because the feeling was never going to arrive at the edge. Afterwards you will not remember the cold, only that you went.