Why Not?

BY LEXIE LUPTON

Reposted from swimswam.com

Regardless of how talented, fast, or experienced, there may be one common area where swimmers struggle – self-doubt. Whether during practice or behind the blocks, we sell ourselves short by thinking we are not capable of reaching our highest potential. Self-doubt can creep into your head when you least expect it. For example, being given an interval or goal time that seems unattainable and your mind is already thinking “There’s no way I can do that.”

I myself had developed this negative habit without even realizing it. One night at practice, I dramatically argued to my club coach that I would NOT make the first swim on the intervals I was given. It took only one challenging question back to snap me out of my self-doubt. My coach simply looked at me and tested, “why not?” I quickly realized that I didn’t have a reason why besides that I considered them “too fast”.

Hard work isn’t all it takes to achieve your goals. You have to 100%, without doubt, believe that you can do it. Once I realized I was holding myself back by writing off the practice as a failure before trying it, I decided to buy into it and ended up making those times. From then on, I began to ask myself “Why not?” every time I felt self-doubt surfacing in my mind. 

It’s crazy the things that can happen when you set your mind on a goal and not let your confidence waver. Of course there will be times where you fail, but you gain more by trying and failing than never trying at all. The only way to get better both in the pool and in life is to take the risk of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.  Thankfully, I had a coach that was willing to call me out and push me in the direction that I needed to go. Since moving on to college swimming, I have carried that phrase with me in everything I do.

So from now on, before shying away from a goal you deem too big, challenge your self-doubt and ask yourself “Why not?”

What Meditation and Mindfulness Have to Do With Mental Toughness

by Dr Alan Goldberg of competitivedge.com

There is a tendency in the world of sports to be “tough” and put on a brave face no matter what, to push yourself through obstacles with force, and to keep yourself moving because the alternative of slowing down might mean that you’re “falling behind.” But the problem with that full-speed-ahead approach is that it’s bound to burn you out in the long run, and it’s not going to help you mature as an athlete.

Real Mental Toughness requires slowing down both physically and mentally.

Many of the techniques I teach, such as controlling your eyes and ears, staying focused in the NOW, and emphasizing the process over the outcome are a unique way of applying the concept of mindfulness to sports. But if you really want to grow as an athlete it’s helpful to understand the broader definition of mindfulness and apply it to life both on and off the field so that you can benefit in multiple ways.

So what is mindfulness?

If you’ve ever time-travelled in your head and got distracted with thoughts while your body was doing something on autopilot then that’s a good example of what mindfulness is NOT, and what it aims to address. When “the lights are on but nobody’s home” so to speak, you are not doing whatever it is you’re doing to your full capacity.

If you’re in practice and thinking about how you really need to win the next game, how embarrassed you are about some mistake you made in the past, or how you’re failing chemistry then your concentration will suffer because your body and mind are in two separate places. Mindfulness helps bring the two back together so that you have more focus, clarity, and are able to perform better.

It’s a concept rooted in the Buddhist tradition that basically asks that you bring more conscious attention to what you’re doing in that moment. Whether you’re brushing your teeth, having a laugh with family, or stretching pre-performance, being mindful means keeping your thoughts only in that action rather than allowing them to wander elsewhere.

Let’s take the example of stretching. Doing it mindfully means fully feeling your body with a quiet mind. If it helps you can “think” about how a certain muscle group feels when you’re stretching it, imagine tense areas relaxing, and really appreciating how your body allows you to engage in a sport you love. That’s it. If you start to think about other things then just bring your attention back to the stretch, no need to self-criticize for those wandering thoughts, just bring your attention back and continue with the mindful action. Try mindfulness when you do other things too, like walking, eating, playing with your dog, etc.

The more you get in the habit of doing all sorts of things mindfully the easier it will be for you to access the concentration necessary to reach peak performance when it’s crunch time!

Now here’s another practice that will improve your performance: meditation.

Stay with me here, this isn’t woo-woo stuff, I’m not asking you to dance in the forest and go on a shamanic journey. Meditation is a scientifically proven effective strategy that helps increase mental functions, lower stress, and even improve resilience to adversity. And if I’m not enough to convince you then consider this: some of the most successful athletes like Kobe Bryant, Joe Nameth, Arthur Ashe, Barry Zito, Lebron James, Derek Jeter, and many others meditate. It worked out pretty well for them so you might as well give it a try!

Meditation is both incredibly simple and very difficult at first. Here’s what you do: sit and do nothing!

You can start with 5 or 10 minutes every day, and choose a time of day where you can do it consistently. Mornings tend to be best but you should prioritize consistency, so if you’re not a morning person then try afternoons or evenings. Sit down on a cushion on the floor or in a chair, close your eyes, and just focus on your breathing. That's all, just focus on your breathing. Without altering your breath in any way, feel the breath come in and then the breath go out. If there's a pause between breaths, notice the pause. As thoughts come in, label them, "thinking," and immediately bring your focus back to your inhale and your exhale.  Use a timer so you don't have to keep checking the clock.

Mental Toughness is all about training your mind and these techniques will go a long way in helping you reach a new level of performance.

10 Ways Fast Swimmers Think Differently

by Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Fast swimming starts with your mindset. Here are 10 ways elite swimmers think differently.

If you ask any Olympic coach what the defining characteristic of elite swimmers is you will be told, “it’s their mindset.”

Fast swimmers possess a state of mind that is above-and-beyond that of the swimmers who talk about success and yet never chase it with any kind of conviction. (Hereafter referred to as the “slow” swimmer.)

The way they battle through setbacks. How they approach challenges. How willing they are to go the extra mile. Their ability to set goals, make a plan, and stick to it. These are the things that merge to form the mindset of an elite athlete.

Here are 10 ways that the mindset of fast swimmers is different to that of the slow swimmer:

1. Fast swimmers look to improve at practice, while slow swimmers go to get it over with.

Does this mean that fast swimmers don’t rue early mornings? That they love it when coach writes up 10x400m IM best average on the whiteboard?

No.

But they use those early mornings and those tough sets as opportunities to get better, to become better swimmers. For others, it’s punishment, a chore, simply something to be endured.

2. Fast swimmers know they have to risk it to win it, slow swimmers stay in their comfort zone.

There is no guarantee of success. Ever.

Even for Michael Phelps, arguably the most gifted swimmer of our lifetime, he still had to work hard to get to where he was, and even then, there were times where he still wasn’t the fastest swimmer in the pool.

Knowing this isn’t a deterrent for the fast swimmer. But it is for the other guy/gal.

3. Fast swimmers will do extra, slow swimmers will do simply what is required.

For those who aren’t as talented, or aren’t as physically gifted as the top swimmers in pool your talent must become hard work and tenacity. And this means doing extra.

Going beyond what is asked. They understand that exceptional results only happen with exceptional effort.

For your neighborhood slow swimmer, they will do the bare minimum and still expect out-sized results.

4. Fast swimmers have goals, slow swimmers have wishes.

They have the big, shiny goals. Just like everybody else. But more importantly, they have benchmarks and mini-goals that they set for themselves along the way in order to keep themselves focused over the course of a long season of training.

Other swimmers make wishes, and think to themselves how nice it would be to accomplish them, if only they had the time or energy to do so.

5. Fast swimmers are accountable to themselves, slow swimmers make excuses.

The top swimmers in the sport know that at the end of the day they only have themselves to blame if they come up short. And because they are willing to accept responsibility for their swimming, both the good and the bad, they own their performances.

Slow swimmers look everywhere else but the mirror when things don’t go well. It’s the competition’s fault. It’s coaches fault. It’s the pool’s fault.

6. Fast swimmers work through setbacks, slow swimmers give up the moment things aren’t going their way.

The swim season is long. You don’t need me to tell you that. The grind is vicious, and it is unforgiving. Through it you will experience setbacks and failures. Some large, some small, some under your control, some not.

Fast swimmers accept this as part of the process, simply things to be overcome. Slow swimmers view them as proof that they aren’t going to succeed, that difficult means impossible.

7. Fast swimmers act in the moment, slow swimmers wait for things to be perfect.

Given how limited our window of opportunity is to achieve great things in the water it is a wonder that there isn’t more urgency in the way we act.

Fast swimmers don’t wait until they feel like it, or when the mood strikes them—they act with controlled urgency.

Slow swimmers, on the other hand, sit around waiting for that ideal moment that never seems to come.

8. Fast swimmers prioritize their training and preparation, slow swimmers hope it comes together for them at the big meet.

Yes, for most training is hard. Really hard.

But it’s where those best times, records and gold medals are carefully sculpted and developed. Fast swimmers understand the importance of their training, and rank it accordingly within the priorities of their life.

The slow swimmer, on the other hand, cruises through training, swimming inconsistently, doing half the work, and then expecting to be able to perform at a high level when it comes to race time.

9. Fast swimmers focus on steadily improving, slow swimmers expect big time drops in time to happen overnight.

There is a special type of patience and faith that fast swimmers have with the process of becoming great.

They know that the result they want is built slowly. They understand it takes time, it takes patience, and to believe and know that their efforts will pay off down the line.

The slow swimmer expects to see a violent and rash improvement after a couple solid efforts, and is irreparably disheartened when it doesn’t happen.

10. Fast swimmers contribute to a culture of winning, slow swimmers expect the culture to only work for them.

Being successful in the water is a lot of fun. Seeing your hard work pay off is rewarding. And when you have a group of swimmers who are all interested in seeing the group succeed, support each other in practice and keep each other accountable to the goals of the team, you are going to end up with a lot of fast swimming.

The slow swimmer, on the other hand, solely expects the team to support him or her. They show up to practice, complain about the sets, grumble about the workout, and create a type of cancer within the team that diminishes the team’s chances for success.

Reposted from www.yourswimlog.com