When looking under the hood of the mindset of an elite swimmer, you’ll see the usual suspects:
- Mental toughness
- Coolness under pressure
- Big, greasy goals
But one of the more underrated skills is an ability to be honest with yourself.
Tom Jager, 7-time Olympic medalist and 6-time world record holder in the 50 freestyle, had this absolute beauty of a quote:
“You have to be an honest individual to reach the very top of anything,” he said. “If you’re going to train yourself, or if you’re going to do a set that’s descend, or if you’re going to do a set that’s all out, your success depends on how honest you are with yourself.”
Swimming is unique in that way. While there are competitors in the next lanes, there’s no opponent in a physical sense. No one is boxing you out, wrestling you, or forcing an effort out of you.
It’s you, the black line, and the water.
Which means your progress depends entirely on your ability to be honest about what you are doing in the pool.
- When the main set says “fast” are you going fast, or pulling your punches?
- At the end of each rep, are you floating into the wall or finishing head down and on a full stroke?
- If it’s on you to do a make-up practice on the weekend, do you show up and put in work or mail it in?
Set the standard, put a process in place to stay accountable to it, and use that chlorinated accountability to swim fast when it matters.
Source: Olivier Poirier-Leroy
olivier@yourswimbook.com
More: Mindset Matters
