By Wayne Goldsmith
And now…introducing the World Swimming Champion (Insert your name here).
Imagine that.
Everywhere you go – for the rest of your life – being introduced as the “World Swimming Champion”.
At your old high school as a guest speaker at a special event…”Ladies and Gentlemen, World Swimming Champion (insert your name here)”.
At the end of year awards celebration at your junior swimming club…”Ladies and Gentlemen…our very own World Swimming Champion (insert your name here)”.
Go ahead. Try it on for size.
“World Swimming Champion Steve Jones” or “World Swimming Champion Katie Peterson”.
Feels good doesn’t it.
Now let’s look at how you can go about turning this dream into reality.
World Swimming Champion – it starts here.
1. Think like, talk like, act like you already are the World Champion.
First thing in the morning, ask yourself, “what would the world champion do?”
Would they laze around in bed, waiting until the last possible moment to get up and go to the pool or would they jump up as soon as the alarm goes off, pick up the bag that they packed themselves the night before, grab a piece of fruit and head out the door as soon as possible to give themselves every possible opportunity to prepare for a great workout?
In most cases you already know what it would take to be the world’s best swimmer – but you choose not to do it.
Becoming a world champion means making choices – hard choices – that few people in the world are prepared to make.
Most people choose comfort over challenge. Most people choose the easy path instead of the path that leads to excellence.
What will you choose?
2. See the swimmer you want to be – to be the swimmer you want to see.
Visualisation and imagery techniques really do work. There’s a lot of research – and millions of real-life stories about athletes who’ve dreamed about being successful – and who would “see” themselves standing up on the top of podium years before it actually happened.
Your brain is a marvellous performance enhancing device. If you dream about, think about, talk about and believe that you will be the world swimming champion, it is more likely that when you need to make hard choices about training, getting enough sleep and eating the right foods etc, that you will make them.
The clearer your mind can see your vision for success – the more likely it is that you can and will achieve it.
3. Ask more of yourself – than anyone else does or can.
Being the best in the world means thinking things, saying things and doing things no-one else has done or can do. It’s about thinking differently and thinking different things.
It can mean setting your training goals, your repeat standards and your practice targets higher than anyone else has ever done – or anyone else can even imagine.
Being the best means attempting the impossible every day in training and never giving up on it until it becomes possible.
It’s about doing one more than anyone else is prepared to do.
It’s about doing it faster with less rest and in tougher conditions.
It’s about setting little goals and challenges in everything you do that makes even the simplest training activity something special and something which progresses your path to world championship glory.
If you ever get a chance to talk to or watch a world champion workout, you’ll be left thinking “Man – I just can’t believe they can do that” and “Wow – did you see that kick set. I can’t believe anyone can do that so fast”.
And that’s the issue.
No one can believe what it is a world champion does and can do. Except them. And that’s all that matters.
Photo Courtesy: Maria Dobysheva
Are you ready? Your journey to becoming a World Swimming Champion starts……..now.
It all starts with a dream. A thought. A spark. A spark which becomes a fire that burns inside you and motivates you to do things that you never thought possible.
Then it takes a serious commitment.
Not a “I wish I could be….” type commitment or a “I hope I can be….” type commitment but a real commitment: “I will be the best in the world and I’ll get there because I will train to the best of my ability every time I get in the pool”.
Then it comes down to living excellence. Living a lifestyle which embraces excellence in everything you do – in and out of the water.
Being the best in the world is not for everyone – but for those with the motivation, the drive, the determination, the passion and the desire to stand on the podium – knowing – that at that moment – of the billions of people living on this planet – no one is better at doing what you do – the rewards are beyond measure.
Wayne Goldsmith
Come and Meet the Author: Wayne will be at this year’s ASCA World Clinic in Cleveland, OHIO.
He will be delivering a keynote presentation on the Soft Skills of Swimming on Friday September 11th 2015, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Soft Skills and Coaching Swimming: Turning Swimmers into Complete Athletes – (motivation, self-confidence, mental-toughness, commitment and other topics).
Later on the same day, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm he is presenting a session called The Business of Swimming: Your Top 10 Questions Answered.
Wayne will also be presenting a special seminar on Friday September 11th: 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm Special Seminar with Coach Wayne Goldsmith, Australia. This seminar is strictly Limited to FIRST 30 Registrants!
