How Good Habits Can Transform Your Swimming and Promote Success
Habits have the power to transform many different aspects of your life.
And the patterns you form right now have the power to impact your health, wellness, and even your performance in the pool. Therefore, establishing a foundation of healthy habits can greatly benefit your swimming
So why waste time going through the motions or building bad habits?
The Power of Habits
Think about the first thing you did this morning. You most likely woke up at the same time you always do, brushed your teeth, made your bed, and drank your morning coffee in the same pattern you do every day.
The reason you did this is because, as humans, we are creatures of habit.
Even though it might seem like most of the choices we make every day are products of well-considered decision-making, they’re not. They’re habits.
Although habits can seem relatively insignificant on their own, over time they have the power to influence the things we do, and the ways we think in enormous ways.
When motivation and willpower are at an all-time low, you can rely on your habits to inch closer to your goals.
Even the most successful athletes in the world cannot simply tap into their motivation whenever they feel like it. After all, it is impossible to stay motivated at all times.
So, when it comes to a sport that can become as monotonous as swimming during a grueling season, those habits start to matter even more. I mean, they really start matter.
Forming Good Habits in the Pool
Fast swimming is the sum of good habits.
It’s as simple as that.
The sheer amount of time you spend in the water perfecting your strokes and technique is enough to create patterns, whether they are unintentional or not.
Therefore, to transform your swimming, you have to be aware of the habits you already have, and you have to be intentional about the ones you create.
In order to form good habits, you have to refrain from trying to change too much all at once. You cannot change your pre-competition diet, your stroke, the number of dolphin kicks you do, and your meditation routine all at the same time. It’s just not possible, and you would be setting yourself up to fail.
You should instead focus on implementing smaller changes that you can practice during training. For instance:
I am going to do three dolphin kicks off of every wall at practice today.
When we are given the opportunity to choose a stroke, I am going to work on butterfly for the next week.
I am going to pack a healthy snack to eat before practice every day this week.
You also have to avoid fixating on a goal or result. You have to trust the process and understand that all your small changes will eventually add up to make a big difference. This means that you are going to have to commit to performing certain behaviors in the pool or in your pre-race routine, rather than to achieving a specific goal or reward.
For example, instead of saying:
I want to get my futures cut in the 100 breastroke by the end of the season.
You would be better off saying,
I am going to make it a habit of reaching the 15-meter mark every time I do an underwater pull-out at practice.
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In the end, good habits work.
They help you keep track of your training, and they keep you accountable.
They also have the power to keep you motivated, even when you don’t feel it.
So, I challenge you to see how good habits can elevate your swimming.
Because after all, they really do work.
Love this piece.
Habits > motivation.
Also, greatness chooses you if you have faith in the small things and repeat it (habit) over time.