sport psychology

Is this a can of worms I see before me? :) I guess we could have another 'lane', the mental lane or something? Anyway, Dolu, you are about the same age as me, and have been back in masters about as long, maybe a little less. I stopped swimming at 18 as I'd just had enough. I wasn't really enjoying it and put a lot of pressure on myself. It was a tough environment in the UK, because unless you went to the States to college, there wasn't really a good pathway to stay in the sport unless you'd either already qualified for a major championships or were very close. So when I came back into the sport, I promised myself that I'd only compete if I enjoyed it - something I didn't let myself do as a teenager. That's important - appreciate that you're in charge. You set the terms. No-one is making you go swimming any more! I literally, with the benefit of my professional training, set out to cultivate a mindset that I race for fun, and when I stop doing that I stop racing. What does this mean? Everything I do in competition is about challenging myself. It isn't about the medals. They are nice, but they are NOT important. Understand that. We are grown ups with and we do some genuinely important things, like raising children. Swimming is not up there. However, that does not mean that I don't take it at all seriously. I challenge myself to go faster, to defy the ageing process, to lose weight, to train well - and I love to win but this is important: SUCCESS IS NOT DEFINED BY HOW WELL OTHER PEOPLE SWIM. It's defined by how you swim. You can't control anyone else. So training and competing well is about taking care of the PROCESS, then letting yourself go out there and enjoy yourself. Letting go means: It's OK if I don't get the result I hope for If I make mistakes I will learn from them (this is where competition review - in the cold light of day - is helpful) Having a sense of perspective - what other things in your life are genuinely important? Recognising when your mind is on the consequences of your performance, rather than the performance itself. For example - will it hurt, where will I place, what if I lose? None of these thoughts are in the moment. Either put your mind on the process (HOW will swim my race), or perhaps distract yourself with an activity that keeps your mind occupied (could be part of your preparation, but could be reading, doing puzzles, anything). If you find it really difficult to move away from the consequences, or if you find that you are experiencing anxiety to the level that it is really unpleasant and affects your performance, seek help. Remember that some anxiety is normal and is just your body's way of reminding you that you need to be ready to respond to a challenge! Now, you can either enjoy yourself by not caring, or if you care you can help by taking care of the things that impact your performance so that you have the confidence to let go (and let rip) when you stand up on the blocks and just race. I choose to take care of things, and take preparation pretty seriously (more so than the race itself). Notice the difference. So - for confidence: Do you set training goals? These will help build confidence through 'small victories' Do you have a competition plan? Again - nothing helps confidence like knowing you are ready. When you set goals for competition, focus on the process (the components of a great swim), the performance (your time) but not the outcome. You cannot control this - focus on the things that you control. Keep hold of the good memories - from when you have performed well (even trained really well) and replay them Are other people who do the same program doing well? Take confidence from them that you are doing broadly the right things (and if not, change the program!). I'll leave you with this quote, from Ian Thorpe (on his comeback): "I'm more comfortable knowing that, chances are, I'm going to fail at this. I've become comfortable with that."(perspective) "Medals are good but, for us in swimming, times are better because you have very little control over who wins" (care about the things you can control) "The best way to win the nicer-coloured medals is to make sure your process is a lot better than everyone else's. Simple as that. I also don't think you should just limit yourself to trying to achieve this result, because this is what people perceive as being the ultimate." (focus on the process) I hope this helps.

Is this a can of worms I see before me? :) I guess we could have another 'lane', the mental lane or something? Anyway, Dolu, you are about the same age as me, and have been back in masters about as long, maybe a little less. I stopped swimming at 18 as I'd just had enough. I wasn't really enjoying it and put a lot of pressure on myself. It was a tough environment in the UK, because unless you went to the States to college, there wasn't really a good pathway to stay in the sport unless you'd either already qualified for a major championships or were very close. So when I came back into the sport, I promised myself that I'd only compete if I enjoyed it - something I didn't let myself do as a teenager. That's important - appreciate that you're in charge. You set the terms. No-one is making you go swimming any more! I literally, with the benefit of my professional training, set out to cultivate a mindset that I race for fun, and when I stop doing that I stop racing. What does this mean? Everything I do in competition is about challenging myself. It isn't about the medals. They are nice, but they are NOT important. Understand that. We are grown ups with and we do some genuinely important things, like raising children. Swimming is not up there. However, that does not mean that I don't take it at all seriously. I challenge myself to go faster, to defy the ageing process, to lose weight, to train well - and I love to win but this is important: SUCCESS IS NOT DEFINED BY HOW WELL OTHER PEOPLE SWIM. It's defined by how you swim. You can't control anyone else. So training and competing well is about taking care of the PROCESS, then letting yourself go out there and enjoy yourself. Letting go means: It's OK if I don't get the result I hope for If I make mistakes I will learn from them (this is where competition review - in the cold light of day - is helpful) Having a sense of perspective - what other things in your life are genuinely important? Recognising when your mind is on the consequences of your performance, rather than the performance itself. For example - will it hurt, where will I place, what if I lose? None of these thoughts are in the moment. Either put your mind on the process (HOW will swim my race), or perhaps distract yourself with an activity that keeps your mind occupied (could be part of your preparation, but could be reading, doing puzzles, anything). If you find it really difficult to move away from the consequences, or if you find that you are experiencing anxiety to the level that it is really unpleasant and affects your performance, seek help. Remember that some anxiety is normal and is just your body's way of reminding you that you need to be ready to respond to a challenge! Now, you can either enjoy yourself by not caring, or if you care you can help by taking care of the things that impact your performance so that you have the confidence to let go (and let rip) when you stand up on the blocks and just race. I choose to take care of things, and take preparation pretty seriously (more so than the race itself). Notice the difference. So - for confidence: Do you set training goals? These will help build confidence through 'small victories' Do you have a competition plan? Again - nothing helps confidence like knowing you are ready. When you set goals for competition, focus on the process (the components of a great swim), the performance (your time) but not the outcome. You cannot control this - focus on the things that you control. Keep hold of the good memories - from when you have performed well (even trained really well) and replay them Are other people who do the same program doing well? Take confidence from them that you are doing broadly the right things (and if not, change the program!). I'll leave you with this quote, from Ian Thorpe (on his comeback): "I'm more comfortable knowing that, chances are, I'm going to fail at this. I've become comfortable with that."(perspective) "Medals are good but, for us in swimming, times are better because you have very little control over who wins" (care about the things you can control) "The best way to win the nicer-coloured medals is to make sure your process is a lot better than everyone else's. Simple as that. I also don't think you should just limit yourself to trying to achieve this result, because this is what people perceive as being the ultimate." (focus on the process) I hope this helps.