sport psychology

Per usual, Ande has some wonderful tips. I'd like to comment on this one, because my understanding of this concept has evolved over the years and maybe a retelling of that will provide insight for someone else. When I was an age-group swimmer the coach told us, "to achieve something, you have to believe that you can achieve it". He sent some of us to a sports-psychology seminar where we heard the same thing. I remember the seminar speaker telling us that you cannot skip training while you go around believing that you will achieve some fast time and expect to swim that time in a meet, but believing you can swim that fast time is an essential prerequisite to achieving it. That all sounds good, and the salient details are there, but I didn't appreciate what "believe it" really means. What I think I have come to understand better over many years is that, at least for me, I have to have a valid basis for the belief. A valid basis consists of things like: knowing that you train harder than your key competitor; knowing that you usually swim x-6s in your event in a meet where x is your time in practice, and then regularly throwing down y+6 in practice where y is your goal time; knowing that you can swim y+6 in practice on a bad day, so that you know you can swim y in a meet regardless of whether you have a good day or not; knowing that your feet won't slip on the wall because you have swum in the competition pool and know the wall is grippy; knowing that your breakfast will provide energy without weighting you down, because you have eaten the same breakfast before many hard practices and it has always worked well for you. So yes, I think "you need to believe it to achieve it," but at least for me, it is essential that there be concrete foundation of that belief. It's not about telling yourself, "I can do this." "Belief" is not only in the higher thought processes, but a deep instinctual understanding that your body can cash that check your mind is writing, which comes from knowledge that you have the capability and demonstrating it to oneself, over and over and over again. In Ande's quote, "may" and "really" are not inconsequential words. On: Most say "I'll believe it when I see it." but the truth is "You'll see it when you believe it." you wrote: "I have to have a valid basis for the belief." that is true, you need to have proof, you need to know, you need to accept it, you need to have the ability. If your best 100 free is 1:30, all the positive thinking in the world is unlikely to get you under 1:00 in a short amount of time. That's why you MUST SWIM FAST IN PRACTICE. What ever you do and measure improves. Small leaps are possible, if you want to break 1:00 in a meet you need to be reasonably close in practice. YES, your belief must be based in reality. It needs to be a small leap from what you've done in training. You must be within striking range. You need to do the work and hopefully you'll get the result you want. But who am I to say what is possible for you or anyone else.

Per usual, Ande has some wonderful tips. I'd like to comment on this one, because my understanding of this concept has evolved over the years and maybe a retelling of that will provide insight for someone else. When I was an age-group swimmer the coach told us, "to achieve something, you have to believe that you can achieve it". He sent some of us to a sports-psychology seminar where we heard the same thing. I remember the seminar speaker telling us that you cannot skip training while you go around believing that you will achieve some fast time and expect to swim that time in a meet, but believing you can swim that fast time is an essential prerequisite to achieving it. That all sounds good, and the salient details are there, but I didn't appreciate what "believe it" really means. What I think I have come to understand better over many years is that, at least for me, I have to have a valid basis for the belief. A valid basis consists of things like: knowing that you train harder than your key competitor; knowing that you usually swim x-6s in your event in a meet where x is your time in practice, and then regularly throwing down y+6 in practice where y is your goal time; knowing that you can swim y+6 in practice on a bad day, so that you know you can swim y in a meet regardless of whether you have a good day or not; knowing that your feet won't slip on the wall because you have swum in the competition pool and know the wall is grippy; knowing that your breakfast will provide energy without weighting you down, because you have eaten the same breakfast before many hard practices and it has always worked well for you. So yes, I think "you need to believe it to achieve it," but at least for me, it is essential that there be concrete foundation of that belief. It's not about telling yourself, "I can do this." "Belief" is not only in the higher thought processes, but a deep instinctual understanding that your body can cash that check your mind is writing, which comes from knowledge that you have the capability and demonstrating it to oneself, over and over and over again. In Ande's quote, "may" and "really" are not inconsequential words. On: Most say "I'll believe it when I see it." but the truth is "You'll see it when you believe it." you wrote: "I have to have a valid basis for the belief." that is true, you need to have proof, you need to know, you need to accept it, you need to have the ability. If your best 100 free is 1:30, all the positive thinking in the world is unlikely to get you under 1:00 in a short amount of time. That's why you MUST SWIM FAST IN PRACTICE. What ever you do and measure improves. Small leaps are possible, if you want to break 1:00 in a meet you need to be reasonably close in practice. YES, your belief must be based in reality. It needs to be a small leap from what you've done in training. You must be within striking range. You need to do the work and hopefully you'll get the result you want. But who am I to say what is possible for you or anyone else.