I'm been swimming since I was 19. I've competed in local, regional, and national masters meets since 1989. This past season I've noticed that I've really lost my desire to swim. Part of this may have been caused by not being able to afford the trip to Nationals this year in Hawaii. And last year I experienced much of these same feelings and my performance at Nationals (Santa Clara) was horrendous. Any suggestions on how I can get excited again?
Parents
Former Member
Greets, Michael!
Here's my $.02, take whatcha want, discard the rest :)
Swimming is a life-long sport. You can take a break from it and try something new, and you can come back to it at any time.
I have found that the shelf-life of most of my intense sport interests tends to be about 4 years, and then I get antsy or stuck in a rut, and I need a change, or I feel like I'm being a bad example to the new people in the sport.
I don't feel bad leaving a sport behind for a while, because the best ones are just like swimming - you can always go back. I personally place higher importance on enjoying my sport than in the physical or tangible rewards I receive from it.
What are your priorities in sport and life in general? Is "to be happy" a higher or lower priority "than to acheive"? Where does "to be healthy" fit in?
Maybe it's time to ease up on the swimming - take the summer off and do a different sport that massages your body and your mind in a different way. Come back in the fall and see how the pool makes you feel then.
The key thing is if you go too long at something you're not getting enjoyment out of anymore, you'll burn yourself out and the "not enjoying" can turn to "hating", which takes longer to recover from.
Jill
Cdn Masters Swimmer
http://www.somechickslife.com
Greets, Michael!
Here's my $.02, take whatcha want, discard the rest :)
Swimming is a life-long sport. You can take a break from it and try something new, and you can come back to it at any time.
I have found that the shelf-life of most of my intense sport interests tends to be about 4 years, and then I get antsy or stuck in a rut, and I need a change, or I feel like I'm being a bad example to the new people in the sport.
I don't feel bad leaving a sport behind for a while, because the best ones are just like swimming - you can always go back. I personally place higher importance on enjoying my sport than in the physical or tangible rewards I receive from it.
What are your priorities in sport and life in general? Is "to be happy" a higher or lower priority "than to acheive"? Where does "to be healthy" fit in?
Maybe it's time to ease up on the swimming - take the summer off and do a different sport that massages your body and your mind in a different way. Come back in the fall and see how the pool makes you feel then.
The key thing is if you go too long at something you're not getting enjoyment out of anymore, you'll burn yourself out and the "not enjoying" can turn to "hating", which takes longer to recover from.
Jill
Cdn Masters Swimmer
http://www.somechickslife.com
