On the recent broadcast of www.deckpass.com there was some interesting dialogue on age group swimming, Gary Hall Jr, and yes my hero, Jack LaLanne...
Okay... not to digress, but... Sullivan's breakthrough was from technical improvement, not an increase in power output... just an observation.
Jack LaLanne is my hero...
If you swim for fun, you'll always be a winner! Keeping the focus on personal improvement is a great way to hold the "passion" without making comparisons to others. That concept of winning, only being the absolute freaky best, that concept is dysfunctional. If you are in the water regularly, you'll always be a winner; you can feel great about what you are doing.
Swimming is a unique experience, and mastering the water is a joy.
Keeping the focus on personal improvement is a great way to hold the "passion" without making comparisons to others. That concept of winning, only being the absolute freaky best, that concept is dysfunctional.
This is an interesting comment to me, because I certainly agree with the idea of personal improvement and I'd speculate that most world class swimmers are swimming against their own times. I do, however, feel there's a place for the desire to "be the absolute freaky best," and do not find that desire inherently dysfunctional. I think the problem arises when a swimmer/competitor allows that desire to steer the direction of their thinking and focus, i.e. they obsess with the competition and stop focusing on their own improvement, and worst case situation, look for ways to "cheat" or sabotage their competition.
But, many competitors in sport and life are of the racehorse mentality, in that they perform better when they have someone to chase. I myself enjoy competition and use it as a vehicle for self-improvement. I don't enjoy losing a race, but if my time improves then that's great and hopefully I'll get the opportunity to race the person who beat me in a year's time.
:bouncing:
Keeping the focus on personal improvement is a great way to hold the "passion" without making comparisons to others. That concept of winning, only being the absolute freaky best, that concept is dysfunctional.
This is an interesting comment to me, because I certainly agree with the idea of personal improvement and I'd speculate that most world class swimmers are swimming against their own times. I do, however, feel there's a place for the desire to "be the absolute freaky best," and do not find that desire inherently dysfunctional. I think the problem arises when a swimmer/competitor allows that desire to steer the direction of their thinking and focus, i.e. they obsess with the competition and stop focusing on their own improvement, and worst case situation, look for ways to "cheat" or sabotage their competition.
But, many competitors in sport and life are of the racehorse mentality, in that they perform better when they have someone to chase. I myself enjoy competition and use it as a vehicle for self-improvement. I don't enjoy losing a race, but if my time improves then that's great and hopefully I'll get the opportunity to race the person who beat me in a year's time.
:bouncing:
