Don't Fall Into The 'Excuse' Trap
One of the biggest and easiest traps to fall into right
before a big race or event is to allow your mind to create excuses for you.
This is a very
common trap, where your mind basically gives you 'permission' to swim a mediocre
race. For instance, you might find yourself thinking thoughts such as: "I
was sick a few weeks ago, so if I don't swim well, that will be why", or
"my coach told me to taper incorrectly, and so if I lose badly, THAT will
be to blame".
These sorts of thoughts are generally the kiss of death to your chances of
swimming well, and should usually be avoided at all times. Once your mind
focuses upon a reason why you may not swim well, it then programs your body's
performance, along the lines of "it's OK to swim badly". This usually
creates a sub-standard performance. Remember, your mind is the computer which
programs your body's swim, and so the thoughts you are thinking before a race
are the data which is basically 'programming your result'.
Finding someone to blame (in advance) is a classic negative thought before a
race! This comes creates a mindset that says "I'm taking NO
responsibility for my own performance, so if I screw up, someone else is to
blame!" You often hear these 'gripes' after a race is over about "how
everyone else is to blame EXCEPT themselves!", and this attitude gets the
swimmer no-where FAST.
Some of these swimmers even use their excuses to attempt to 'psych out'
their competitors. Often they'll offer their competitors their excuse right
before a race, which is designed to try and reduce the pressure on themselves -
and increase the pressure on their competitors! Unfortunately this negative
tactic can occasionally work in their favour, but the good news is that in
general, excuses simply create bad results. 'Excuse merchants' generally do
NOT become champion swimmers!
There will always be exceptions to the rule, however. Strangely enough I've
found that around 5% of swimmers actually do swim better when they reduce
a little pressure from themselves - and (for this small number of swimmers) an
excuse can actually work well for them (however it's always best not to
'advertise' the excuse, as this can quickly create a bad reputation).
Susie O'Neill used the 'quietly negative approach' for many years with great
success - but she was highly unusual in this way. You rarely (if ever) hear Ian
Thorpe, Inge DeBruijn, Grant Hackett, Lenny Krazelburg, Michael Klim or Gary
Hall Jnr giving excuses for a bad result before a race, they keep their focus
quietly positive and upbeat at all times.
But if around 5% of swimmers benefit from excuses, this also means that a
whopping 95% of swimmers are much better off focusing upon positive thoughts,
rather than looking for 'ways out'. Positive thoughts bring positive results,
and negative thoughts bring negative results, always keep this age-old truth in
mind. You will usually get what you EXPECT - so make sure you expect the best!
The
Mind controls the body, and the mind is unlimited.
The best of success, Craig Townsend