Comparing
Yourself To Faster Swimmers
Good or Bad?
One
of the worst things (for self-confidence) and one of the best things (for
improvement) is to regularly compare yourself to better swimmers in your own
team or squad. Yes - I know this doesn't seem to make sense, so let me explain.
Laura
Broadbent, a swimmer with Stratford Kinsmen Y Aquatic Club in Ontario Canada
asked me about this recently, and the answer is that comparing yourself to
others can be a 'double-edged sword' - meaning it can be good OR bad for you,
depending on your personality type. Swimmers who may be a little low in
confidence may only drive their confidence down further by comparing themselves
to the faster swimmers in their team, whereas the more competitive types often
thrive and improve even faster by doing this. It all depends on what type of
person you are and your level of confidence in your own ability.
It's
important to work out which category you fit into, as otherwise you may be
tearing down your confidence each time you are beginning to build it up again. I
must say that the majority of swimmers I have worked with have generally been
far better when they simply worked upon improving their own PB's - as this keeps
them focused upon their own performance and off their competitors'. This fits in
with my philosophy of 'focus upon the goal, not the obstacles' - but this is not
to say that you couldn't be in the other category - it is up to you to work this
out for yourself. One sure way of knowing is if you find yourself obsessing
about other swimmers' times, this is a sure sign that you should bring your
focus back in upon your own swims. However, regardless of which category you
belong to - never, ever allow your competitors' performances to dominate your
thinking - your prime focus should always be your own lane, and your own swim.
Otherwise, you may find your own performance is beginning to suffer due to lack
of mental focus and attention - and this often occurs with overly-competitive
swimmers. These swimmers often want to win so much they almost try to will their
competitors to lose rather than focus upon their performance - and this simply
does not work.
Your
mind requires a very clear goal to act upon (to give you the result you want)
and so if your goal is totally focused upon another swimmer, your subconscious
mind's role in your swim is basically rendered useless - as it cannot directly
influence another swimmer's race. This
means that even the highly competitive swimmers (who thrive on trying to beat
their team mates and competitors) focus upon what they are doing, and then they
check out the other swimmer's times later.
The
more you know about yourself, the better a swimmer you will be - so it's worth
discovering which motivations which bring out your best, and use them to your
advantage.
"The
Mind controls the body, and the mind is unlimited".
The best of success, Craig Townsend