PVC Mental Strategy 11

95% of swimmers spend their entire careers in “achievement mode,” meaning they achieve the first thing, then the second, then the third, and on and on. For example, they swim 1:10.0 in the 100-freestyle, then 1:05.0, then 1:00, then 55.0. The same thing happens with hundreds of other activities that constitute the sport of competitive swimming.

While achievement mode is the backbone of peak performance in all sports, there’s another equally important one, used by the swimming elite. It’s known as the “acceptance mode,” where swimmers accept the fact that their relentless strivings have resulted in a level of mastery. For those unfamiliar with the term, it means superiority over something or someone. The reason why the “acceptance of mastery” is essential is that by doing so, swimmers grow exponentially in confidence. Achievement mode builds confidence incrementally, while acceptance mode blows the roof off!

Your challenge in this strategy is to identify areas in your swimming where you’ve achieved master status. It could be something as simple as getting out of bed on time for morning practice, or more advanced like the Underwater Travel Sequence in the butterfly turn.

Now is not the time to be humble, so scour your brain and come up with as many examples as possible. Five or more would be a good start, ten or more, better, and greater than fifteen, excellent!