1. Passion– You don’t want to swim or dive just for the sake of swimming and diving, or because your friends do it, or because you just want to win. You want to compete because you love it, and you’re passionate about it. If you truly love swimming and/or diving, then it’s not going to seem like work for you, it’s going to be enjoyable. Boris Becker, German tennis player, says “I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I Love to play.” He’s saying no matter if he wins or loses, he ultimately loves playing tennis, and that mindset probably helped him because one of the best tennis players of his time. So it’ll help you be a athlete.
  2. Courage– Having courage helps you feel comfortable taking risks, which is not always the easiest thing to do because sometimes taking risks leads to failures which can cause criticism and self-doubt. But courageous athletes don’t mind the risk of failure, instead, they take risks anyway and try everything they can to make sure that risk is going to lead to success. Michael Phelps stated “so many people along the way, whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can’t be done. But all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, with belief, with confidence and trust in yourself and those around you, there are not limits”.There is always going to be a seemingly endless list of things that could happen if you were to take a risk. That is why it is a risk, but courage means that you are going to ignore the potential negative outcomes and try your best anyways. You need to have courage to really go for it and do something great!
  3. Vision– This means that you literally have the vision of what you want for the future and how you plan on getting there. You’re able to create a long-term goal for yourself, and then set smaller goals to help you work your way up to the long-term goal. Also, literally using visualization is a great tool to help with this. A lot of the Olympic athletes use visualization right before they compete, and it helps them get focused. Muhammed Ali, the infamous boxer, has a quote saying, “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something deep inside of them: a desire, a dream, a vision.” And he’s right, having the vision for what you want in the future is going to help you develop the mindset you need to make that vision a reality.
  4. Resilient– Resilience means that you are able to bounce back after a mistake, or setback, or adversity. And a setback could be something as small as a not running your best time or something big like coming in last at every meet. But, being resilient means that you’ll still be able to succeed after you’ve experienced those setbacks. A good way to put this one is to think about the old Japanese Proverb that says, “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” It literally means even if you face a challenge, don’t let it stop you. And, even if you overcome that challenge and then face a new one, don’t let that stop you either. There will always be setbacks and we need to be ready to face them head-on. 
  5. Confident- To stay confident in yourself, just focus on all the good things about you and your abilities. If you dwell on past mistakes or shortcomings, then you won’t feel confidence in yourself. Instead, focus on the positive things. Stan Smith, a professional tennis player, says, “Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.” And that’s very true. You could put in countless of hours in practice and training and know all the skills you need to succeed, but if you aren’t confident in your skills and abilities, then it’s not going to mean as much and you might not be as successful. Always be confident about your skills and in you ability to improve.

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Category: Swimming