When It Comes To Swimming, Be Selfish

I was always taught to treat others like how I wanted others to treat me. While this is true, in the sport of swimming and in life, you have to be selfish if you want to survive the grind. Being selfish doesn’t mean that you have to be rude to people and become self centered. Being selfish means that you come first and whatever you need to do in the pool or anywhere else to further your level of training should be your first priority.

If you train at an elite level, you know that helping yourself has to sometimes take priority over helping others to achieve their higher level of training. If you need your coach to look at a certain aspect of your stroke or need them to do pace work at meets, do not be afraid to ask them. If you have to stay 10min after practice or have to quiet down your teammates because you are going to take a nap, don’t be afraid to do it. Take advantage of every single opportunity as it comes to you.

At the end of the day, it is up to you to make yourself a better swimmer.

However, be aware of how you approach yourself to your teammates and other swimmers. You can be selfish, just make sure that when talking to your teammates, you don’t come off as rude or inconsiderate of others. There is a difference between taking responsibility of your training versus taking away from your teammates’ training. Be courteous and polite. If your coach is working with someone, just let them know that you would like them to work with you after. In this way, every swimmer can take ownership on what they have to get done in the water while still being considerate of other swimmers’ training.

What a lot of swimmers fear the most is staying that extra 10 minutes on deck to stretch or work on turns or coming earlier to practice because they fear what other people will think of them. In reality, these swimmers should envy your commitment to the sport.

The people who are going to get better are those who take the opportunity to do what they have to do to get the job done.

And if these swimmers give you a hard time because you spend that extra time on deck, then it seems that their focus and drive to better their level of swimming is not as great as yours.

The greatest swimmers are those who take care of themselves first and foremost. They know what they have to do to get the job done. They don’t care how other people think of them. As long as they know that what they are doing to get better is working for them, then they are going to keep doing it no matter how others perceive it.

So, do whatever you have to do to make yourself a better swimmer. Take charge of your training because it is you that makes the difference between a good or a great swimmer.