Swimming Is a Battlefield of the Mind

As I prepare for the triathlon in October I have come to realize that some people are swimmers and others are not and this can create major mental barriers to overcome.

If you learned how to swim competitively like Jessica, then jumping in the pool and doing a few laps is no big deal. I on the other hand, have been struggling to swim properly without exerting tons of energy. Jessica is like a fish, she can jump in and keep swimming without exerting tons of energy.

This comes with learning to do anything properly that you will struggle as you develop new muscle memory. Many times we cheat ourselves by not doing our new activity the right way. We often give up and say, "Well, I am just not a swimmer." If we don't give up, we mentally beat ourselves up. When this starts to occur you are no longer focused on learning, but you have entered a battle field of the mind. The battlefield of the mind will now be the hardest thing to overcome, not learning a proper swim technique will take a backseat to the wars in your head.

If your trying something new in your life continue to keep pushing through the mental barriers and overcome the self defeating thoughts. Yeah, you may not have developed an early muscle memory for proper swimming technique, but with patience, time, and discipline you will overcome the negative, self defeating thoughts that will allow you to be a swimmer.