The act of being vulnerable is different for everyone. As aquatic athletes, we put a lot of ourselves out for the world to see, and it takes a lot to do what we do every day. Swimming is a fairly\u00a0individualized sport, so however we swim in a given meet seems like a clear indication of how we\u2019ve been progressing in the water \u2013 yet this can easily be a stretch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in a rut and having bad races can be incredibly hard to bounce back from. We don\u2019t talk about it very often, but there comes a point in our career when we question our intentions in the pool. We love swimming with all of our being and couldn\u2019t imagine our lives without it, but we can only handle so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes down to it, we fell in love with swimming for a reason. Sometimes, we can lose sight of ourselves, and our passion gets buried behind bigger struggles. It\u2019s important that we take a step back from reality, redefine ourselves as swimmers, and remember why that little kid deep inside of us picked up a pair of goggles in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are things every swimmer needs to hear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s okay to fail. Just because something didn\u2019t turn out as well as you hoped doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s wasted time. In fact, the only time wasted is that which isn\u2019t spent exploring new opportunities. So yes, you will fall down sometimes and may not do as well as you wanted to do; but, find something good in your experience anyway. Don\u2019t allow you to judge yourself by your times. Focus on a small part of your race or practice that you thought went well \u2013 start small and work your way up. Whether it be underwaters, good break outs or killer turns, there\u2019s always something you can smile about. If all else fails, be proud of yourself for doing what you do anyway and having the guts to keep going, even when it\u2019s hard. That, in itself, is a victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, chances are, you may never truly be. Sometimes, this one is the hardest to swallow. As kids, our dream was to go to the Olympics and swim alongside our super heroes and role models. Seeing them win gold medals and cry tears of joy seemed like a pretty good goal in life for a while \u2013 until reality hits you, and you realize how difficult it is. Because swimming is a sport almost solely based on times and medals, it\u2019s hard to find meaning in yourself when you aren\u2019t on the podium. You push as hard as you can at practice, but sometimes, it just isn\u2019t enough. Not to mention, it\u2019s hard to be happy when your teammates drop time left and right, and you haven\u2019t gotten close to your best time in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what do we do? What do we make of ourselves? We make the most of it; that\u2019s what we do. Just because we don\u2019t add to the points doesn\u2019t mean that we aren\u2019t as valuable. Everyone contributes in a different and unique way, and you\u2019re no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just because you aren\u2019t the best doesn\u2019t mean you aren\u2019t valuable. It can be so hard to see, but everyone on a team has a role, regardless if they put up points. For some of us, there comes a point in our careers where there really is no \u201cfaster\u201d\u2026 But there\u2019s always \u201cbetter.\u201d It\u2019s painful to face the truth and realize that you may never be the swimmer that you always wanted to be, but it takes guts to find your purpose beyond what your goggles can see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes down to it, times do not matter, nor will they matter 10 years from now. What we will remember, however, is the wonderful memories and friendships that we\u2019ve created over time. So sure, you may not add 17 points to the trophy, but you definitely put the time and effort into it as everyone else did. You have every right to celebrate the victory as hard as everyone else does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do not let your times dictate your worth on your team, because your value goes far beyond any pool you\u2019ve ever swum in. Better yourself in a different and remarkable way. Make people remember you for your love, strength and courage outside of the water. Be the best teammate you can be; be unforgettable. Most importantly, be you and be happy. That\u2019s all that truly matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swimming is hard; probably one of the hardest things we will ever do in our lives. We sacrifice so much for the love of our sport. We give up sleep and socializing to be in the water at 4 a.m. We push our bodies past the point of injury sometimes, yet we still keep going. Even if we wanted to, quitting just simply isn\u2019t our vocabulary, because we\u2019d be so lost without the pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless if you believe or not, you\u2019re truly a unique breed in today\u2019s society. Not a lot of people can say that they dedicate their lives to a sport for 20-some hours a week on top of maintaining some sort of life, so don\u2019t let anyone discredit you because you aren\u2019t as fast as others. You work hard every day to be the best version of yourself, and that cannot be compared to anyone else around you. Be proud of what you\u2019ve accomplished this far and continue to aim for improvement, not perfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If swimming were easy, everyone would do it. It\u2019s impossible to be successful in everything you do. You\u2019re going to struggle through a couple of practices, miss some intervals, and add time in your best race. It\u2019s normal, and that\u2019s what makes us human. We have bad days and acceptance is hard to tackle, but it can honestly be one of the most rewarding feelings ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accepting our failures and learning from them is what allows us to improve. Not to mention, it\u2019s undeniable that one of the greatest feelings in the world is having that one awesome practice, killing a great set or getting a best time. Everything becomes worth it for that one moment, and that\u2019s why we continue to do what we do every day. The tough days are what make you stronger. You can\u2019t appreciate a good day in all of its glory without struggling through some of the others. Remember that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, we forget how lucky we are to have what we do. Be grateful for\u00a0everything<\/em>\u00a0in your life \u2013 in the pool and beyond. The only person out there who can hold you back from your dreams is you. Be hungry for more but be accepting as well. You have the opportunity to swim every day with some of the most wonderful teammates. Your coaches are there for you. You may swim for them, but they will do everything they can to help you reach your goals, and they\u2019ll support you every step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve found your niche in your own part of the world, and you\u2019re doing what you\u2019re meant to be doing; don\u2019t questioning it. Embrace it with gratitude and keep going. Enjoy every moment you have, good and bad. Before you know it, what is now the greatest time of your life will be all but a distant memory, so give all you can while you can. It\u2019s worth it for far more reasons than one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The act of being vulnerable is different for everyone. As aquatic athletes, we put a lot of ourselves out for the world to see, and it takes a lot to do what we do every day. Swimming is a fairly\u00a0individualized … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[44,43,22,41,23,46,21],"class_list":["post-1504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips","tag-high-school","tag-mens","tag-rams","tag-sep","tag-southeast-polk","tag-swim","tag-swimming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1506,"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1504\/revisions\/1506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sepramsswim.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}