Sisyphus, Newton's Laws, Goal Setting and Swimming Fast

Sisyphus, Newton's Laws, Goal Setting and Swimming Fast

If you have ever studied or read mythology at one point or another you have come across the story of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was punished by the gods by having to push a stone up a hill and have it roll back down for all eternity. Let's translate this into a positive swimming lesson where the top of the hill is your goal and pushing the rock is your physical, emotional and mental effort. There are three things we can learn from Sisyphus' situation that will lead us to swimming success: Focus on the Process and Understand Newton's Laws and Learn to be Comfortable with Discomfort.

1. Focus on the Process

When the focus is on pushing that performance rock up a hill the size of Mt. Everest the task appears impossible and you can become easily discouraged. BUT when value and confidence are derived from pushing the rock to the next break in the path or taking another step forward it becomes manageable. One of the greatest things you can do at the start of the season is set your performance goal and then focus on the process of how to get there. Put effort into the process of improvement: getting your feet over fast on every turn, consistently kicking for an entire workout, streamlining and underwater dolphin kicking off every wall, finishing every repeat fast, finishing every set fast, giving everything you have at every practice, and attending every practice. If you constantly invest in the process of improving, the task of pushing that rock up to your monster goal it will be a lot more fun and you will swim faster!

2. Understand Newton's Laws

Newton's 1^st Law states a body at rest will tend to stay at rest and a body in motion will tend to say in motion. Simply put the steeper the slope and the closer to the top more effort is required to move the rock a smaller distance, and keep the rock in the same spot YIKES! What does this have to do with swimming? There are some things everyone needs to consider as you push your performance rock to the top of your mountain. Count the Cost-- know how much effort it will take to get there, always include 25% extra effort as a buffer. Duration of Effort-- you will need to push consistently hard and keep pushing hard for longer than you think to get to that goal. Be ready for it to take longer than expected. Understand Inertia--you will have to keep pushing equally hard just to stay at the same spot, or like Sisyphus your rock will roll back down the hill. Think about it, the greatest swimmer of all time Michael Phelps had a stretch of nearly 4 years without a best time in the 200 Fly before breaking his own World Record. Understand the physics of your goal, and the effort it's going to take to get there and stay there.

3. Learn to be Comfortable with Discomfort

The reality of Focusing on the Process and Understanding Newton's Laws means learning to be Comfortable with Discomfort. Swimming is the type of activity where one constantly needs to be uncomfortable to progress to the next level. This applies to both physical, emotional and mental effort. Your attitude while you are pushing that performance rock is just as important as how much you can sweat while pushing it. Here is a tip, as you focus on the day to day grind look up once and a while and remember how passionate you are about that ultimate goal then put your head back down and be compelled by the power of your dream. At that moment the discomfort of the moment will often fade into the background and allow you to mentally and physically move forward toward your goal.

As we begin the 2025 Summer Season set your goals high. Anytime we as a TEAM can work together to achieve something great, that effort will never be wasted. It's not about the color of the medal it's about always being able to learn something from the process and d