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You Are Going to Practice for the Wrong Reasons

(This was originally sent out to my newsletter list; if you haven’t signed up yet, it’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime.)

Here’s a thought for ya…

Whether to yourself or to someone else, how many times have you said, “I have to go to practice”?

A lot, I bet…

But why do you have to make it to practice?

Because coach will be mad if you don’t?

Or because you have work to do on your goals, things you desperately want to accomplish?

Does the “have to” come from ambition, or does it come from obedience?

If going to practice feels like a chore, if it feels more like work than an opportunity for greatness, than you are showing up to practice for the wrong reasons.

You show up to your workouts because coach expects it. Your parents expect it. You show up to practice because you’ll get in trouble if you don’t.

Not because you expect it. Not because you are invested in your training. And not because there are things you want to achieve in the pool.

Go to Practice Today Because You Have to Achieve Something Great

Your Why…

What’s your why for swimming?

If you are showing up to practice solely because you have to, and not because you want to, of course it will begin to feel like work.

Like drudgery.

And that type of discipline (but really, is it discipline if you are being continually coaxed into doing something? Sounds more like obedience to me…) might keep you going for a while, but lack of passion trumps everything.

Remember…

Disinterest will win out over *discipline* every time.

You Are Going to Practice for the Wrong Reasons

Get serious about what you want to achieve in the water..

Put some thought into what you want to do at the pool.

What do you want to achieve?

What kind of amazingness is chilling dormant within you, just waiting to be ignited?

Will you “have to” be great in the water today?

The featured image for this post was shot by Neil Hodge, a talented photographer based out of Victoria, BC. You can check out his work by visiting his Facebook page by clicking here.

About Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer and the author of the books YourSwimBook and Conquer the Pool. He writes all things high-performance swimming, and his articles were read over 3 million times last year. His work has appeared on USA Swimming, SwimSwam, STACK, NBC Universal, and more. He's also kinda tall and can be found on Twitter.

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