The Power of a TEAM
“It is purpose that created us, purpose that connects us, purpose that pulls us, that guides us, that drives us; it is purpose that defines, purpose that binds us.”
I have spent almost every weekend from the beginning of May until the end of September on the beach in Dover since 2007. Every now and then, someone asks me why I do that. The answer is simple. It is a privilege. I love to see returning swimmers come back and I love to meet new, often a little nervous, swimmers. As the season progresses and swimmers achieve their training goals and prepare for the BIG goal, so does their confidence. In a way it’s like you grow taller right in front of me. I watch you disappear off for the big day and come back a different person. What’s not to love about that.
There are a few things that make this possible:
The power of a well defined goal
Trust in the process
Athlete mindset
Stretching your comfort zone
The power of team
A well defined goal
If you have a strong and compelling ‘why’ this will keep you going on days when you’d really rather stay in bed.
Trust the process
When training you’re not just training your muscles, you’re also learning the very process that you’ll adopt on the big day. Furthermore, when you’ve put the training in, a phrase that I find useful in training or on the big day is ‘Trust the training’. I like to remind myself that with good quality training comes fitness and with fitness comes the ability to push through if and when the going gets tough.
Adopting an athlete mindset
I’ll cover this another time, but for now, I’ve observed that those who adopt the mindset of an athlete enjoy more success than those who adopt the mindset of a participant. Among other things, an athlete does what it takes and makes some sacrifices whereas a participant likes to be comfortable and balance a number of priorities.
Stretching your comfort zone
When you undertake anything new and significant you inevitably have to venture out of your comfort zone. It’s the only way that something that you previously found difficult becomes normal (and it will become normal!). By doing this, your comfort zone grows and much of what you need to do on the big day becomes normal before you even put a toe in the water.
The power of a team
‘Solo’ is an interesting term. Whilst you may be the only person in the water, it is far from a solo event. The same is true of a relay, there may be only one person in the water at a time, it is a team that gets you across.
In a way we are like small children. We watch all that is going on around us. We listen to the stories that others tell. All of this helps us understand the art of the possible. Even if it seems like something that we can’t currently believe could be true for us. If I were to ask a new swimmer to do something that was outside of their comfort zone and outside of their perceived limits of what is possible, there is a chance that their own limiting beliefs would hold them back. By being in a team of like minded people, suddenly we find ourselves achieving things that we didn’t know that we could. We see that happen week after week.
Being in a team brings accountability. When you train on your own it is easy to miss ‘just this one’ training session as no one would notice. ‘Just one’ training session can become a few or a pattern and suddenly you’re not doing the training you need to do. Being in a team means that someone will notice that you’re not there. Someone will care that you’re not not on track.
When I was swim guiding on a training camp in Croatia, I also saw the power of a team when one swimmer was struggling and shared that struggle with me and the team at a feed. The team rallied round and helped them through the rest of the session. At least one of the team was battling their own demons at the time and helping someone else helped them to put their own demons to one side. At the same time, another person recognised that if they got out early that it might start a domino effect of others getting out. They chose to stay in to help others with their goals, and by doing so achieved their own goal. All swimmers achieved their goals that day. You can imagine what the outcomes would have been for any one of these swimmers had they been training on their own.
Let’s harness the power of the team this season. Be prepared to share your demons. Be prepared to help others. Be prepared for other to help you. Together we are stronger.