Recognizing Fear

I am continuing to talk with my team about our end of the season performance and give them tools to use as they get closer to the our championship meets.  My last post talked about our beliefs and how what we believe is true influences what we can and can't do. 

Fear is also a big reason that we end up coming up short of our full potential.  I don't think that there is anyone that says they don't get scared before a big race, or an exam, or whatever situation life throws our way.  Fear is real, and it is not going to go away, however we can get better at recognizing it and dealing with it so we can have a better chance to reach our full potential.

I am sure there are more, but here are the 4 biggest fear mechanisms that get in our way.

1.  "I don't care anymore," "It doesn't matter," and "Whatever."  Who hasn't said this when it comes down to crunch time, getting the last few reps in, or fully committing to the process.  Unfortunately, this is too easy to say, and start believing when things start to get difficult.  Sometimes it can even be "cool" to act that way.  This is a big fear mechanism we use all too often to take the easy way out.  It is way easier to "not care," than to finish the race the way we hoped to and our brain knows that.  When you feel these thoughts and words coming out, re-visit your goals, understand what your mind is trying to do, and think back to what is important to you.

2.  False Expectations/False Evidence.  This is just using bad logic.  How many of us have heard or used the "I'm not a big meet swimmer, I have a bad feeling, I knew this was going to happen."  This is when we are searching for an excuse even before anything happens.  There have been great performances under many conditions and circumstances.  When you get that "bad feeling," recognize that it is fear creeping in and get some positive thoughts back in your head.  Don't try to use bad logic to talk yourself out of your goal.

3.  What are you REALLY scared of?  A lot of times we go into a situation scared about the wrong thing, which get's in the way of what we really want to do.  For example, the 400 IM is a scary race for most and many swimmers will get to race day and be terrified of the 400 IM and there will be thoughts of "will I finish, I'm going to die, it's going to hurt, among other things."  All of a sudden the 400IM goes from just being a tough race to an unbearable race.  If you look back to all the time spent training, that same swimmer swam many 400IM's and sets in practice that were probably just as painful, longer, and they did them without question and it was not even that big of a deal.  So it's not the 400 IM that's scary, it's the situation.  In this case, realize that you are not scared about the 400IM, rather all the things you can't control.  Have a game plan, and execute the game plan.  Everything else will take care of itself and is out of your control.

4.  Past does not predict the Future.  Don't let past failure OR success dictate what will happen this year.  Just because somebody beat you last year, does not mean the same thing will happen this year.  Just because you swam well last year or didn't swim well last year, doesn't mean the same thing will happen this year.  Every year is different, life would be very boring if nothing unexpected happened.

Recognize your Fears and deal with them.  It is OK to be scared, be strong enough to deal with them and you will reach more of your potential.

Matthew 6:34  "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of it's own."