How to Worry Less and Embrace the Setbacks

Frustrated with setbacks in the pool? Here are some tips for improving your ability to embrace setbacks and swim faster.

Swimmers tend to be highly committed and driven.

The demands of the sport make this a requirement.

We stack the early mornings from an early age, invest long weekends at away swim meets, and train mercilessly all year to shave tenths of a second in races that mostly last under a minute or two.

This type of commitment means we are often the hardest on ourselves when things don’t go our way.

Some of the biggest hits when it comes to setbacks include:

• An unexpected injury sidelines us during the most important stretch of training for the season.
• We experience an unexplainable plateau in the weeks leading up to the Big Meet.
• Swim poorly in competition when every indicator indicates a shiny, PB-busting result.

You know what I’m talking about.

These setbacks can feel intensely personal and disconcerting.

But they can often be just the thing to send us hurtling into new, faster waters.

Here are some things to remember when a setback surprises you, like a get-out swim in the middle of a swim practice on a random Wednesday morning.

Setbacks aren’t weird

Anytime we attempt something difficult or new, setbacks and adversity are going to happen.

Consider them the price of admission; while we don’t want them and don’t envision them when dreaming up a big new goal, they are part of the process.

By normalizing the occasional setback, they lose their motivation-sapping power. Swimmers often imagine a perfectly laid out road ahead of them.

But no matter how clearly you set your goals, build a process for success, and hard you work; something will jump out of the darkness of the deep end and test you when you expect it least.

This doesn’t make you less deserving of the path. Setbacks are part of the deal.

Setbacks are instructional

One of the not-so-secret secrets of elite swimmers is that they are exceptional at learning what it takes to excel.

Instead of expecting things to smoothly and perfectly every day in training (and competition), they use feedback loops in training and competition to learn and improve.

“Failing at something is the best way to learn what it takes to succeed at it. Failing to make the Seoul Olympic team was the beginning of my success, ironically enough.” – Summer Sanders

For example, with a good swim practice, they reflect on why the workout went well and seek to replicate those circumstances in future training sessions.

With a bad swim practice, they learn from what went wrong and seek to limit those circumstances the next time they hit the water.

“Things won’t go perfect. It’s all about how you adapt from those things and learn from mistakes.” – Michael Phelps

Same goes for competition: Racing provides swimmers a unique opportunity to learn where they came up short in training.

By learning from your setbacks, not only do you lessen the odds that this particular setback will afflict you again, but you also learn firsthand what success takes.

Setbacks are fuel

Setbacks are often highly demoralizing in the moment. They can shatter confidence, arrest momentum, and make us want to give up.

After all, you’ve put in so much work only to watch the odds of success slip from your grasp.

Once that initial wave of discouragement washes over you, it’s time to use those setbacks to fuel the comeback!

Injured your shoulder? Get to work strengthening your core and kick to build devastating lower body fitness.

Disappointing race? Soberly assess where you can improve and build a plan to attack points of weakness.

Bad swim workout? Put together a process for conquering your next swim workout.

Setbacks can feel like a kick to the chlorinated bottom, robbing us of progress and confidence, or they can launch us to new levels of performance in the pool.

The Final Lap

Setbacks have another interesting benefit: they increase the value of your overall journey in the pool.

Sure, it would be great if things went perfectly from the time the season starts until the moment you sail into the touchpad to see a new PB and number one beside your name at the Big Meet.

The added effort and resulting hard-earned success that follow periods of adversity add depth to what is already a meaningful goal.

This season, be the swimmer that uses adversity to their advantage.

Ready to take your mental game to the next level?

Swimmers frustrated with underwhelming performances on race day and want to conquer their mindset will love Conquer the Pool: The Swimmer’s Ultimate Guide to a High-Performance Mindset.

Written with the feedback of 200+ Olympians, NCAA champions, and head coaches, the book is the complete blueprint for an unbeatable mindset in practice and training.

From learning how to build a killer pre-race routine to everything you’ll ever need to master pre-race nerves, Conquer the Pool gives swimmers the tools to swim with total confidence on race day.

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