This week is all about the Tokyo Olympic Games. Some athletes will have a great success story to tell, while others will be disappointed by their performances. Unfortunately, the ups and downs are part of what we do.
Winning and succeeding often go hand-in-hand. However, many athletes make the mistake of believing that they need to win in order to succeed. Winning feels good, but it isn’t always everything. If you executed your strategy to perfection but didn’t win, does that mean you didn’t succeed either? What does it mean to succeed?
Success is something we all strive for as athletes. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. We put in the work every day with only the hope of one day reaching the goals we set out for ourselves. Ask yourself this question: When you don’t win, are you still satisfied with your performance?
Let’s take the Olympic swimmers, for example. Do you think the person who swam in the slow heat and didn’t make it to finals is disappointed by his performance? Maybe, maybe not. The same can be said for athletes who come in second at the Olympics. Some of them will be filled with joy, while others will be disappointed that they didn’t win.
Success has a different meaning to each individual. We are unique, and so are the goals we set for ourselves. When you try your best and don’t succeed, what do you do? You keep going. You work hard in silence and let the results do the talking. The key to success is never to give up. How to succeed
We can go into great detail by looking at the habits of successful people. However, as I have mentioned before, we are all unique, and so are our road to success. If, at first, you don’t succeed, you get back up and try again until you do.
One thing all successful athletes have in common is their will to succeed. If your will to succeed is stronger than your will to quit, then you will be successful. However, it is vital to stay on your own road to success. Below are several ideas you can use to stay true to yourself in reaching your goals:
1. Find something that works for you
Again, everything that worked for someone like Michael Phelps might not necessarily work for you as well. We all have our own ways of doing things. You have to find something that works for you and stay committed to it.
2. Remember that winning doesn't define you
It feels great to win. As athletes, we are all naturally competitive. With competitiveness comes the will to win. Don’t get me wrong. It is an excellent quality to have. However, when you allow winning to define who you are as an athlete, you might need to rethink your strategies.
3. Know how to lose
Just like winning, losing doesn’t define you. Losing is just as crucial on our road to success as winning. Losing is an opportunity to get better. It allows us to focus on what we might have done wrong during competition and fix those problems.
Often times we confuse winning with success when they really operate in entirely different realms. Yes, sometimes winning is part of success, but it never defines it. When you understand this concept as an athlete, then you are already on the right track. Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article!
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Every four years, we get to watch thousands of athletes battle it out at the Olympic Games. When you hear the word Olympic champion, you immediately think of names like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Usain Bolt, to only name a few. However, only a select few have the honor of being crowned Olympic champions.
The Olympic Games is where all the top athletes compete against each other, but not all of them have what it takes to become Olympic Champions. The athletes that stand out above the rest have mastered something extraordinary that very few athletes have. Fortunately for you, it is something we all can learn. What sets Olympic champions apart from other Olympians?
The best athletes in the world have all mastered something referred to as the growth mindset. What is a growth mindset? Athletes with a growth mindset chase greatness. In one of my earlier blogs, Never Let It Rest, I talked about how we should never stop when we're ahead.
When you have a growth mindset, winning isn't enough anymore. You are always hungry for more and willing to do whatever it takes to make your way to the top. Why does having a growth mindset give you such a significant advantage? Top 3 benefits of having a growth mindset1. It allows you to grow
As the word implies, a growth mindset allows us to grow. A significant part of being an athlete is always looking for ways to gain an advantage over the rest of the field. When you stay hungry, you are willing to take more risks and try new things to get that extra edge over your opponent.
One of the hardest things to do is beating someone who refuses to go down. How fast do you get back up after being knocked down?
2. You begin to embrace your imperfections
Let's face it, we are all human. Even the top athletes in the world have made countless mistakes throughout their careers. That is why they are where they are today. Instead of criticizing yourself for all your mistakes, see it as an opportunity to get better.
In my article, Practice Makes Better, I talked about how no one will ever be perfect. Perfection is something you can chase but most likely will never catch. All your flaws and failures are opportunities to improve yourself and become a better athlete. As a result, letting go of your failures becomes much more manageable, and you learn to move on quicker.
3. The process becomes more important than the result
Success will never happen overnight. It takes many hours of sweat, tears, and dedication. Any elite athlete can tell you how important the process is to them. They trust the process with everything they have.
How do you trust the process? By focusing on what you can control. Outside factors have a minimal effect on elite athletes because they know it is out of their control. If you remain disciplined in the process, then the end result will come. 
When you fully trust your process, you stop caring about what others think of you. You become so focused on your path and process that everything else becomes white noise. You know what you need to do to get where you want to be.
As I have mentioned before, a growth mindset is something that can be learned. It won't happen overnight, but it can be mastered with the right amount of discipline and patience. Who knows, one day it might be YOU standing on the Olympic podium watching your flag being raised. Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article! 
With the Tokyo Olympic Games finally around the corner, we have the opportunity to watch the most talented individuals in the world battle it out for the right to be crowned Olympic champions.
When you hear the word “natural talent,” who comes to mind? We all have at least one person that we can think of that has “natural talent.” Then again, the term can have many different meanings. What do I mean by that? When we talk about natural talent, we tend to focus on someone’s ability to perform a specific task. When someone completes a task with extraordinary ability, we say that they have a natural talent for that particular task. However, most of the time our expectations for an athlete with natural talent, couldn’t be further from the truth. Expectation
When we see top athletes compete to be the best (especially at the Olympic Games), there is always somehow one that stands out above the rest. We quarrel with ourselves to understand what it is that makes them that good. Sometimes we can’t wrap our minds around their superhuman performances, and the only rational explanation is that they have a natural talent for what they do.
In our subconscious mind, we believe that those athletes were born that way. They have always been the best at what they do and always will be. Sometimes we do find athletes just like that. They have always been at the top of their age group and continue to perform well past what people thought they were capable of. However, one thing is for sure. They did not go that far with talent alone.
Reality
A while back, I wrote an article called, What Does It Take To Become An Elite-Level Athlete. In that article, I mentioned one specific point that has always stood out to me:
“HARD WORK BEATS TALENT WHEN TALENT DOESN’T WORK HARD”
I have seen many highly talented athletes come and go throughout my swimming career. All of these athletes have always been at the top of the age group growing up. However, this is where they faltered.
They had the idea in their minds that they will always be the best. 
They don’t need to work hard to beat their peers. What happened when their peers finally began to catch up? They quit because they didn’t know why it happened or how to deal with it. Let’s look at a hypothetical situation for a better understanding:
John and Kyle are both track runners. They both run the 100-meter. John has always been better than Kyle. He outran him every single day at practice, as well as competitions. As a matter of fact, John outran the whole field by a significant margin. However, it began to go to his head. He thought of himself as unbeatable and too good to show up to practice every day. While John had this crazy idea in his head, Kyle never gave up and kept showing up to practice. Every day, he would put everything he has into his practices. Then, they met again after several years. This time it was on the big stage. This was the Olympics. The 100-meter final finally came up, and both Kyle and John stepped up to the starting blocks…
What happened next is up to your imagination. We are all talented individuals. That is why we do what we do. However, at the end of the day, it comes down to who is willing to work harder for what they want. Who is willing to put down everything they believe in to chase success.
Yes, talent will always play a role, but it can never be the sole contributor. Talent needs to be accompanied by passion, hard work, and perseverance to make a real difference. 
If you are at the top of your age group, this is your reminder to continue to work hard. The work never stops, no matter how good you are. It won’t always be easy to stay on top. Remember, everyone below you is chasing you. They will come at you with everything they have, and if you let them, they will beat you.
To all those working their way to the top, never give up. Put in everything you have into every practice. Your time will come. You just have to keep grinding. Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article! 
In the world we live in today, we tend to feel lost and afraid. We all have our own problems that we deal with daily. Whether you are experiencing individual or interpersonal conflict, we can all relate to each other to some extent.
As athletes, it can be hard to remain focused on what you are doing in the midst of all this. However, there is always a way to train and compete with complete focus and get back on track. If you are struggling today, then this article might find you well. Ask for help
The first option is probably the most important. Ask for help. Whatever problems you might be facing, I guarantee you there is someone who would love to help. It is never a good idea to keep our problems to ourselves. Your coach can be a great option if you need someone to talk to. They know you for who you are and will always be there to help.
When we keep problems to ourselves, they tend to pile up until we can't handle them anymore. Think about pressure building up in a bottle. When the pressure becomes too much, the bottle will explode. It is significantly harder to train properly when you have something lingering on your mind every day. Think about your goals
What are you trying to achieve? Are your problems getting in the way of reaching your goals? If so, then this strategy is even more critical. Thinking about your goals while you are training can significantly boost your self-esteem and confidence. It gives you something to work towards. It serves as a reminder of why you are doing what you are doing.
An excellent way to focus on your goals is to create a goal sheet. What is the time period for you to achieve your goals? What are you going to do to achieve your goals? What are you going to change when you don't achieve your goals.
Knowing where you are going is a fantastic way to boost your performance during training because you know exactly what you need to do each day. Prioritize sleep and dieting
As athletes, we have all heard this saying a million times before. Why do coaches keep emphasizing these points? Sleep is always the number one priority, flowed by your diet as a close second. When we stress about our days, it makes it more difficult to get restful sleep.
The day is over, and there is nothing you can do to change it. However, you can get a goodnight's rest and be better tomorrow. My coach always used to tell us that it is not about the total hours of sleep you get in that matters, but rather the total hours of sleep you get in before midnight. That is where our focus should be. 
Have you ever heard the saying, "We are what we eat?" Our mood and performance are greatly dependent on the way we fuel our bodies. We need to take care of ourselves and our bodies. A proper diet is a fantastic way to stay fresh and focused so you can tackle the day head-on.
What have you overcome in your life?
Think about all the things that you have overcome in your life? I can almost guarantee that you have overcome things far worse than the situation you might be in right now. If not, then this situation is an opportunity to get stronger for the next time you are struggling.
There will always be times when we struggle to get by and just don't feel like doing anything. However, these are the moments when we have to prove to ourselves that we are more rigid than everybody thinks we are. If you can have this mindset, then you have already overcome your challenge. You just don't know it yet.
Control what you can
Most of the time, the problems we face are things we have no control over. Many times our lives are consumed by things that we cannot control. We get overwhelmed and end up losing focus on the things that matter. Determine what you can control and stick to it.
If you are struggling today and need someone to reach out to, don't hesitate to contact me privately through social media or the contact page on this website. Remember, there is always someone willing to help you out. You just have to ask. Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article! 
As athletes, I am sure we can all agree that personal accountability is one of the most crucial characteristics that all champions have in common. What do you do behind the scenes when nobody is looking? Do you put in the extra work for yourself when no one asked you to, or do you do the bare minimum?
In this article, we will look at the top 5 proven ways to improve personal accountability. I will also discuss some things I have done throughout my career that helped me go the distance. However, to improve your personal accountability, you need to understand what it is first. What is personal accountability?
When someone is personally accountable, they take ownership for the situations they find themselves in. In my previous post, I talked about The Power of Deliberate Decision-Making. I discussed how we are all products of the decisions we make.
Most athletes don’t understand that their coach can only give them the tools to get better, but how those tools are used is up to the athlete. You have to choose what to do with the tools that were given to you. Let us look at a hypothetical situation: Mary and John are both swimmers. Mary puts in the work every day. She doesn’t care about how she feels on the day and always pushes through. After practice, she asks her coach if she could practice some extra starts. When she gets home, she makes sure that she sticks to a proper diet and stretches every night before she goes to bed. John also shows up to practice every day. However, he does the bare minimum to get by. His only goal is not to get yelled at by the coach.
Who do you think will perform better when the time comes? Mary or John? Mary will certainly be the most pleased by her results at the end of the season because she knows that she has done everything she possibly could to put herself in the right situation.
How to improve personal accountability
The following strategies are some ways that have personally helped me improve my accountability significantly. We do have to remember that we are all unique, and some things that worked amazingly for me might not work at all for you. However, it is always good to try out new ways to improve.
1. Be honest with yourself
Sometimes it is good to set aside our pride. As an athlete, you will never be too good to ask for help. Your coach is there for a reason. At the same time, never be afraid to admit a mistake. We are all human, andwe all make mistakes. Admit that you made a mistake and learn from it. It is how we grow.
2. Recognize that time-management is key
We only have a limited amount of hours during the day. After we slept, ate, worked, and practiced, we are left with only a couple of hours before it is time to go to bed again. What will you do with those extra hours? Will you follow Mary’s example or John’s?
3. Don't overcommit
As athletes, we tend to focus on too many things at once. We have to. It’s part of what makes us great. However, it is essential to break it up into little bits from time to time. Try to give your full attention to one thing at a time. Perfecting specific skills is more critical than being mediocre at many skills.
4. Reflect
When you are done with practice, what do you do? Do you go home, play video games and watch a movie, or do you think about your day? Part of what makes us athletes is always trying to find new ways to improve. When you get home, take ten minutes to reflect on what you have done at practice. What have you done well? What have you done not so well? Where can you improve?
5. Stay committed
It is imperative to remember that nothing happens overnight. Sometimes we start something just to give because it takes too long or it’s too hard. Stay patient and stay committed to your goals. This is one sure way to succeed.
ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE GLUE THAT TIES COMMITMENT TO RESULTS
If you think about using one of these strategies, please let me know which one you plan to use in the comment section. If you have a different strategy you use to hold yourself accountable, I would love to hear about that too!
Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article! 
In our hectic everyday lives, we tend to be so rushed that we make so many unconscious decisions. For example, we all have our specific morning routines from the moment we get out of bed. You get up, make yourself a cup of coffee, fill your bowl with cereal, shower, get dressed, brush your teeth, and so on. These are all decisions you’ve made unconsciously. You see, unconscious decision-making is a product of routine. These are the things that have become part of our everyday lives.
However, when we begin to think about our decisions consciously, our lives begin to change in ways we could never imagine. This is a skill I have been trying to master for many years and still to this very day. Why is deliberate decision-making critical?
As athletes, we tend to get stuck in a daily routine. Sleep, practice, eat, repeat. This never-ending cycle results in mental exhaustion and growing tired of the very thing we have devoted our lives to. I have been guilty of being stuck in a routine when it came to swimming. I used to “go with the flow,” hoping I would improve.
Life is too valuable to go with the flow. Making conscious decisions is one thing that will dramatically improve your way of living and, as a result, your overall performance. The most important thing is that it helps us learn more about ourselves. Why is this important? 
When you know every single detail about yourself, it allows you to grow. It will enable you to answer questions about yourself that you usually wouldn’t be able to. For example, you might be wondering why you are not performing up to your usual caliber. Most people might think that they aren’t good enough anymore to compete the way they used to.
However, when you know your body, you know where you are at in the season and where you should be. You know that even though you are not performing up to standard now, you will be at the end of the season when it matters. Deliberate decision-making is a skill that you can master. It just takes a little practice. How do you make deliberate decisions?
My senior year of college was the first time in my life when I focused on every little detail. From the minute I woke up to the very second I went to bed, I was conscious of every decision. I was more focused than ever before. I focused on what I was doing in practice, focusing on every detail of my stroke. For the first time, I was not only physically drained after practice but also mentally drained (in a good way, of course). The point is not to focus on the big picture. That is something you keep in the back of your mind. The point of making deliberate decisions is to focus on all the little details that most people miss. Break it down. For example, what are you eating at which times of the day? Why are you eating it? Is it for performance, or is it for recovery? One thing to look out for is not to try to tackle too much detail at once. This can lead to the feeling of being highly overwhelmed, which could potentially lead to giving up. Take it one day at a time. Focus on one thing at your next practice which you could improve on and nothing else. This is how we make deliberate decisions. How does deliberate decision-making help your performance?
At the end of the day, it’s not always the person who works the hardest during practice getting the medal. Yes, physical work is a vital aspect of sport. However, it has to be paired with focus. You can be the hardest worker on your team, but you will eventually reach a plateau if you only go through the motions each day.
I cannot emphasize the importance of focus during practice. You have to be mentally present every day. When you know your body this well, you won’t falter when it comes to competition. You will know exactly what you need to do when you don’t feel perfect. Most of the time we don’t feel perfect during competition.
We won’t always have the ideal conditions, the superior race, or the perfect mindset. When you make deliberate decisions, you learn how to adapt to any situation. That is what makes us champions. Many people believe that champions are born different from the rest of us when, in fact, they are products of all the decisions they made throughout their careers. Tell me in the comment section below what you are going to focus on during your next practice. Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article! 
Being from South Africa, one of my greatest dreams has always been to make it into a division one college in America. I knew that if I wanted to take my swimming to the next level, I would need a next-level environment. For me, America was the only option. I will never forget the feeling of receiving an offer from Florida State University, one of the best programs in the country.
I have had the opportunity to work with a fantastic coaching staff and teammates throughout my four years at Florida State. As a result, I have learned valuable lessons along the way and would like to share my top six things I have learned from being a college athlete in America. 1. Everything you do is for the team
One of the biggest shocks for me was the sheer size of the team atmosphere. In South Africa, swimming is generally seen as an individual sport. Although we are still part of our high school team, club team, or national team, we tend to compete against ourselves rather than the person next to us.
One of the hardest things in the world is to win a battle against yourself. As we get better and faster, our times stop dropping so drastically, and we might not swim personal bests at every meet anymore. Things like this can mess with our minds as athletes if we don’t have the right mindset.
All of this changed once I got to the United States. For the first time in my life, I was not racing for myself anymore. I was racing for my team, for my university. It was always about touching ahead of the person in the lane next to you. Times didn’t matter anymore. 2. Time management
As athletes, we do not want to be spending time stressing about whether we will have enough time to get assignments done or study for tests. This is where time management comes in. Time management was probably one of the most important and useful skills I have learned.
In America, all our classes are scheduled around our practice times. Therefore, we know exactly how much time we would spend in the pool, weight room, or classroom way before school even starts. This allows you to plan in advance—something I would highly recommend.
Once I started to manage my time more effectively, it felt like I had so much more time on my hands. It takes a lot of unnecessary pressure off you as an athlete, allowing you to focus on what you do best. 3. Make time to have fun
No human being on this planet is perfect. No one can constantly work without taking a little break. My advice to all athletes is to take a break now and then from what you do. I am not telling you to take a month off from sport and be lazy. Take a mental break.
Do something else to get your mind off work and practice. It is always good to rejuvenate ourselves. It’s like pressing the reset button on your remote. This way, we stay fresh and can keep performing at elite levels without getting exhausted or depressed. 4. Be open to change and learn to adapt
Throughout my four years at Florida State, I have had several coaches come and go. I swam under three coaches in my time there and have learned valuable things from each of them. One thing I have learned through this process is to accept change. Change allows us to grow and become better athletes. Your performance will depend on how fast you can adapt to change. Something that has helped me adapt quickly to new situations in the past is to view them as opportunities to learn more. 
No one knows everything there is to know. I recently wrote an article about it, Practice Makes Better, if you would like to go check it out. The more we learn, the more we grow. So whenever you are placed in a situation that is new or that you are unsure of, see it as an opportunity to get better.
5. Every disadvantage is an advantage
It was the summer of 2018, right before my junior year. I badly hurt my ankle and had to get surgery done to get it fixed. I was heartbroken because I was unable to train for several weeks and had no idea what my future at Florida State would hold. Check out my article to learn more about it HERE.
As I have mentioned in my previous point, you can always get better at something. That is when I realized that this minor setback provides me the opportunity to focus on something else. I started with some core work outside of the pool, and in the pool, I focused on what I can control.
I never once thought of my injury as something that would put me at a disadvantage. I realized that every disadvantage could be turned into an advantage with the right amount of focus and work. We get injured as athletes; it is part of what we do. The important thing, however, is not to lose hope when we do. Always trust the process. 6. Life goes on
The most valuable thing of all I have learned is that life goes on. When we don’t perform like we would like to, we get demotivated and upset with ourselves and sometimes the rest of the world. Ironically, it doesn’t matter. You might get some sympathy from friends and family, but at the end of the day, you are competing for something much bigger.
The world doesn’t stop when you don’t meet your goals. The harsh reality is that it will keep beating you to the ground if you let it. We all have had bad performances at one time or another. The important thing is to keep your head up and keep pushing.
I recently watched the television series Ted Lasso. It is about an American football coach who got a job in England coaching soccer, of which he knows nothing about. When one of the players wasn’t performing up to standard, he called him up and told him something that I would never forget. He asked him what the happiest animal on this planet is. The answer he gave was a goldfish. Confused, the player looked at him as if he were crazy. He continued to say that a goldfish is the happiest animal on this planet because it only has a ten-second memory. If it would mess up, it would only remember it for ten seconds and then move on. So today, I want to tell you to go out there and be like a goldfish. It is OK to be upset after a bad performance for a little while, but then we have to move on. The lessons I have learned in my four years at Florida State are values that I will carry with me until the end of my days. Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article! 
As athletes, we hear the saying, “Practice makes perfect,” all too often. Although it might be true in some cases, it gives a false sense of our abilities most of the time. Perfection is something all of us strive for in everything we do. However, perfection is not always realistic.
When we don’t achieve perfection after countless hours of practice, we tend to develop a sense of self-rejection. We think that we are not good enough anymore when, in reality, we are better than we were yesterday. So how exactly does practice make us better? 1. Practice Allows Us To Fail
I have talked about the importance of failure in many of my previous posts. Failure is not what keeps you from reaching success. Failure is what makes you successful. So embrace it. Never be afraid to fail. The beauty of practice is that it allows us to fail without any real consequences. See practice as an opportunity to fail.
Failure is what helps us grow into better athletes. It allows us to learn from our mistakes and move forward. Failure provides us with the opportunity to rethink, evaluate and find new ways to reach our goals. It is not a wall that keeps us from moving past, but rather a gate that we can walk through. 2. Practice Shows Us What We Are Capable Of
When someone asks you what the most challenging practice is that you have ever done, there will always be at least one practice that comes to mind. I can think of several practices that I have done throughout my swimming career that I thought would be impossible. Yet, I completed them and was happy about the way I finished them.
Overcoming hardships in our lives shows us what we are capable of. Practice, in most cases, is a mental game. There is one quote that we had all heard before that I used to think of when I thought I was too tired to carry on:
If you think you can, then you can. It really is as simple as that. My eleventh-grade physics teacher once told me, “If you think you can, then you are right. If you think you can’t, then you are right too.” Belief can go a long way.
When competition eventually comes around, it will hurt, and your muscles will ache. However, you will be able to push past the pain because that is precisely what you have done in practice. This is the mindset we need to have. We compete the way we practice. 3. Practice Makes Us Realize There Is Always More To Learn
This is the reason we can never be perfect. As we grow older, we begin to realize that there will always be more to learn about what we do. Those who believe they know everything are the ones who get stuck in their ways. As a result, they wonder why their peers are progressing while they are not.
The most successful athletes in the world are the ones who are willing to learn while others are not. We have to be willing to learn every day for the rest of our lives because that is how we get better and how we move forward. That is how we become champions of our world. They have realized that it is okay not to be perfect. If you are perfect, you cannot grow. If you cannot grow, then you cannot get better. Remember, we can always strive to be perfect. If you retire one day and can honestly say that you gave it everything you have, what more could anyone possibly ask for? Dream. Dare. Succeed. If you enjoyed this article, please CLICK HERE to receive exclusive articles, tips, and more! Comment below and tell me what you thought of this article! |
AuthorHi there! My name is Rudo Loock. I am a former competitive swimmer from South Africa. I went to school and trained at Florida State University in the United States of America. I have always had a great passion for both writing and sport and now I have found a way to combine the two things I love most. My goal is to help you achieve great things you never thought were possible. I hope you enjoy my posts and dream big!  Archives
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