One of the biggest life lessons that I learned through my college coaches was the concept of focusing on what you can control.
In late January of my sophomore year at ASU, we made our way to CAL for our annual dual meet.
On race day, the weather was a downpour of ice cold rain. The surface of the water in each lane was blurred with disrupting showers, you could hardly make out the difference between cap colors while screaming for your teammates to hit the wall first.
Everyone’s shoes were sopping wet and I remember a pile of wet heat sheets sitting on a chair. This was an environment that we could not control.
What I could control:
- My mindset
- How much warm gear I packed
Both of which greatly affected how intensely the cold weather impacted me on race day.
Focusing on what we can’t control often takes our energy and attention away from what we can control.
Your energy as an athlete is your bank of fuel. The more attention you offer towards events that you can not control, the more energy escapes the areas that need your focus. For me, it was my tight turns in the back end of my 200 free.
Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, but focus on your behavior in responding.
You can take action in how to respond to less than ideal situations. This is your decision as an athlete. At world class level, this is a concept we have all owned with confidence.
Next time you face a tough situation as an athlete that is out of your reach to fix, ask yourself:
What can I do about this situation? How will I choose to respond?