Mental Toughness: Having "That" Conversation with Mom & Dad
Mental Toughness: Having "That" Conversation with Mom & Dad
By Dr. Alan Goldberg//Competitivedge.com
How you interact with your parents in relation to your swimming can mean the difference between loving to swim, staying calm pre-meet and consistently racing to your potential or hating the sport, being a nervous wreck pre-meet and consistently underachieving.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PARENTS
Loving parents want two things for you as their child:
1.To be HAPPY
2.To be SUCCESSFUL
But, have you ever had that really upsetting conversation with your parents during the car ride on the way to the meet? Or maybe the even more uncomfortable one right after the meet, on the ride home?
You know what I mean. Before the meet, mom or dad might remind you what you have to do to swim fast, the times you need to get and/or who you really should be beating. And then on the way home, you're asked a lot of questions about your swim, and they want to talk about what might have happened when you didn't perform as well as you hoped. And then you feel defensive when you hear their suggestions about what you could've done better. For most swimmers, these kinds of “chats” leave them feeling sad, angry and misunderstood.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PARENTS
Loving parents want two things for you as their child:
1.To be HAPPY
2.To be SUCCESSFUL
But, have you ever had that really upsetting conversation with your parents during the car ride on the way to the meet? Or maybe the even more uncomfortable one right after the meet, on the ride home?
You know what I mean. Before the meet, mom or dad might remind you what you have to do to swim fast, the times you need to get and/or who you really should be beating. And then on the way home, you're asked a lot of questions about your swim, and they want to talk about what might have happened when you didn't perform as well as you hoped. And then you feel defensive when you hear their suggestions about what you could've done better. For most swimmers, these kinds of “chats” leave them feeling sad, angry and misunderstood.
Read More:
