The Rest of the Story

Last week we spoke of the power of intention. We used a progression of 200 fly swims from Elizabeth as an example of how powerful it is when one commits to pursuing higher standards.

One of our readers asked the question, “I wonder what went through Elizabeth’s mind as she pondered the response to the question we asked?”

Her comments are below. We find them particularly revealing. We appreciate her honesty.

Below I wrote about what went through my mind when I decided to become more committed 

 I’ve swum for nearly ten years now, but this last year was different. I loved swimming in the past, but I was never great. I would train hard at practice, but swimming didn’t always come first. I hadn’t really noticed this about myself until you had a talk to me about intention. You took me aside at a training meet and asked me if I was willing to commit more of myself to swimming. You told me I had potential to swim much faster, faster than I had ever thought. Before then swimming was just something I did, and I hardly considered continuing in college. At first I didn’t know what to say. It frightened me to think of what more commitment meant. I had previously thought that I was pretty committed and swimming was one of my top priorities. When the question was first posed I was actually a little bit angry that you didn’t think I was committed enough. But I continued to consider what you said the following days and started to come to terms with the idea. Thinking back on this, it wasn’t the tougher workouts I was afraid of; it was the higher standard you said you would hold me accountable to. It took me a few weeks to recognize I really wanted this. I thought about where swimming could take me. And I knew a higher level of commitment was the only way to get there. I realized it for sure one evening after practice. I had just finished a set that I really leaned into. That was when you asked me again. This time I knew my answer without even having to think twice. Right in that moment I had made my decision and from that point forward I started to really swim with intention.