“A goal without a plan is a wish.”
There are many benefits to setting specific swimming goals, but one of the most important is that it helps to channel and intensify your mental and physical energy, so that you can achieve better results over a shorter period. Allow me to give you an example of how NOT having goals can be unproductive and a total waste. Let’s pretend that you have to go and get groceries because your refrigerator is empty, so you drive to the grocery store, walk the aisles, and fill up your shopping cart. You return home with a bag full of light bulbs, dish soap, masking tape, cat litter, magazines, aluminum foil, lottery tickets, and toilet paper! Now allow me to give you an example of how HAVING goals can be far more productive and a better use of your valuable time. Let’s pretend that you have to go and get groceries because your refrigerator is empty, so you make up a list of the “goal foods” that you need. The list includes apples, bananas, blueberries, yogurt, milk, peanut butter, bread, salad fixings, chicken, pasta, and chocolate chip ice cream. So you drive to the grocery store, pick up everything that’s on your list, and return home with a refrigerator full of your favorite foods. In the first example, you went to the store unprepared with no clue of what you needed, so you wandered down the aisles aimlessly. In the second, you had a targeted list of goal foods to attain, and you followed through one-by-one. Identifying a specific list of what you need to do to swim faster is the first step to success, and going to the pool each day focused and determined to achieve them is the second.