Coming Up With New Year’s Resolutions That Are the Right Fit

Coming Up With a New Year’s Resolutions That Are the Right Fit

By Alyssa Blair, Swimming World Intern

Let’s talk about the one thing that comes, without fail, as we ring in the New Year: Resolutions. At the start of every year, we sit down and figure out in what ways we want to strive to be better than we were the last time. We want to figure out how we will further develop ourselves into what we have always wanted to be.

This same concept can be applied to swimming. New Year’s resolutions are a great way to set a goal and stick to them. Sometimes, the hard part can be figuring out what your resolutions are going to be.

Of course there are the obvious ones that stick out to every swimmer. Wanting to go a certain time in a specific event or aiming to earn a top spot or qualification to a top meet are among the most popular New Year’s resolutions a swimmer can set. They may be classic and popular, but it doesn’t make them any less valuable or achievable. Setting a sight on a resolution like this gives a swimmer something to work toward, gives them a purpose and gives them something to stay motivated.

While resolutions about meets and personal bests are very important and recognized as such, there’s more to resolutions than simply setting big goals. Sometimes resolutions are about the little things. Maybe you’ve always wanted to improve your technique on an event that isn’t your best. Setting a New Year’s resolution centered around smaller aspects of swimming such as these are just as important as the big ones. Small attention to the minor details equals big results. Making these changes isn’t easy either, even if they do seem small in comparison.

The resolutions discussed thus far are external, but making resolutions that focus around internal changes are important to consider too. If you know you have a problem with maintaining a positive attitude or with shifting mental health, making those things a priority through New Years resolutions could be a good idea for you. In a sport like swimming, a strong mentality is half the battle. Without a good attitude and a sound mind, improvement can seem impossible, and that can complicate progress for a swimmer trying to move forward.

Maybe the New Year’s resolutions you’ll set are a combination of these. Maybe you’ll set a few different ones to work at throughout the year. Whatever works for you and will help you to become a better version of yourself in and out of the pool is what matters the most. Tackle a New Year’s resolution as you would when setting any other goal – decide on it, make a plan, and get to work by setting it in motion. Success is only as close as you allow it to be.

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