Discomfort Leads to Growth

We hear it quite often athletes talking about the way they learn best. Yesterday an athlete told me, “I’m a visual learner.” In a 2010 paper titled The Myth of Learning Styles wrote, “there is no credible evidence that learning styles exist. Students may have preferences about how to learn, but no evidence suggests that catering to those preferences will lead to better learning.”

In the book Hidden Potential, Adam Grant talks about how comfort in learning is a paradox because discomfort is a sign of growth. So when thinking about your “learning styles” you’re not doing it that way because it’s what’s best for you, you’re doing it that way because it’s what’s comfortable to you.

When thinking about swimming we all want to see improvement and to see validation that we’re growing in the sport. What do some athletes do that makes them continue to get better? It’s the athletes that are not only willing to be uncomfortable, but to seek out being uncomfortable because they know that’s how they can learn and that’s how they can make progress the fastest.

So when you’re thinking/preparing for your races and you can feel the pre-race jitters coming on. Lean into it. Discomfort is a sign of growth. Your body is trying to tell you it’s ready to go. Be the athlete that seeks out the uncomfortable parts of the race. Be the athlete that pushes themselves in prelims when they’d rather be sleeping. Be the athlete that goes out fast and hangs on. Be the athlete that doesn’t breathe the last 10+ yards of a race. Once you understand that this is the body’s way of improving then you’ll be seeing these moments as opportunities. Take advantage of them.