How good do I want to be?
To answer that question we must begin with some idea of maximum human performance. The idea of maximum human performance is less related to an individual’s skills and abilities as it is to the individual’s willingness to use those skills and abilities by putting the time and effort into practice.
I believe athletes get involved in an activity and dream of being the best. Some are able to achieve that goal while others never do. Some have natural talent while others must work harder to achieve the same success. I am not referring to winning or losing because there should be a realization that there can only be one winner in a contest. Even if you don’t win there is the satisfaction of knowing that you have performed your best and that can equal the feeling of winning.
For diving one must focus on the big picture. "What do I have to do to be competitive?" That means, "What are the people I am competing against doing?" If I am doing easier dives and they are doing much harder ones, it will be more difficult for me to compete with them. An over-exaggerated example would be if most of your dives have a difficulty rating of 1.8 or less and your competitor’s difficulty is 2.3 or higher, your scores would have to be 2 points or more higher per judge per dive to remain competitive. Some divers are not willing to make this change so the only other alternative is to raise their performance by that 2 points or more. That for some would be a difficult thing to do.
For many divers it’s not an easy task to learn new and harder dives. Fear of the unknown or crashing into the water seems to be most common. One must realize crashing into the water can occur on any dive, even a simple jump. The crash and subsequent pain keeps many from ever trying new dives. Crashing is the ultimate challenge. Divers must realize that crashing is a result of a mistake made earlier in a dive. Eliminate the mistake and you eliminate the crash. It’s that simple.
To be as good as one can be takes time, effort and a willingness to challenge one’s skills and abilities. If the challenge is not there, dives that you are already doing may get worse not better. The challenge is what keeps you sharp. "If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get the same results or worse." If you don’t like the results you are seeing then "change" is necessary. The mistakes we make in diving are habits that we feel comfortable doing because we know what the outcome will be. To change means that we must get out of that comfort zone. Change will not feel comfortable. It will feel different. Change means finding a new comfort zone and the only way to get there is by making the appropriate changes.
The new comfort zone (improvement) will only last as long as one stays focused on the task of breaking the old habits. There will be times where divers will regress back to old habits but attention should be focused on the changes needed in order for the new comfort zone to become consistent.
The answer to how good do I want to be lies within the individual competitor. It is a choice that one has. To be successful, the athlete must follow through with the choice. Without the follow through (making the changes), progress will be limited and frustration may begin to set in. This frustration is one’s own realization of not making the appropriate changes. There can be numerous reasons for not accomplishing the desired results. None of the reasons are valid if the competitor wants to do his/her best.
There are no short cuts to doing one’s best. One must make decisions and deal with the physical and mental challenges of the sport in order to be the best they can be. Avoiding these personal challenges will at best produce mediocre performances. It is a choice. If the choice one makes is not a satisfying/desireable one then it was the wrong choice. Now choose, "How good do you want to be?"