28 vitality for life

Vitality for Life Magazine (VFL): You’ve accomplished some amazing feats in your career. How do you take a huge goal and make it possible to achieve?

I’ll use the Murray [River] as an example. If I had gotten in on Day One with the end goal of 2,500 kilometers (1,514 miles) solely in my mind, I would have never been able to take my first stroke. Sometimes we focus too much on the big goal. We get overwhelmed. We can’t concentrate on doing the things that we need to do every day. I set myself little goals each day. That makes a difference. It’s the little things we do on a repetitive basis every single day that add up to get us to that end goal.

VFL: When people start an exercise routine, they may experience a new set of pain and discomfort. It can consume their thoughts and they might want to quit. What would you tell somebody who wants to give up?

Exercise takes a bit to get used to. So it’s really, really important to think about what your end goal is. What is your “why” for doing this? To fit into that dress? Or, you know, if it’s just being able to keep up with your family. Or set a healthy example for your children. You’ve got to have the reason at the forefront of your mind. When you get to those points where it’s painful, and it’s hard, and it’s tedious, you’ve got to have strategies like that. That’s what gets me through that barrier. Once you’re over that hurdle, you’ll look back and just feel so good about yourself for having pushed that little bit harder.

VFL: When someone is in the middle of a workout and just can’t wait for it to be over, is it okay to think about the end?

I have often thought, “How good it would be to be sitting in a hot bath right now!” That’s part of think-ing about the end goal and how good it will be to finish. It’s a strong motivating factor. It’s not a no-no.

JUST A FEW OF TaMMY’s aCHIEVEMEnTs:• World record for the fastest person to cross

the length of Loch Ness, Scotland (9 hrs 6 mins)

• World record for the fastest person to swim the 2,438 km length of the Murray River, Australia (106 days)

• World record for the fastest person to swim Bass Strait, Tasmania, to Victoria, Australia. (17 hrs 46 mins)

• Fastest person across the English Channel (8 hrs 38 mins)

• Winner of the Manhattan Island 48 km Marathon Swim, New York (7 hrs 13 min)

Tammy holds more than 10 swimming titles, 6 world records, she is in the Guinness Book of World Records, and has swum more than 37,000 miles in her career. That’s enough to circle the globe 1½ times!

THE

When it comes to mental toughness, few sports are more demanding than marathon swimming. Hours upon hours of repetitive and exhausting physical exertion. Unpredictable and often frigid conditions. No MP3 players. No chatting with a workout buddy. This is the sport of world-record swimmer Tammy van Wisse. When it comes to helping you improve your mental tenacity, Tammy is the world’s foremost expert.

An interview with swimming legend Tammy van WissE

Changing your workout by changing how

yOu THink

29

VFL: When you push yourself physically, what else do you think about?For me, it’s a combination of things. And often I have to have lots of different strategies,

because something will work one time and it won’t the next. First, I visualize the goal. How proud I’ll feel for accomplishing that goal. Having mentors that you look up to is also important. I like to listen to a lot of music before I do a big swim. I also rely on my support group. When I do a big swim, I have a boat beside me, and I get the crew a whiteboard. They write me messages, draw pictures, and write jokes. They give me information. I have a lot of motivational sayings in my office and in my diary. They come back to mind when I am in the water. You’ve got to find something that triggers a powerful emotion within you. It can mean getting so much more out of yourself.

VFL: a lot of your swims have promoted environmental issues. What are your thoughts on using causes as motivation?

It’s a fantastic way to get motivated. You’re contributing to society. You’re helping people. It comes from that place in the heart where you know you’re doing something good and you’re pushing yourself for a very, very strong reason. I can’t think of a stronger force.

VFL: You talk to yourself like an encouraging coach... Sometimes it’s a simple process of actually just saying to yourself, “Stop complaining. Just do it. Get

that habit going. Don’t think about it. Just get up and go.”

VFL: The type of swimming you do is often solitary, but no sport is completely without competition. What are your thoughts on competition as motivation?

Competition is fantastic. Records are there to be broken. You get more out of yourself if you’re actually competing against someone. If you can join up with somebody and start a fitness journey together, it makes it so much easier for both of you because: A) you have somebody to be accountable to and B) you have somebody to keep score with. We are competitive by human nature. Competition is what makes the world go round!

VFL: You competed in your first open water marathon swim when you were 18. What did that swim teach you?

It was a life-changing experience. The biggest lesson I learned was about the mind. How we can change our thinking. That we have so much more inside of us when we think we don’t have anything left. You look at things differently when you know that. You do have more inside you! You can do so much more! Life has so much more to offer! It’s a matter of tapping into that place inside, both the mind and the body, and saying, “I can do this. I’m powerful. I’m strong.”

Know your

Visualize the End

Draw on MUSIC

by others

Have a SUpport Crew

pUt Up motivational sayings

Be

Stay

VFL: Do you struggle to stay motivated?The hardest thing about motivation is that it’s very emotional. Motivation can be with

us one minute and then it goes. You’ve got to have something stronger. That “why.” The hardest part of my morning is actually when the alarm goes off and getting out of bed. I just say, “Come on, get going. Once you’re there you’ll feel better.”

“WHY”

Competitive

ACCoUNtABLe

Be iNspired

FiNd A CAUse

Tammy

’s Winn

ing M

ental

Strat

egies