Basketball was my thing growing up and despite being short, slow and unable to jump very high (slapping the backboard on lay-ups was pretty much my vertical peak) I learned a lot from my hooping days.
One of the phrases that stuck with me over the years is, “Work smarter, not harder.” My coach used to say it all the time and even though it sounds so simple, it’s much easier said than done.
Why? Because it makes you take a closer look at your habits, processes and strategy, and sometimes it requires a counter-intuitive effort.
“Work smarter, not harder” can be applied to many aspects of our lives. But when I began studying how to be a better swimmer for triathlons, and read the book Triathlon swimming made easy, the connection smacked me like a starting-line kick to the face.
I had been swimming hard and getting nowhere. I needed to learn how to swim smarter.
Read my article on Tri for Les and see how I broke down my approach to swimming and learned to stop fighting and trust the water instead.
Even if you’re not into triathlon, it’s a good example of the “Work smarter, not harder” mantra in action. Maybe it’ll make you think of some new approaches to accomplish your goals.
Is that a F2R wetsuit? 😉
Yep. I got it when I signed up with Team In Training for my first triathlon.