What next? Retirement and a legacy beyond the finish line.

There is something that’s really helped me release my swimming career in a powerful way while retaining the personal qualities I developed through the sport that have continued to drive my potential and capacity for success. This, to me, is about having cleanliness in my perspective. Swimming gave me invaluable characteristics that have helped me evolve and thrive beyond my career. Transitioning out of swimming took time for me, I even went through a massive identify crisis. For each athlete it’s a unique experience and some things just aren’t meant to be easy, or clear. In fact I’ve learnt that it’s better not to try and make something easier when you can just unlock whatever wisdom or power exists in the thing that’s difficult. Retirement is complex, but I believe there's a way to make it less painful so that you can continue feeling fulfilled in your life even through the transition itself. Sometimes it takes a change in perspective.

Redefining High Performance

Have you ever considered that high performance (HP) extends beyond athletic achievements? What if HP were an attribute that belongs to the athlete long beyond their career? Being a high performer is about having certain qualities that outlive a career in sports but use sport as a birthplace for those qualities. Being a high performer is a form of intelligence, and to be open during a time of transition in a sports career takes immense bravery.

The Olympic Transition

I’ve been thinking a lot about how many athletes are at their final Olympic Games right now. And how many athletes might also be in an interesting space: “Should I stay or should I go…?” This is a pivotal time for so many at the Paris Olympic Games, where only the world's best compete. How do you know you’re ready to retire? How do you know you’re ready to give it some more?

The High Performance Philosophy

I have a philosophy that’s helped me in my own transition out of swimming back in 2018: high performance, although it implies performance, is actually a way of life. To be a high performer is to carry a certain perspective with you. In situations where you might not be performing, you are still thinking, perceiving, and making decisions (no matter how big or small) from a high performance mindset. This is how you build legacy. Here’s where the philosophy gets interesting, when you respectfully pull high performance mindset away from sport itself and just inject it into your life generally, it literally implies that the magic doesn’t end when your participation in the sport ends, it simply matures, and moulds into your new way of being. This phenomenon offers you access to literally any outcome to your life that you desire.

Leveraging the High Performance Perspective

A high performance perspective can open critical doors in your career beyond sports. Not only does it position you to live deeply from the wisdom of your career past, but it also allows you to keep your energy authentic as you continue to create your life moving forward.

Embracing High Performance in All Aspects

Regardless of your accolades in your career, your intentions and the time you set aside (no matter the outcome) will always set you apart as a high performer. When your intentions and actions are aligned consistently, it will be hard not to reap the benefits of the seeds you sow. The benefits may be unknown or non traditional, but if you’re open, you could surprise yourself. It is critical to realize that positioning yourself as a high performer is equivalent to positioning yourself in life.

Moving Beyond "The Athlete"

For many years, even after I stopped swimming, and still now, I’ve been identified as “The Swimmer.” Many retired high performers have experienced this. At one point, this felt painful but only because my focus was on what felt like a failure at the time. However, in my journey from this place of retirement, I realized that I never lost the attributes that got me to the heights of my career. I have simply adapted them to suit me as I continue to move forward in life, only strengthening the view I have of myself and my potential. This has taken openness.

Having a high performance mindset means that the end of an elite career is not an end at all; it is simply a reestablishment. The best is yet to come. I always have the choice, and I can create anything I desire, and so can you.