Three Vessels, Two Stories, & One Magical Concept
There’s a magical container over at the Eden Prairie Community Center.
It’s abundant with little vessels key to fulfilling basic human psychological needs that fuel satisfaction and enjoyment.
Every day one can go there and pick up one of those vessels, open it up, consume it, and then experience the lasting effects.
And, when done day over day, week over week, month over month…
….whoa, watch out!
Story One
As written on the board, Thursday’s swim set for the FoxJets Masters Swim Team was:
IM 50s
Fly: 1:15, 1:10, 1:05, 1:00, :55, :50
Back: 1:15, 1:10, 1:05, 1:00, :55, :50
Breast: 1:20, 1:15, 1:10, 1:05, 1:00, :55
Free: 1:10, 1:05, 1:00, :55, :50, :45
“Adjust as needed” our coach, Nick, told us.
“For lanes 4 and 5, let’s start at the second round and add one more round to the end — so we end at :45, :45, :50, :40.”
After a few grumbles and banter, we were aligned and off.
A set like this is interesting — it’s like a funnel: the beginning is so easy — it almost feels too easy — but with each passing round, with the intervals dropping by 5 seconds, the squeeze gets tighter and tighter.
At some point, I lost focus and spaced that we had added another line to the intervals on the board — I was just following what was written.
As we approached the last written line, I got the bright idea to push the pace on the 50s.
The squeeze was getting tighter, and I was forcing myself to work a bit hard.
We hit the last 50 free and I had mentally checked out.
“Done!” I was telling myself as I came to the wall.
But as I touched the wall, I looked over at the college kid who was leading the lane.
“Wait!? He’s crouched down ready to go.”
“Oh, $%#*!!!” I thought. “We have a one more round.”
And then I pulled out a little Jocko Willink’s mindset: “Good — an opportunity to work through the hurt.”
Here’s something sport keeps teaching me: you really can do more than you think you can.
Our mind is a governor as much as it is an accelerator.
When we lose control of it, our body collapses with it.
When we control it, our body takes off.
True in sport.
True in life.
In one swim set, I was gifted two of those little vessels.
Vessel 1: Autonomy
The feeling of being in control of one's own actions and decisions, and experiencing a sense of freedom in one's choices.
Humans have a basic psychological need to feel in control of their own life, behaviors, and goals.
That surprise round I lost track of — total control of my own actions.
Vessel 2: Competence
The feeling of being capable and effective in one's activities, and mastering challenges.
Humans also have a basic psychological need to gain mastery and control of their lives and their environment.
That surprise round I lost tract of — nailed it.
Story Two
As a kid growing up on swim teams, there was always a tradition of doing the “birthday swim”: a 50 butterfly while the entire team was lined up on both sides of the lane using kickboards to push water back and forth creating significant waves.
This seems to capture what you feel like the entire time:
After we completed the above swim set, with 10 minutes to go, Nick asked, “so, what do you want to do next?”
We’re a close knit group of people.
There’s something special that happens — a bond — when you merge passion with working side-by-side together on a daily basis.
It’s a fun container to exist in — and we like to find ways to keep it fun.
“Hey, Sarah is getting married on Saturday” someone said. “She needs to do the birthday swim.”
With the entire team hootin’ and hollerin’, Sarah set off for a 50 butterfly — complete with all the waves that we could create.
As she touched the wall, a huge smile on her face — along with every other swimmer in the pool Thursday morning.
In one morning of swimming, I was gifted with yet another vessel — one that rounded out a very important trio for humans.
Vessel 3: Relatedness
The feeling of being connected to and caring about others, and belonging to a social group.
Like above, humans also have a basic psychological need to experience a belonging and connection to other people.
That birthday swim — hard not to feel like you belong to something special and share a deep connection to others.
So, what’s so important about these little vessels?
Theory is pretty cool when it’s put into action.
Self Determination Theory suggests that when these basic psychology needs — autonomy, competence, and relatedness — are met, individuals are more likely to experience intrinsic motivation, psychological health, and optimal functioning.
Basically, you’re driven to engage in activities for their pure inherent satisfaction and enjoyment, you’re going to feel a holistic sense of well-being, and you’re going to achieve your peak performance.
Like I said, “whoa, watch out!”
Go find your container filled with these little vessels!
They’re quite magical.
Onward.