Swimming

What point do you feel was the lowest in your career and how did you bounce back?

Overcoming career lows: Battling disordered eating and depression to find new chapter.

I would say the lowest point in my career up until this point would probably be from the years 2016 to 2017. I was dealing with some disordered eating anxiety. A spout of really depressive Behavior. I was just genuinely unhappy with my life, the circumstances that we're in it and myself, and I think it was definitely difficult to transition from that period of life into what was my next chapter. But I did it with the help of a great support system around me. I have incredible, family, and friends and Added some experts to help me have a good relationship with myself and food and start to change my way of thinking. and, I won't say that I was easy. It took a lot of time, a lot of patience and a lot of active work to get back to a place of Healthy, Mind, Body, and Soul, for me, but training was very difficult. It's just being patient and being diligent about being your best and asking for help when you need it.

The lowest point in my career was from 2016 to 2017 when I dealt with disordered eating anxiety, depressive behavior and generally feeling unhappy with my life. With the help of family and friends, as well as some experts, I slowly transitioned back to a place of healthy mind, body and soul. It took patience and hard work, but I'm now in a much better place.

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The lowest point in my career was during the years 2016 to 2017 when I was struggling with disordered eating, anxiety, and depression. I felt genuinely unhappy with my life, circumstances, and myself. Transitioning from that period to the next chapter of my life was challenging.

However, I was fortunate to have a strong support system consisting of incredible family and friends. I also sought help from experts to develop a healthier relationship with myself and food, and to change my mindset. It wasn't easy and required a lot of time, patience, and active effort to restore my mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

The key to bouncing back was being patient with myself, diligently working towards my best self, and not hesitating to ask for help when needed. It was a journey of self-discovery and personal growth, but I eventually regained a place of health and happiness.

Did your athletic successes always correlate to periods of happiness in your life? When did they not? 

Unraveling the Myth: Athletic Success and Happiness Don't Always Align

So truthfully, from my experience in my perspective. It does not always correlate. However, My best performances that I've had throughout my career, I have always been when I was just Carefree living in the moment enjoying my experience and not over thinking too much of what I was doing to everyone else's standards, but was very unhappy. So it is possible. Possible, excuse me to perform. Well, even when you are struggling or having a hard time or going through things in your personal life or physically or mentally. However, I do think it is conducive to fast swimming when you are happy and enjoying the sport and your experience.

It is possible to perform well even when struggling, but it is more conducive to fast swimming when you are happy and enjoying the sport.

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From my perspective and experience, athletic successes do not always correlate with periods of happiness in life. There have been times when I achieved my best performances while feeling carefree, living in the moment, and enjoying the experience. However, during those moments, I was actually very unhappy in other aspects of my life. So it is possible to perform well even when facing personal, physical, or mental struggles.

That being said, I do believe that being happy and enjoying the sport and the overall experience can contribute to better performance in swimming. It creates a conducive environment for fast swimming.

What’s your goal setting method? And how accurate are you when you set them?

The Power of Writing Down Goals: A Proven Method for Success

My general goal, setting method is usually, to write it down, whatever. It may be, whether it's a time, a place a qualification standard. Team. I want to make a detail. I really want to execute well, in a race I've gotten in the habit of writing them down and put them somewhere where I can see it. I used to actually be kind of superstitious about making goals. Like if I write a goal down, then I'm all. I'm going to be thinking about is that I have to reach those goals. And what if I don't reach this goal, but I think as I've matured To I am I learned that that was just maybe insecurity or fear or failure, but you shouldn't be afraid to write your goals down and it actually can really help you motivate you. It can be a constant reminder of what you're working towards and it's actually proven that the more you verbalize or the more, you write out the goals that you want or the things that you want to achieve. Achieve the more likely you are to actually reach them. So that's my method of goal setting. I also discuss my goals with my primary coach and some important people in my life, just so that they also know what I'm working towards. And can hold me accountable to make decisions that are helping me in that process.

My method for goal setting is to write them out and put them somewhere where I can see it. I also discuss my goals with my primary coach and important people in my life so that they can help me hold myself accountable.

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My goal-setting method typically involves writing down my goals, whether they pertain to a specific time, place, qualification standard, or team. I believe in being detailed and executing well. I have developed the habit of putting my goals somewhere visible, as it serves as a constant reminder of what I am working towards.

In the past, I used to have some superstitions about setting goals, fearing that if I didn't reach them, it would be a failure. However, as I have matured, I have realized that writing down goals is not something to be afraid of. In fact, it can be highly motivating and help me stay focused. Research has shown that verbalizing or writing out goals increases the likelihood of achieving them.

I also discuss my goals with my primary coach and important people in my life. This allows them to be aware of what I am working towards and hold me accountable for making decisions that align with my goals.

Overall, my goal-setting method involves writing down goals, keeping them visible, and involving others who can support and hold me accountable in the process.

What is one thing to do or action to take right now that would help you be better in your pursuit of excellence?

Prioritize well-being: Find a better time for social media.

I think that there is a very specific action that I could take that would help me not just in my pursuit of excellence in sports, but just my pursuit of Excellence as a human being and prioritizing my well-being rather than my own entertainment and desire. So I have a really hard time getting off my phone at night. I get in bed at a reasonable hour. Most nights, but I don't fall asleep. Shortly after that. I'm four hours just scrolling on Instagram or Twitter or Tick-Tock or who knows what for some reason. I find some type of relaxation in that. Now that's fine. I just have to find a better time in my day to do that. Then at night, when I'm trying to go to bed because one the blue light does affect your sleep, even if you change the brightness to sleep mode. And all of that on your phone, being on technology before bed doesn't Aid in your sleep. So I think I just need to want to get to bed at a reasonable hour and to to help my sleep, be more beneficial for me. I need to find another time of my day, to spend time on social media and relax, other than at night.

To help me prioritize my well-being, I should stop spending time on social media right before bed and instead find a different time of day to relax and use technology.

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One specific action that would help me in my pursuit of excellence, not just in sports but as a human being, is to prioritize my well-being over entertainment and desires. Specifically, I struggle with spending excessive time on my phone at night. While I do get in bed at a reasonable hour, I often find myself scrolling through social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok for hours, seeking some form of relaxation.

However, this habit negatively impacts my sleep. The blue light emitted by screens affects sleep quality, even if I adjust the brightness or activate sleep mode. Therefore, to improve my sleep and overall well-being, I need to find a better time during the day to engage with social media and relax, rather than doing so right before bed.

By consciously making this change and finding an alternative time to unwind with technology, I can prioritize my sleep and ensure that it is more beneficial for my overall excellence and personal growth.

Was there a race that didn’t go as planned, but ended up being a positive, defining moment for you?

Defining Moment: How a Failed Race Taught Me Valuable Lessons

Nicole. You've asked some pretty awesome questions. Thanks again for this one the moment. I can remember most vividly that really taught me a massive lesson that maybe I thought I had conquered and wasn't dealing with, but it became very vividly clear in this moment that I still was and 2018 at ncaa's, I was going into final seated first in lane four. Um, to everyone, it was my race to lose essentially and I was swimming out of the fear of losing. I was afraid of what people might say, if I didn't win or How I would be looked at or if I didn't win, I wasn't proving to everyone else that I was worthy of even being there in the first place. And I think athletes depending on their ups and downs and their career always go through moments where they're Racing for maybe the wrong reasons or what's driving them to win isn't just the Feeling of passion and love for the sport, but rather maybe what others will say or how they'll be perceived or what the results will be if they don't win. And I think for a long time before that I was really fighting to prove to everybody else why I deserved to be in an a final at ncaa's or compete with these athletes that I was racing against. maybe I had a sense of not belonging as well and it really opened my eyes to shift my mindset and my perspective about why I was swimming, it felt like I was doing it out of the obligation that You know, I'd always done it and I was good at it. So I had to do it and I can't lose because if I lose then I'm a failure and losing is not a failure. I think it teaches you more than winning. Actually. I learned more at that ncaa's. Then the following ncaa's where I won. Three national championships. I had an incredible time at that meat, but I think it was more valuable the year. Fire and even the year before that where I didn't even qualify for the meat. So I think the reason why it's important to discuss these things is to allow athletes, who are experiencing it now, young athletes, or just athletes going through this journey, that it's not always going to go your way, but that doesn't mean you can't learn something from and it can't make you better in the future.

At the 2018 NCAA's I went into the final race in first place, but was swimming out of fear of losing and to prove to everyone else that I belonged there. This experience taught me that it is ok to lose, and that in fact losing can teach you more than winning. It is important to remember this so that athletes, young and old, going through their own journey can learn from it and become better in the future.

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One race that stands out as a defining moment for me is the 2018 NCAA's. I went into the final as the top seed in lane four, and it was seen as my race to lose. However, I was swimming out of fear. I was afraid of what others would say if I didn't win, and I felt the need to prove my worthiness to be there. It made me realize that I was racing for the wrong reasons and seeking validation from others.

This experience taught me the importance of shifting my mindset and understanding why I was swimming. I realized that I had been swimming out of obligation and a fear of failure. Losing was not a failure; it was an opportunity to learn and grow. In fact, I learned more from that race than from the subsequent NCAA's where I won three national championships.

Sharing these experiences is important to remind athletes, especially young ones, that things won't always go as planned. However, these moments can teach valuable lessons and make us better in the future. It's essential to embrace the ups and downs of the journey and find meaning in every race, regardless of the outcome.

Conquering Fears: Disappointing Loved Ones, Flying, and Open Water

Hi, Brett. I'm a woman of many irrational fears. But I'm only going to share a few. I would say my like serious dark irrational fear for getting serious would be like disappointing people that I love. It's just literally haunts me and I would say I'm more like light-hearted one. Well, is it light-hearted? I don't think any of these are Probably none of these are light-hearted but less like, you know. Personal one, more focusing on. Like things around me. I would say flying. Not a fan of flying like a doll and I know it's safe. But sometimes I like start to think about it. Like I'm in a metal tube in the air and we're like super high and I have no control that spirals a little bit sometimes but I've done so much traveling now that kind of just get used to it. I'm also kind of afraid of like deep ocean where like you can't or like Open Water where you like can't see below you. I'm not a fan of that either. It's just a few. As you can tell, I have a list that goes on but I'll stop there.

My serious dark irrational fear is disappointing people I love and my lighter fears are flying, deep oceans and open water where I can't see what's below.

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I have a few irrational fears that I can share. My biggest one is the fear of disappointing the people I love. It's something that haunts me and weighs on my mind.

On a lighter note, I also have a fear of flying. Even though I know it's safe, the idea of being in a metal tube high up in the air without control can sometimes spiral my thoughts. However, I've done a lot of traveling, so I've become more accustomed to it.

Another fear I have is being in deep ocean or open water where I can't see what's below me. It's not something I'm a fan of.

These are just a few of my irrational fears, but I have a longer list. However, I'll stop there for now.

Beata Nelson answers your Swimming questions. See all the advice Beata Nelson has and get answers to your own Swimming questions.

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Beata Nelson is a competitive swimmer who represents the US. She broke the national high school record in the 100 fly and finished her career with 12 Wisconsin state titles. At the 2017 NCAA Championships, she earned an All-American honorable mention through the 200 medley relay. In 2018, she earned B1G swimmer of the meet honors for 1st place finishes in the 100 back and 200 back, and 2nd in the 200 IM. At the NCAA Champs, she earned 3 All-American honors, finishing 2nd in the 100 back, 3rd in the 200 back, and 6th in the 200 IM. In 2019, she repeated as B1G swimmer of the meet, defending her titles in the 100 and 200 back and adding a title in the 200 IM. At the NCAA Champs, she swept her 3 individual events, breaking every record in the books in the 100 back and setting the NCAA and meet record in the 200 back. She was awarded swimmer of the meet and earned the NCAA Female of the Year Swammy Award.