How Being a Former Pro Athlete Elevates My Career Path

As someone who once competed as a national-level swimmer and was part of one of Turkey’s premier sports teams, Galatasaray, I learned invaluable lessons throughout my approximately 10-11 year swimming journey. To this day, I continue to live the rewards of my athletics background, experiencing its impact in various aspects of my life. These include cultivating discipline, thriving under pressure, adapting quickly to changes in the work environment, and fostering teamwork. So, let's dive into it.

Just like many of my swimmer buddies back then, I got into swimming for a reason, specifically for health-related purposes. I have allergic asthma, and my doctor suggested swimming. And just like that, I dove right into the pool life, not knowing what lay ahead.

Let's begin with an aspect that many people may not fully grasp. As one of my coaches once said, “Humans are creatures of the land, and swimming is a sport of the water. To maintain our adaptability to the water, we must spend as much time in it as we can." While all sports disciplines are challenging and competitive, often pushing us to our limits, this spesific aspect highlights the unique challenge of water sports, which require us to navigate an environment our natural instincts aren't accustomed to.

And now, imagine a teenage girl who dedicates herself to rigorous training, typically enduring 9-10 practices per week. Three times a week, she undergoes a demanding schedule, training twice daily - once at the crack of dawn, starting at 5 am, and then once again after school. Each water training session spans approximately 1.5-2 hours, covering an average distance of 5-6 kilometers per practice. But her training doesn't end there; she also commits an additional hour to land-based exercises such as gym workouts, running, and dryland training. It's worth noting again that this dedicated athlete is only in her teenage years.

Don’t get me wrong and let me make it clear, I loved what I did back then. However, the discipline and hard work expected from such a young age meant organizing your life around practices. Despite this, you still need to balance school, social life, and your mental health. From a young age, you begin to cultivate traits such as organization, goal-setting, commitment, dedication, and a sense of responsibility. Now, let's delve into each of these aspects individually.

Discipline

Discipline forms the foundation of any sport, as one might expect. Personally, I began to recognize the importance of discipline in my life towards the end of elementary school and the beginning of middle school. While some of my classmates struggled to complete assignments on time, I not only finished them promptly but also excelled in them. I'm not boasting; in fact, 99% of my fellow swimmers shared the same mindset. I preferred to pay attention in class, ensuring I understood the material from the get-go, allowing me to dedicate more time to my training later on.

Organization & Goal Setting

Organizational skills were instilled in me from a young age, allowing me to navigate and prioritize the growing demands of school, swimming, and social commitments. Even now, I am adept at effectively managing tasks to ensure successful outcomes in both work and personal projects. Over time, my organizational and goal-setting abilities have evolved, utilizing productivity tools to create processes, timelines, schedules, and other documentation to track progress consistently throughout the entire process.

Commitment & Dedication

Commitment and dedication can indeed pose challenges. There are moments in our lives when some factors push us to our limits and tempt us to give up. I've experienced these challenges too. There were times when I wasn’t willing to wake up at 5 am to dive into icy waters, especially during winter, while my friends enjoyed the warmth of their beds; but I did wake up. There were also instances when coaches pushed us (a little relentlessly) during practices, causing us to question our very existence in the universe and whether it was all worth it :) :) :)

But oh boy, was I thrilled when I saw even a 1-second improvement in my best race time. Or when I secured a place on the National Team, or when I continuously maintained success in my best disciplines, the 100 and 200 meters butterfly. These achievements proved to me that every ounce of commitment and dedication was absolutely worth it, propelling me to new heights.

Even to this day, I maintain my commitment and dedication in everything I pursue, knowing that it will ultimately lead me to achieve my goals.

Responsibility

The sense of responsibility at a young age can often feel overwhelming. It can be challenging to fully grasp the consequences of our actions. For instance, staying up late to watch a TV show may seem harmless at the time, but it can make it difficult to wake up at 5 am the next morning feeling rested and energized for practice, school, and another round of practice.

I embraced a strong sense of responsibility for my actions and work from a young age. As a result, I find it easy to understand my tasks and effectively manage and work on them in my professional life.

Team Work

While swimming is often viewed as an individual sport, it's important to recognize the significance of teamwork in our training. Practices are conducted within teams, fostering companionship and mutual support. Additionally, relays are a key component of competitions, highlighting the collaborative aspect of swimming and the importance of working together towards a common goal.

As a team player, I've learned to collaborate with my teammates during practices, recognizing each person's strengths and weaknesses. For instance, my breaststroke isn't as strong as the other three, I'd often switch places with my teammates during breaststroke sets to optimize our performance. Additionally, we would find ourselves delivering motivational talks to boost morale during competitions. Being a sportsman has also taught me to be realistic in my approach. Instead of deluding others with false optimism, we would aim to deliver motivational speeches grounded in reality, helping listeners understand their capabilities and empowering them to push their limits.

As driven as I am, I faced challenges during relays when a teammate fell behind in the race, affecting the entire team. However, with time, I came to understand that everyone was giving their best effort. As long as we collectively gave our all during a relay, I learned to accept that it was okay, regardless of the outcome.

Overcoming Disappointment

Swimmers acquire the skill of managing the inevitable disappointment of falling short of their expectations in both training and competitions. They often learn to contextualize disappointment, reflecting on the experience, considering what could have been done differently, and extracting valuable lessons from it.

As swimmers advance in their training, honing their skills, they often experience a surge in confidence and self-esteem. This newfound confidence extends beyond swimming, positively influencing various aspects of their lives.

However, as I mentioned before, this confidence is grounded in reality rather than delusion. Confidence based on one's knowledge and skills has been instrumental in my personal achievements, enabling me to take on responsibilities that I am certain I can successfully complete.

In conclusion, being an athlete offers numerous benefits across various aspects of life. A foundation in sports equips individuals with the resilience and preparedness needed to tackle life's challenges from an early age. Personally, I attribute much of my abilities and skills to my background in swimming. Not only has it brought immense joy to my life, but it has also played a significant role in shaping the person I am today.