Earlier this year I wrote a post called “Did you have fun?“, referencing the only four words I ever said to my children after a swimming race or other sporting event. Over the weekend I saw this from Allistair McCaw:
I then tweeted that out and esteemed swim coach and past #WhatComesNextLive guest Gregg Parini (show link here) replied and we had this brief dialogue:
I love this, to start with “Did you have Fun?”, then move onto, at the right time, “What did you learn?”
Oh, and Gregg is in his 36th year as head swim coach at Denison University, a hugely and consistently successful programme. Their motto is Sempre Avanti (always forward).
Were Gregg not always asking himself and his swimmers “What did you learn?”, I would imagine a programme with the same Head Coach for 36 years would become stale and atrophy. On the other hand, his programme demonstrates that being lifelong learners and having a growth mindset stimulates continual growth and so success.