I have been doing swimming for over a year now. I can do freestyle and butterfly, but still they are not easy. I'm thinking then that probably, I'm way below to be becoming a real-blooded athlete. Or is it just normal to feel that it's still hard especially if you are always pushing to extend your limits?
To become good at anything takes time and the amount of time it takes will differ from one person to the next even if they are under the same instruction. Remember everyone 'gets' it at different pace also our bodies are all not the same. The trick is to always be pushing yourself and also when necessary you will need to change your approach all together.
Everything takes time and a lot of practise and patience to become good. I'd say sport especially. I think if its a sport you enjoy, rather than just something you want to do to keep for or pass the time, you'd have a better chance of becoming good at it. As they say, practise makes perfect...
I think anyone looking to perfect their craft will always feel that their skill is still lacking no matter how proficient they get because they are aiming to be close to perfect. If you want to join in competitions then there will be a longer road ahead but if you just want to be casual yet still very good then it's okay to settle at some point as pushing yourself too hard for something that you don't intend to make your trade wouldn't be very practical.
Like others above, I think it depends on your goal for that particular sport. Is it something you do for fun, for fitness or do you want to compete? And, if you do want to compete, on what level do you want to do it? No matter how far you go or how good you get there will always be room for improvement; and on top of that, if you are a humble person you will never see yourself as all that good even if you compete and become a consistent winner.
It takes years for most people to become great at a given sport, and that's how things have always been. While some people do have natural talent, sports aren't always that simple. Nothing that requires skill should come easily at first, so you're going to feel like it's hard at various points.
Everybody is good at different things so I wouldn't be too concerned that you aren't quite an Olympic-standard swimmer. The best reward for taking part in exercise is the health benefits it gives.
10,000 hours. That's what it takes to be proficient at anything. But of course you need to have the determination to be good at what you are learning. You also need to embrace patience. It takes time to be really good . . . at least four years.
If I love the sport or if I am very eager to learn it the timeframe would a couple of weeks or a month. However for some sports I need to do training for atleast 2 month or more to become pro. For my games like table tennis, dart or badminton it takes me weeks and month to master it.
Everyone has completely different abilities whenever it comes to sports. You just need to keep pushing yourself as hard as you possibly can, because that is how you grow physically and that is how you reach the success that you are looking for. Do not give up, and keep your eyes on what your goal is. Make sure you attain that goal.
