Quotes About Focus

Listen, I'm a sweet guy. I'm just intense at work. I have nothing but the end result in mind. My entire career has been like that.

My sweet spot as a writer and, especially, as an essayist is sub-1500 words.

Whatever other people expect me to do, whatever they're comparing me to, I don't care. I'm just trying to swim fast.

We don't swim for the attention. We don't swim to be rock stars. There is something beautiful about being in an anonymous sport and being fairly anonymous. It enables you do something you love without any of the other effects.

And I guess the thing that I really sort of rely on in me is that I love racing and I love competing and so I know that you know when the time comes and the pressure's on and I have to swim well, I'm sort of able to pull it out and sort of get the best out of myself.

I had always had the same pre-match routine that I went through every day - get up, go down for a swim and a stretch, back to the room for a shower, then down for brekkie - the same routine every game, and it got me ready.

It drives me forward knowing people are watching me and I have to swim well.

Everything I do in the gym translates to being a better swimmer.

I was a competitive swimmer in middle school and high school.

But if you can find that spot - I suppose it's like running - I used to be a swimmer and swim laps, and you just have to be there with what you're doing.

I cannot control what goes on in another lane and this is how I focus on the Games. There is no point in being nervous of other swimmers. It's just about focusing on yourself and what you need to do in order to perform at your best.

It's so hard to express yourself, because swimmers are pretty much paying attention to a black line for hours out of a day.

For swimming, we don't really have an offseason.

I want to continue the sport of swimming. I'm not going to give up until I think it's reached where I want it to go.

We play a lot of Nintendo games, a lot of Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, a few different card games, really just stuff so we can stay loose and get your mind off of swimming before going into the meet with full focus.

Why is it such a big deal what I'm swimming?

For me, it's about swimming faster. Anything that's not pertaining to swimming faster is irrelevant to me.

I think for most people it's hard to understand what it is about swimming - I mean it's such a solo endeavour.

I think simple's good. That's why I enjoy swimming. It's very primitive, very simple.

My whole swimming career was about training to beat Michael Phelps in any race I possibly could.

Grime reminds me that swimming is very gladiatorial.

You're either an Olympian or not in swimming.

I'm still swimming.

I'm really looking forward to just concentrating on the swimming part now instead of what's going on with me outside the pool.