“A high percentage of top performers keeps some form of daily performance journal. Tennis champion Serena Williams and former World Series MVP Curt Schilling use notebooks; the rapper Eminem and the choreographer Twyla Tharp use shoeboxes, which they fill with ideas written on scrap paper. What matters is not the precise form. What matters is that you write stuff down and reflect on it. Results from today. Ideas for tomorrow. Goals for next week. A notebook works like a map: It creates clarity.”
The honest truth is that this one while a habit of mine, was not an easy one. Sometimes it felt like I was just logging stuff just to log stuff. At least until I happened to just back into some pages of one of my logbooks (I made up some preform attend ones for my programs long ago) to get sample material for an article. Upon reading my pages, and reflecting on them I thought “this is a goldmine!” All right under my nose, I has written it all down…but had failed to take the time to reflect on it. Upon reading the material I had logged I started to see patterns that guided my training to this day. That is the key- reflection!
Action Steps-
1. Buy a small notebook or pre formatted logbook (check out the store for mine) to document your training.
2. Start religiously taking notes of your training. Include what you drilled, how it went, and key measurements. See a sample of a pre-formatted logbook here.
3. MOST importantly, schedule a reflection session once a week. Maybe best done in a distraction free place, even the range after your last practice session. The key is to simply take the time to reflect on what your training is doing for you, and where you may need to adjust.
Excerpt (in quotes) From: Coyle, Daniel. “The Little Book of Talent.” Bantam Books, 2012-08-21. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“We are often told that talented people acquire their skill by following their “natural instincts.” This sounds nice, but in fact it is baloney. All improvement is about absorbing and applying new information, and the best source of information is top performers. So steal it.
Stealing has a long tradition in art, sports, and design, where it often goes by the name of “influence.” The young Steve Jobs stole the idea for the computer mouse and drop-down menus from the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.”
“When you steal, focus on specifics, not general impressions. Capture concrete facts: the angle of a golfer’s left elbow at the top of the backswing; the curve of a surgeon’s wrist; the precise shape and tension of a singer’s lips as he hits that high note; the exact length of time a comedian pauses before delivering the punch line. Ask yourself:
• What, exactly, are the critical moves here?
• How do they perform those moves differently than I do?”
I am always puzzled when I shoot a local match and have several other shooters on my squad that are very new to the sport, yet never take the time to ask me a question or how I plan to shoot the stage. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I am the cats meow, it’s just that I could really help most of them if they asked. Often times I offer a tip,or two, but am careful not to overstep by boundaries. I don’t want to insult someone who doesn’t want help.
Action steps:
1. When you visit your range for shooting sessions, keep an eye out for really good shooters. Then watch and steal from them (information). Be brave and ask them to show you something…. I’ll bet 99 times out of a hundred they will.
2. Those competitive shooters that are reading, should do the same. Check out the results at the last couple matches and look for who is at the top of that list consistently. Ask the match director to squad you with them for the next several matches, and once again do everything you can to steal information from them. Crank it up a notch and ask them to help you break stages down, or for a tip on a technique you need to improve on. I bet they will be glad to help!
Excerpt From: Coyle, Daniel. “The Little Book of Talent.” Bantam Books, 2012-08-21. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“Problems and worries fall into three categories. One are those that we can do nothing about. Two are those which resolve themselves regardless of our worry. And the third and final group of problems or worries are those that we can affect with our actions. These are the problems where we should focus our energy. Our energy will turn these unproductive worries into productive areas of concern.”
I read this quote bothered by a bunch of “possible” problems and small things that had me worried about an upcoming venture. If you have some if your own, the following action steps will really help you break through!
Action steps:
1. Write each problem causing anguish and stress down on a piece of paper on the left hand side. Make sure you write anything down that is bothering you.
2. Next to each problem on the right side, write down anything you can directly do to effect the problem. These must not be items you want to do, but can actually do to change the problem. Take a big black marker and draw a line through any problem you can’t directly effect.
3. Look at each one left over, and prioritize each problem by time. A current problem must be placed in front of a potential future problem. Number your problem list.
4. Attack number 1 and do not move to the next until it is fixed.
It is likely however… That after assessing what is causing you anxiety, your problem list will be very short.
Excerpt From: Stovall, Jim. “Wisdom for Winners.” Destiny Image® Publishers, Inc. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
“What’s the best way to begin to learn a new skill? Is it by listening to a teacher’s explanation? Reading an instructional book? Just leaping in and trying it out? Many hotbeds use an approach I call the engraving method. Basically, they watch the skill being performed, closely and with great intensity, over and over, until they build a high-definition mental blueprint.”
I remember getting some my first shooting videos.. Back when we actually had vhs tapes. I watched them over and over, noting what the top shooters looked like as they executed their skills. I can distinctly remember watch the top pros at the nationals on a DVD as well as Eric Grauffel in his series in slow motion to break down movements. I was blue printing without knowing it.
Action steps:
1. DVD’s are soon a thing of the past, yet I still suggest them if you can find them. Simply because you can watch them at different speeds.
2. Hit YouTube and search for the top pros in your shooting sport. Don’t get bogged down in the junk, instead pick well done videos of technical experts. Watch them during a time of mental “enjoyment” to further the imprinting. For example, I LOVE my morning coffee and combining something with visual learning that I like makes it even more enjoyable. Consider using headphones to get great sound and block outside noise.
3. Repeat daily for 15 minutes at you personal “prime time.”
Excerpt From: Coyle, Daniel. “The Little Book of Talent.” Bantam Books, 2012-08-21. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
The first of many ideas, quotes, thoughts, etc. that I find and want to pass to you to help you become better at your sport, and life. They come from many sources and special thanks to the author of the quotes (full credit is give). I will post these as I find them! Please share this blog, and enjoy. Mike S.
#1
“Each day is a gift, and we never know when our time may be up. I hope all of us end our last day on this earth pursuing the thing we love the most with all of the energy and passion we possess.”
Ask yourself what you are pursuing half heartedly. Mediocrity carries over in life. Whatever you’re doing, make sure you are all in. Try to remember what it feels like to get so into something you can’t think of anything else! What are you waiting for, attack your passion!!
Action steps:
1. Write three things you love to pursue.
2. Pick the one you love the most.
3. Trash the other two.
4. Pursue your “thing” with all the energy and passion you posses!
Excerpt From: Stovall, Jim. “Wisdom for Winners.” Destiny Image® Publishers, Inc. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
