Question for Athletes

[Raptorsin7]

We lost... And i did not have a good game ):

 I felt really good going into the game too, I just didn't play smart and took some bad shots. 

I know it's only intramurals but i still feel bad. I feel like i let me teammates down.

I did learn some important lessons though.

1. I need to develop flow in other areas of my life so I know what i'm looking for going into the game. I don't even know if it's flow i'm after, i just want the ability to try my best in everything I do. I want to leave the game or any project knowing I did my best with the time allocated. I don't feel like i did my best today...

2. I need to spend more time practicing the games/ things I do. I have the ability to do well in many things, I don't care if i sound cochey i'm a really talented person and I know can do better. But i need to practice doing my best. I am not a point where i can just go out there and get a peak performance out my self. I need to cultivate peak performances before the real thing so i know what i'm doing.

3. I have to find a way to channel my aggression and passion in sports, and more recently on this forum. I was way too aggro during the game, at the end i was basically screaming at the other team about a possession call, it was out of line. I want to play hard, and play aggressive in sports and in life, but i want to be in control. I care about the game of life, i need to cut out the toxic elements of my competitiveness.

Thanks for all the advice and support everyone, i appreciate it.

THE GOOD NEWS:

This is my first semester in law school, and there will be 5 more semesters of intramural basketball before i graduate. I got a redemption season coming up in the spring. I can't wait.

 

[Ampresus]

I don’t know about team sports. I only really do fitness. I used to suck at team sports and so I quit them.

Here is a piece of advice that always worked for me (during fitness): try to channel all your emotions into energy. Could be anxiety, resistance and even loneliness. The last one worked for me, which came as a shock for sure. 
 

Your own individual skillset and your mindset are different things. You could be the best in the world, and yet have resistance because your head isn’t in the game. You need to be in the present moment in the game. Think of all the resistance and slap it with confidence. Whenever I plank, it’s always the last seconds that can get me down. All the mental pressure and stress from thinking too much in that last minute, I channel to my last bit of energy. 
 

Your highest power is yourself mate. Only you can set the limits. Best of luck man.

[LfcCharlie4]

@Raptorsin7 Unlucky bro, learn from it and grow, no need to beat yourself up, once you've learned all you can from it, then move on and smash the next game. 

Aggression is great in sport as long as you're not hurting other players on purpose, but too much aggression can actually negatively effect performance we done it in Psychology, there's like an optimum level to help you hit the 'Zone.'

[Key Elements]

10 hours ago, DrewNows said:

@Key Elements cool.

Would you say mastering the basics of a particular skill results in a download, hardwiring the mind, like riding a bicycle

Yes, I would compare it to riding a bicycle. It becomes automatic to you. You don't have to think about it. That's why in some sports, it's better to learn it when you're very young or young, just like riding a bicycle or driving a car. Imagine what will happen if you learn to drive a car when you're 40+ instead of a teen? I've seen it happen with two ppl. It's unnatural and they were fearful of crashing the car. They were too scared to drive on the freeways.

10 hours ago, DrewNows said:

@Key Elements 

then flow is honing or settling into a relaxed state (backseat driving), able to bask in the awareness and make spontaneous/creative adjustments, improvements, and intuitive foreshadows without hesitation/second thought?  

I wouldn't compare it to backseat driving. It's just like riding the bicycle. No one teaches you these things. You learn on your own by looking at others. Yes, you do make adjustments when you fall down. You get back up and practice again. That's how you learn to ride the bike. You don't fall down, feel disappointed/fearful, and give up. No way. You don't even think about it. You just get back up and practice again. It's the same for anything else.

__________

Let me tell you something. I'm not sure why when we're older, we're reluctant to try new and unfamiliar things. Maybe we're conditioned to only think one way, and that's the only "safe" way. We are conditioned to only write a resume (CV) and apply for a job. We are not trained to look for other opportunities, such as: most of us, myself included, don't know how to go from job to self-employment to entrepreneurship in the straightest possible way. We keep trying with responsibility until we get it. We read books, gather information, compare notes, and network (implement this in real life) to make it work. Jobs are not the only team sport. So are businesses (self-employment/startups). If you look at the big picture, it gives you maximum opportunities.

[DrewNows]

53 minutes ago, Key Elements said:

Yes, I would compare it to riding a bicycle. It becomes automatic to you. You don't have to think about it. That's why in some sports, it's better to learn it when you're very young or young, just like riding a bicycle or driving a car. Imagine what will happen if you learn to drive a car when you're 40+ instead of a teen? I've seen it happen with two ppl. It's unnatural and they were fearful of crashing the car. They were too scared to drive on the freeways.

Wow yup I have a friend who didn’t learn until her early 30s and it blew my mind how much fear she had around learning 

56 minutes ago, Key Elements said:

Let me tell you something. I'm not sure why when we're older, we're reluctant to try new and unfamiliar things. Maybe we're conditioned to only think one way, and that's the only "safe" way. We are conditioned to only write a resume (CV) and apply for a job. We are not trained to look for other opportunities, such as: most of us, myself included, don't know how to go from job to self-employment to entrepreneurship in the straightest possible way. We keep trying with responsibility until we get it. We read books, gather information, compare notes, and network (implement this in real life) to make it work. Jobs are not the only team sport. So are businesses (self-employment/startups). If you look at the big picture, it gives you maximum opportunities.

Lovely. I appreciate this information. Im currently looking for a temp holiday position to earn some quick cash so I can afford to do some post holiday visits/travel/fun 

I have been part time self employed for a few years, just working with a few companies to find clients but I know I didn’t make the most of it and became too dependent on the app/sites I work with, living with family enabled me to do this. And it isn’t the work I wish to continue so I’m feeling quite uncertain, so figure I’ll go down an avenue that will improve my social skills like sales 

[Key Elements]

I'm just making an observation. Please don't take my word for it if it's not what you like. @Raptorsin7 you seem to love basketball a lot. If I had this love for the sport, I would be wondering if I should pick a major that relates to what I love. For example, is there a major that will direct me to being a basketball coach, or something else along this line? Are you sure you want to study law and become a lawyer? I would be thinking, should I make my website and blog on how to play basketball correctly? Should I make an app that teaches basketball? What products can I make? What do you think? Maybe think about this, but don't take my word for it if this isn't you.

 

 

[Raptorsin7]

@Key Elements I do love basketball. And i have no intention of working as a lawyer. It's either i graduate law school and do something else, or i drop out and do something else. But i also don't want to do something related to basketball. 

But the question for me is why do i love basketball. And what happens as I improve as a person and go deeper with spirituality work. Will i still love basketball? I don't know the answer but I'm not doing anything until i get a deeper understanding of non-duality.

Step 1. Get enlightened

Step 2. Embody enlightenment the best I can.

Step 3. Once i understand myself and reality. Choose a LP that enlightened me think's is right.

[Key Elements]

@Raptorsin7 

#1. I picked being a bilingual teacher as part of my LP. I could be a pointer of non-duality through two languages.

#2. Art is also part of my life purpose. I could express bilingual art and non-duality through canvas paintings and arts and crafts.

#3. And, of course, the third part is, to make some kind of educational product (maybe an app) to express non-duality through storytelling in two languages.

I'm doing it like this because, you know...imagine walking into a startup networking event and introducing yourself as a non-duality teacher, like Leo.  lol! That wouldn't work. Too woo-woo. So, I introduce myself as a bilingual startup and teach through art, like canvas paintings, and then they like it because they could relate, and I could explore ways to market this.

__________

I dunno. I'm just taking a wild guess. Maybe you love basketball because it's more expressive? It goes with the flow? There is a flow state in enlightenment, btw. Would it be less stressful for you if you just took some kind of sports major? It's up to you.

 

[Raptorsin7]

@Key Elements I get it lol. It would indeed be very unusual. I'm all in on non-duality and if someone just came up to me and discussing I would be weird out too. Imagine a random person...

If you feel good about what you're doing then you already got it figured out imo. I don't feel good about pursuing sports. Sports are just a tool. Not the end game for me. Maybe if my kids one day love basketball I can help them pursue it but I want something else. That would be enough for me.

I am deluded tbh. So much poor conditioning, and toxic beliefs. I don't trust my desires and wants fully. I won't know what's right until I make more progress in my life imo.

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Raptorsin7

[RickyBalboa]

Sorry your game didn't turn out how you would have liked. Despite that let me impart you with my knowledge from playing tennis competitively from a youth into my college years. 

1. Play in practice the way you are gonna play in a match/game. People have a habit of practicing one way and then when the match comes around they treat it like a different sport almost. Whats the use in practicing one way if you are just gonna start over-thinking and being emotional in competition. 

2. Don't adjust your mechanics in game. I've seen people get all up in their heads trying to change the way they do things in competition when that window has already long passed. That's what practice was for. They keep making drastic adjustments trying to fix their current situation in the match. Practice hard, program yourself in a certain way and flow with that in your match. If you are meant to beat them at your current skill level you will win. If you don't you probably weren't meant to win. I've seen too many people have the upper-hand in a match and then choke because they think the had to change. Ultimately this costs them the match.

3. Sports are more mental than physical. If you can't keep your emotions cool and in check you will most certainly will lose many matches you probably shouldn't have. You have to remain confident and clinical. Getting negative or even too positive during a match will set you up for failure. Theres only one man who has ever used negativity as a weapon and had success in tennis at least, and thats John McEnroe. He was an exception though. One in a million. Most people don't start playing better when they get emotionally turbulent XD.  

I struggled with all these problems and those were the lessons that helped me the most as I too was a VERY streaky player as a kid. I could be on top of the world looking like the flashiest player in town one day and the next get so down on myself that if you walked in on my match you would have thought that someone had given me a death sentence from how sad and dejected I looked. 

Hope someone of these resonated with you and provided some insight for future competition!

Edited December 7, 2019 by RickyBalboa

[Charlotte]

@Key Elements Do you feel there's more than one way to get into flow state? If so what is it?  How would you describe your flow state? (I feel flow state could be relative to each individual) 

 

Great topic op! 

[Key Elements]

3 hours ago, Charlotte said:

@Key Elements Do you feel there's more than one way to get into flow state? If so what is it?  How would you describe your flow state? (I feel flow state could be relative to each individual) 

 

Great topic op! 

Yes, I agree. It's probably relative to each individual. (Btw, flow state in terms of the absolute is called singularity/riding the ox backwards in Zen. I've only experienced this once in my life. You actually become the flow. You're not an embodied ego. You're flow.) In the relative sense, remember when we were children and we learned to ride our bikes? Did you ever fall down from your bike and get scarred? I did. Afterwards, were you fearful of riding your bike? Did it stop you from riding your bike? No, it did not. That's flow state. The next question is, what are you planning to do in your life to get into flow state? Are you planning the next step in your LP? Did you get enough experience and planned it well? If so, why go into it with fear? Fear is not flow. It's the opposite. Yes, I do think the relative influences the absolute. There is such thing as karma, and it can be subtle and profound. Are you doing something now that will benefit all? Are you at least trying? You don't have to wait for the absolute to happen to get your career/LP started. If you do it this way, I think the chances of the absolute happening to you goes down.

[Nahm]

@Raptorsin7 Maybe it’s been too long since you’ve watched Hoosiers. Same 13 ft when you were a kid.

[Arcangelo]

The way you get into the flow-state is by following your intuition and eliminating distractions.

[Charlotte]

@Key Elements Thanks for the explanation. Helped a lot ?❣️

[Key Elements]

@Charlotte you're welcome ??✌️

[fridjonk]

@Raptorsin7

1. Read Mastery by George Leonard.

2. Study Kobe Bryant fully. 

[Matt23]

I think there's a ton to be said from simply mimicking shooting a basketball or pretend playing as you go about your day.  Also, watching videos of other great players (like MJ) is actually a way of learning too.  You sort of pick up what they're doing and it can then transfer into your body.  That's what it seems like to me.

I used to play a ton of bball and I used to just walk around the house pretend shooting and playing.  I heard somewhere that pretend shooting is almost, if not equal, to actually shooting a basketball.... I dunno, but I think there's some validity to it.