Fans focus on results. Champions focus on process.
The sum of our habits informs our process. First, let's review the 'habit cycle'.
Recall "Pavlov's dog". The cue (sound) links to release of food and the reward of eating. You've seen it yourself as the can opener sound brings your pet to the kitchen.
"Basketball is a game of habit." Habits become "automatic" - pressuring the ball, blocking out, setting up cuts, moving without the ball. But not all habits are positive...players become "ball watchers", lack hand discipline (reach in), take "my turn" shots. Basketball isn't unique. We are the sum of our habits - our attention, self-awareness, how we invest our time, how we interact with others. If we want our "better version", then we need better habits.
I watched a volleyball scrimmage yesterday. Our local team is very young, with eight freshmen and sophomores among twelve players. What separated the better players? It wasn't only skill and consistency, but the more abstract ability to impact the game and the capacity to make others around them better.
Pete Newell said that a coach's job was to help players "see the game". But before we can see, we must have a process, habits, expanding our vision leading to good decisions and execution (VDE). In The Heart of Coaching (a business book), Thomas Crane discusses a "performance-focused, feedback-rich" environment leading to sustainable competitive advantage.
Tennyson wrote, "that which we are, we are, and if we are to be any better, now is the time to begin."
If we are to be better tomorrow, what habits (diet, exercise, sleep, communication, learning, time management, etc.) should we begin, reinforce, change, or eliminate today? Championship lives start with championship habits.
Bonus: a Dartmouth game winner.
