Why write daily? Write to share, inform, raise consciousness or controversy. Write to educate myself because there's ample room there. Second, with memory loss a risk, build "cognitive reserve," so when there's slippage (there is), start from a higher level.
Estimable educator, NBA Champion coach and author, Kevin Eastman says, "become a learn-it-all, not a know it all."
Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode with Opposite George?
Consider other points of view. Charlie Munger would say, "Invert, always invert." What if we did the opposite? Adam Grant wrote Think Again, because we are wrong and don't want to stay wrong. Here's an excerpt from a summary:
"And I ask Why is this book worth our time? Here are my three reason for this book:
#1 – This book reminds us that we can be wrong; we can be wrong often; and we can be wrong in many different arenas.#2 – This book is an eye-opening lesson that being wrong can cost money, relationships, and lives.
#3 – This book is a tutorial on how we can learn to rethink – to think again – in many parts of our lives, in order to defend ourselves and others from our wrong and dangerous views."
Increase productivity. In Tools of Titans, Tim Ferriss advocates for journaling as a productivity habit.
Journal to solve problems. Legendary physicist Richard Feynman shares specifics: NAME, EXPLAIN, RESEARCH, SIMPLIFY. Apply the approach to solve basketball problems...e.g. transition defense. Allowing too many points in transition. Have we assigned roles? Are we stopping the ball and protecting the basket? Are players beating their assignment to have court fully engaged or buddy running?
Coach Don Meyer kept three journals - basketball, general knowledge, and gratitude for his wife. He shared the latter with his wife at the end of each year.
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, discusses a friend who writes three books a year, by writing three pages a day. He became a champion of consistency. Writing became his habit and his business. Watch 10 minutes of film a day, 3600 minutes a year, that's 60 hours of film study.
Be happier. Harvard Professor Shawn Achor, an expert on happiness, favors the 21-day gratitude challenge, where you journal three items each day you appreciate, and review after three weeks. Gratitude brings happiness.
See 'other possibilities.' Writing opens us new ideas, points of view, mental models, and metacognition (thinking about thinking). Recently, I read Dr. Fergus Connolly's Game Changer, which helped me see sport differently. And rereading parts of Ryan Holiday's Ego Is the Enemy reminds me of the dangers of ego. Bill Russell saw it differently, "my ego demands - for myself - the success of my team."
As a student of basketball and coaching, where am I likely to be wrong?
- Accepting the status quo as "best"
- Practicing proper work-life balance
- Coaching proper offense-defense balance
- Considering the optimal role of zone defense for young players
- Fighting the constant battle between time and simplicity. Lincoln apologized for a long letter because "I did not have the time to make it shorter."
Imagine that difference-making were a virus. How would you amplify it, spread it, weaponize it? Spread it through intermediate hosts, teachers. That is what we do.
Summary:
- Write for personal purposes.
- Build "cognitive reserve."
- Become a learn-it-all, not a know it all.
- Consider other points of view.
- Solve problems better.
- Increase productivity.
- Be happier.
- Rethink where we might be wrong.
- Spread the gospel of rethinking.
Lagniappe (something extra). Recommendations from Professor Adam Grant (author, Think Again) on rethinking:
I. INDIVIDUAL RETHINKING- Develop the Habit of Thinking Again
- Seek out information that goes against your views. (anti-confirmation bias)
- Calibrate Your Confidence (being sure is not the same as being right)
- Embrace the joy of being wrong.
- Invite Others to Question Your Thinking.
- Learn something new from each person you meet.
- Ask Better Questions.
- Practice the art of persuasive listening.
- Approach Disagreements as Dances, Not Battles.
- Have a conversation about the conversation.
III. COLLECTIVE RETHINKING
- Have More Nuanced Conversations
- Don’t shy away from caveats and contingencies.
- Teach Kids to Think Again
- Have a weekly myth-busting discussion at dinner.
- Stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up.
- CREATE LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS
- Abandon best practices. (best practices evolve)
- Keep a rethinking scorecard.
- Stay Open to Rethinking Your Future
- Make time to think again.
- Make rethinking a habit
- Ask better questions
- Make organizational learning a priority
Lagniappe 2. Partner shooting.
Golden State double ball screen action where both screeners roll and work a two player action after the snap back to the corner lift. pic.twitter.com/ToKHPqymIC
— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) January 27, 2022