Play smarter basketball. Play better basketball.
10-steps to elevate your game and get in the zone
Step 10: think big
One of the keys to playing your best, and becoming a great player, is thinking big.
Picture yourself being a big-time player, and then take the steps necessary to make it happen. If you think small, you may become a better player over time. But if you think big, and have big dreams, you're more likely to go after those big dreams and achieve more than you otherwise would.
The mind is a pretty amazing tool, and it responds to the thoughts we put into it and focus on. For example, if a player is averagin 4 rebounds a game, I would tell them to start thinking big, start thinking about raising their rebounds per game average not just by 1 or 2 a game, but to set a goal that it aggressive. In this case, I'd coach the player to start setting a goal of 10 rebounds per game.
You might think this goal is much too aggressive, but let me explain why it might not be. First off, I'd only coach a player to set an aggressive goal like this if they were capable of reaching that level. And by setting this goal, you are telling the player (without actually telling them) that they are capable of doing it. And once the player, in their own mind, realizes that they can achieve that goal, they've taken the first step to making it happen.
Once this player beleives they can achieve this stretch goal, they can then picture themselves making it happen. For example, the player we're talking about can go through recent games in his mind and remember several situations in previous games where he could have grabbed rebounds. All of a sudden, it's not sucha stretch to go from 4 to 10 boards a game because this player can picture himself having grabbed 3 or 4 more boards (at least) in prior games.
And once this player sets the goal, pictures himself doing it, he then has to make the decision to make it happen. He can watch some tape of himself and see where he could have gotten some more rebounds. He can work a little harder during rebounding and blockout drills. He can work with a coach after practice to get some extra work in on rebounding. And he can make a commitment to himself that he will make an effort to go after each missed shot, with no exceptions.
Do you see how the simple act of thinking big (going from 4 boards a game to 10) can set in motion what it takes to make this thought a reality?
So your next move should be to start thinking big about your own game. Set some lofty goals for yourself, even some that may seem out of reach right now. In a year, 2 years, or 3 years down the road, that goal you set today won't seem so out of reach. If you set lofty goals, think big, you've provided yourself the opportunity to make it a reality. If you think small and don't dream, you've limited what you can achieve.
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