Bad Attitude?
LOOK FOR THE DIFFERENCE
THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
Presented by Macka Jensen
Technology: Human behaviour in lawn bowls is one of the few
areas that continue to operate from outmoded theories and information. Many of
us are still using early nineteenth-century models of how the brain works and
how we behave. The movers and shakers in the sport of lawn bowls put a label on
behaviour called a “bad attitude” or words like that which suppresses
potential bowlers from learning, in fact out of the game, and guess what? We?re
depressed not impressed! The truth is, those terms can be self-filling
prophecies. This brief article teaches a technology that?s readily available
within yourself, a technology that can be used to create the quality you desire
in your game.
Learning: Looking for the difference that makes the
difference briefly explains behaviour patterns that have to be mastered, the
art of learning is asking questions, changing your behaviour, learning behavioural
disciplines, learning optimum performance technologies. There?s an old saying,
?You can?t teach old dogs new tricks.? Don?t believe it, all you have to do is
turn on their hearing aid! If there is interest, then there is incentive, if there?s
incentive they?ll soon understand the reason. Behaviours do not change, we
change!
The steps: The fundamental ingredients to produce any
form of human excellence, comes in three forms of mental and physical actions
that correspond most directly to the quality of results we produce. Picture
them in your mind as the three steps leading up to a spectacular presentation or
event. These steps are as follows;
Step 1: Belief system.
The messages; The first step represents a person?s belief system. What you believe or think is possible or impossible, to a great
extent determines what you can or cannot do. When you don?t believe you can do
something, you are sending your emotional system consistent messages that limit
or eliminate your ability to produce the desired results. If, on the other
hand, you are consistently delivering to your emotional system agreeing
messages that say you can do something, then that opens the pathways for your
emotions to signal your brain to produce the desired results. If you can model
the belief system you?ve taken the first step towards establishing the
difference that makes the difference.
Resources; ?One bowler with a belief is equal to a force of ninety nine who have only interest.? Knowing this, and that the
resources are within yourself will lead you along the path to the stairways of
excellence, taking the first step in effect delivers a direct command to your
emotional system. When you believe something is true, you literally go into the
state of its being. Handled effectively, beliefs can be the most powerful force
for creating enjoyment in your sporting life. On the other hand, beliefs that
limit your actions and thoughts can be as devastating as resourceful beliefs
can be empowering. Beliefs help us tap the richest resources deep within us,
creating and directing these resources in support of out desired outcomes. To
change our own behaviours, we have to start with our own beliefs if we want to
model excellence.
Step 2: Communication patterns.
Using our senses; The second step that must be taken is a person?s mental syntax. Mental syntax is the way
bowlers organize their communication and thoughts. We all have different ways
of learning theory and doing practical skills simply by using our senses.
People learn, understand and do things by what they see, feel, hear, smell and taste.
The ways we perceive through our senses come in different patterns. It can also
be described as the understanding, learning or doing code as follows;
Example 1: On many occasions bowlers don?t communicate well to each other because different people use different words and
we are forced to repeat the statement again by reframing it with other words
and body gestures.
Example 2: Some people will only learn by what they see, some by what they hear and others by touch e.g. if you show someone something and you are not using words that communicate to them or if they can
not feel or handle it, then you have a communication breakdown.
Example 3: Another is that many bowlers have great difficulty in coordinating their body actions when delivering a jack or bowl.
The doing code is simple done by segregating the delivery action into three dimensions;
preliminaries, concentration, and delivery action, then working out what senses
controls each segment as follows;
- Visual: controls balance, alignment, length
and concentration. - Vestibular system: controls balance;
pertains to the sensory apparatus we use to orient our bodies in space
e.g. moving up, down or sideways (it is situated within each ear and is
linked with visual and kinaesthetic senses. - Kinaesthetic: controls movement and timing; pertaining
to feeling, touching, proprioception and sensation.
Dimensions: Segregating the delivery action into three
dimensions and establishing what is required in each segment with its learning
senses will give you the code that speeds up the learning ratio, improves balance
and the precision of the delivery. These codes are as follows;
- Preliminaries:
This involves static
balance, grip, alignment and length. The learning code involves visual,
vestibular and kinaesthetic senses. - Concentration: This involves focusing on the aiming
point, controlling the eye movement and blinking, and the eye, hand aiming
point alignment in the follow-through. The learning code is visual - Delivery action: This action is automatically
performed; it involves movement, dynamic balance, coordination and timing.
The learning code are the eyes, vestibular and kinaesthetic.
Note: The key to success is; if the
concentration is not broken the eyes become the dominant feature of the
delivery action.
Step 3: Physiology.
Determining
the state; The third step
is physiology. The mind and body are totally linked. The way you use your
physiology, the way you breathe and hold your body, your posture, facial
expressions, the nature and quality of your movements, actually determines what
emotional state you are in. The state you?re in then will determine the range
and quality of the behaviours you?re able to produce.
Changing emotional
states: if you look around
the green during pennants, you?ll notice by people?s posture what emotional states
they are in e.g. stress, glum, unhappy, over serious etc. If you look at them
long enough it becomes contagious and you?ll adopt the same posture and same
state. The art of physiology is, if you detect any of these un-resourceful
states, immediately change yourself into a resourceful state by simply standing
up straight, well balanced with the mass of body weight over both feet, throw
your shoulders back and breathe deeply from your chest and look upwards. From
this type of posture your brain will receive a message to be alert, vital and
resourceful. There are phenomenal resources and strategies all around you. The
challenge to you is to start thinking like a bowler, continuously being aware
of the patterns and types of actions that produce outstanding results.
