Tag: strategy

Tools to Train Your Brain – Pattern Interrupt

What is a “Pattern Interrupt” and how can I use it to control my mind?

 A Pattern interrupt is a technique to change a particular thought, behavior or situation. Behavioral psychology and neuro linguistic programming use this technique to interrupt and change thought patterns and behaviors. It can be as simple as initiating a handshake or as definitive as seizing the moment to travel or fulfill your bucket list.

Humans have an average of up to 50,000 thoughts per day. Amazingly up to 95 percent are the same thoughts, repeated every day (according to the National Science Foundation). That’s a lot of repetition. And very little space for new thinking. [Helen Roe, HuffintonPost.com]

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We all have patterns in our behavior. Some are simple habits while others are ways of thinking that are deeply embedded in our subconscious mind. Usually these patterns help us simplify our lives by not having to think about everything that we encounter. There are also patterns that cause us to do things that are not in our best interest or just make us feel bad.

As an example of a simple (mostly helpful) pattern, let’s say you are packing up books into your backpack. Do you think about how they go into the backpack? Unless there is a book that is unusually large, you probably don’t think too much about the activity. You just do it. What else do you do without thinking? Probably more than you might think. These are the patterns that often help us by keeping our life simplified… but sometimes don’t help.

Patterns in Sports

Let’s say that every time you try to do a drill in practice you are frustrated because you are not getting the results you want. Every time you start the drill, the emotions start coming out. You have built a pattern that ties together a particular drill with the bad feelings of frustration.  Intellectually you know that it takes time to learn a new skill but you are still frustrated.

That’s where a pattern interrupt could help you take control of your [pattern of] emotions. It can be difficult to interrupt your own patterns since many of them are so deeply embedded and automatic that we might not recognize them as just patterns. This is where it helps to have a coach or a friend you trust that understands when you need a pattern interrupt.

What might be a pattern interrupt for this example?

By definition, the interrupt must be unexpected and not part of the pattern. If the coach sees that you are getting frustrated by the drill, he or she might walk by and poke you in the shoulder or make a silly sound.  Maybe the coach shakes your hand. Whatever they do, as long as it is unexpected, your pattern would be interrupted. After that, you both might smile because you realize there is no reason to get upset over a drill that you are learning. The coach might then explain how you could take control of your emotions and even enjoy the challenge of the drill.

Other applications of a Pattern Interrupt in Sports

Patterns are not limited to reactions to external situations. You might have a pattern of thinking when you encounter stressful or pressure-filled situations. Do you say to yourself “I am not good at this.” or “I can’t do this.”? These are patterns that can hurt your chances of performing successfully in games and as soon as you recognize them, be sure to interrupt the pattern. Replace those thoughts with empowering thoughts and you will get a boost of confidence.

Imagine the pattern…

Since you probably are not asked to make a game-winning shot every day, it can be helpful to imagine or visualize the situation. It has been proven that your brain doesn’t care if it is a real experience or a vividly imagined one. By “putting yourself into the situation” via visualization you can evaluate your thought patterns and interrupt the ones that are not supporting your success.

How do I use a Pattern Interrupt in [non-sport] situations?

The first step is to recognize a pattern you want to change. It might be an emotional response that you have… or it might be a pattern you recognize in your friend’s response.

The next step is to INTERRUPT THE PATTERN. Did you see what I did there? I typed in ALL CAPS to interrupt the flow of your eyes as you read this paragraph. Yeah, it was probably not much of an interrupt but it gives you an idea of how you want to “take a sudden left turn” to break out of the pattern.

The final step is what you do after the pattern is interrupted. It does very little good to go around doing crazy stuff to break people out of unproductive patterns if you don’t help them move in a better direction.

Depending on your relationship with the person whose pattern is being interrupted, it may be as simple as asking them a question or two so you can find out why they have been repeating the pattern. Usually it made sense when it started but it could also be a result of years of built up history so be sure to let them know you are there to help.

Bottom Line…

If you want to break out of old (unproductive) habits, you need to recognize and then interrupt the patterns. This will give you the opportunity to do something different (and hopefully better).

Pattern Interrupts are a valuable tool that anyone can use to train your brain. We are all creatures of habit based on years of history. We have patterns that help us and others that don’t.  You now have a tool to start changing those habits or patterns into something that better supports your goals.

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Please leave a comment below to tell us how you used a pattern interrupt. What did a pattern interrupt do for you or someone in your life?

Mental Models & the OODA Loop

What am I talking about when I say “Mental Model”?

A Mental Model is a concept in your mind of HOW to solve a particular type of problem. For example, you might think that the way to put out a fire is to pour water on it.

You may think this because you tried it and it worked or someone told you that it would work. In many cases this mental model for putting out a fire works extremely well… but there are some cases when it is the last thing you want to do.

What if the fire is a grease fire? If you pour water on a grease fire, it will make it even worse. Check out the short video below to see what happens.  There are a number of alternative mental models for putting out fires that would work better such as cutting off the oxygen to the fire (by putting a lid on the pot if the grease fire is in a pot).

For other types of fires, a better approach (or mental model) might be to crush it or stamp out the fire. Or your mental model might tell you to find an appropriate fire extinguisher and use it on the fire.  Clearly there are many mental models and many ways to solve a problem.

Value of 3M – Multiple Mental Models

As we saw in the previous example, having multiple mental models can make us more adaptable to different types of problems that might arise. We all know someone (maybe ourselves) who is like the man who only has a hammer so everything in his world looks like a nail!

3M (Multiple Mental Models) is especially important in changing situations where our old models might not be the best choice. Add to this the Uncertainty that must arise when we realize that our observations, almost by definition, are imperfect.

We view everything through the lenses of our past experiences and values. If something doesn’t fit, it is common to just “brush it off” as an anomaly or a freak, one-time occurrence. Denial can cause a problem to grow until we are faced with a dire situation (which could have been solved easily if we had recognized it earlier). So how do we solve problems faster and, ideally, when they are smaller and easier to solve?

Inside the OODA Loop

OODA stands for Observe / Orientate / Decision / Action and is a problem solving framework developed by a fighter pilot named John Boyd. The OODA Loop is the sequence that we go through to solve a problem, often in a competitive situation where our competitor is going through their own OODA loop too.  Even if your problem is not as dramatic or life-threatening as fighter pilots trying to shoot down their opponent, the OODA Loop concept and way of thinking can still apply.

The first parts of the OODA loop are Observe and Orientate. As was shown earlier, our Mental Models figure into both how we observe a situation as well as how we orientate to it (or “make sense of the situation”). An incorrect or out-dated mental model can cause us to make (and act on) a bad decision. For a figher pilot, a bad mental model can be fatal.

On the other hand, if we have good mental models we may be able to jump from an Observation directly to Action. This “implicit decision” to react to a pre-determined situation can give you an advantage over your competition, especially if they are still Observing, Orientating and Deciding. By Acting before they do, you essentially are creating a new observation for them and short-circuiting their OODA Loop.

Basketball… for example…

If we are playing Man-to-man defense and the offense does “X”… do we have an “implicit decision” for the “Y” action that we will take? What are your team’s mental model(s) for situations that commonly come up in a game?

What if the competition beats or counters our actions effectively? Do we have a mental model to deal with this new situation? Do we need to adapt or change our mental model? Perhaps by switching from a pressure M2M to one that includes more help defense? Do we back off the M2M or change the match-ups?

Or do we need to develop a completely new mental model for an effective basketball defense? Maybe a zone defense would work better? Or something we have never tried before… ?

Building Mental Models

Whether you are competing on the court or in the corporate boardroom, you should understand how to build new mental models. There are two processes (that I learned from reading about fighter pilot and military strategist Col. John Boyd) which you can use to come up with new mental models… Inductive or Deductive.

Deductive process involves analysis and the breakdown of other mental models into sub-components that can then be re-imagined through the Inductive process. While deductive processes are important to our understanding of both the competitive situation and our options for action it can also lead to paralysis since we can always break things down into smaller and smaller bits which won’t get us closer to a new model and the ability to translate it into action.

Inductive process of building mental models involves creativity and the creation of new combinations or components to build a different mental model. Some combinations will work while others will be discarded. The key is to find something that can be acted upon and tried against the competition.

Where does all this end?

The short answer? Probably never since we are always encountering new competitive or problem-solving situations and must come up with new mental models.

The better answer? When we win. Once we have a mental model that works, we have an advantage in the current competitive situation. We can win.

The bad news (or exciting news, depending on how you look at it) is that things change and a mental model that worked in the past will probably be less effective in the future.

The competition learns… so be ready.

It is good to build a little Uncertainly into your life. Uncertainty keeps you on your toes and helps you be on the lookout for situations where your existing mental models are letting you down. A mind that is open to the idea that you don’t have all the answers will also drive you to continue to learn and prepare for your next competition. (Ideally, you are adapting faster than your competitors.)

Mental Models keep us alive by helping us solve problems. They can also kill us if we are in a dogfight and our mental model is out of date or ineffective.

Are your mental models up to date? What can you learn today so you are ready to build new mental models? If you found the OODA Loop idea interesting, I would recommend reading this post that gets into the concepts that Boyd used to create and implement his OODA Loop idea. It provides more insights related to the use of OODA Loops which can improve your effectiveness as an athlete and in life.

Leave a comment on your Mental Models

Did you find this article useful? What mental model did you explore or change? What problem did you solve by building new mental models? We would love to hear your stories and feedback in the comments below !

Overcome Laziness – Japanese Concept

Watch the video which will introduce you to a cool concept to overcome laziness. It is from Japan and called Kaizen. Watch the video and then we will talk.

Kaizen is a great way to make a change in your life. It starts a habit in the smallest way possible (for one minute) and allows it to take hold in your daily routine. Once it is a habit, you will begin to see results… which will motivate you to expand the habit and get even more success.

The concept of Kaizen is even more effective for young athletes who are just beginning to train their bodies for sports. While they don’t have the capabilities of a varsity athlete or the professionals they see on TV, they have a distinct advantage… TIME. By doing small tasks or workouts on a consistent basis a young athlete can become a superior athlete faster than they can imagine. Patience + Time = Results.

How could you apply kaizen to your life? Pushups in the morning for 1 minute? How about jumping rope for 60 seconds? How many jumps can you do in that time? What do you want to improve? Start implementing kaizen today!

Try it. Take a little bite. You will like what it does for you.

W.I.N. – What’s Important Now?

It is a simple question… “What’s Important Now?” It is also a powerful tool for shaping / programming / improving your thinking to achieve your highest priority goals.

Lou Holtz Book - Whats Important NowThe W.I.N. approach has been used by legendary coaches such as football’s Lou Holtz and the NBA’s Pat Riley. Lou Holtz asked his players to ask themselves the W.I.N. question 25-35 times per day so they would keep themselves on track with the most important goals or activities they had as college football players and students.

Why does W.I.N. work?

“What’s Important Now?” forces your mind to consider your priorities and TAKE Action on them. Once you decide something is important, each time you ask yourself the W.I.N. question, you are reminded that NOW is the time to take action and move in the direction of your goal!

The other reason it works is the fact that “What we focus on increases”. If we focus on the negative things happening in our lives, we see more negatives. By focusing on the positives, we see that there are more good things going on than we may have thought. When you focus on your priorities and goals, you begin to see opportunities and new ways to achieve them. So why don’t we focus on the positives?

Left to itself, the mind runs whatever programs it has accumulated over the years. Unfortunately for many of us, there are plenty of self-defeating programs running around in our heads telling us things such as “you aren’t good enough”, “I’m not ready” or “Tomorrow would be a better time to start”. The “What’s Important Now” question short circuits that thinking and makes us focus on ONE thing… the most important thing. In many ways it simply bypasses our negative programming.

“What’s important now”
also tricks your mind

The other way that the W.I.N. question tricks your mind is that it automatically breaks down your biggest goals into smaller bite-sized actions or steps that you can take NOW. It is about doing something in the present rather than trying to make the huge jump into an ideal future. The “mind trick” occurs when, before you know it, you have either achieved your highest priority (and need to set a new one) or you look up and find that you are about to achieve it. By asking “What’s Important Now” on a regular basis, many times per day, you are training your brain to move toward achieving your highest priority. You are also putting blinders on so that you are not distracted by lower priority activities.

The REAL question is …

Now that you have learned about it, are you going to W.I.N.? Do you know “What’s Important Now”… for you? How are you going to put this idea to work for your life?

Please leave a comment below and tell us your plan or, better yet, tell us how the “What’s Important Now?” question has worked for you! Isn’t your life important enough to apply this powerful tool?

 

Time Out Huddle

Lou Holtz Book - Basketball Time Out HuddleHow a coach organizes and gets his team to execute a “Time Out Huddle” probably falls under the category of “How you do anything is how you do everything” because it is one aspect of a basketball game that is sometimes overlooked (and is allowed to be done in a “less than perfect” manner).

I came across the idea for this post as I was reading the book by legendary football coach Lou Holtz called “Wins, Losses and Lessons: An Autobiography”. The book is basically about Coach Holtz’s life growing up and becoming a football coach. While I was hoping there would be more blatant “secrets of winning”, I was able to discover a bunch of good ideas for coaches and players.

In the book, (page 191 if you are interested), Coach Holtz says the following,

“Execution is about paying attention to the details. If a team looks sloppy in the huddle, it will look sloppy during the play. If players are unruly on the sidelines, they will be undisciplined on the field. We set standards in that spring practice that many of those athletes had never seen before.”

Coach Holtz goes on to tell the story about how he coached his team to “properly execute a huddle” and how it helped his football team become better. What follows is my take on a basketball version of that.

What is a properly executed Time Out Huddle in basketball?

The ideas below can be applied to a Full time out or a 30 second timeout. The only difference is that the 30 second timeout would be done with the players standing up (on the court).

Perception is Reality

I should probably start by answering the question, “Why do we care how the team executes a time out huddle?” There are probably many reasons but, for me, the biggest reason is the psychological impact on the other team. If they see us RUN to our timeout, it tells them that we have more energy than they do, especially late in the game, and are probably less tired than they are. This is one small way to demoralize the competition. Aside from that, it can also impress the parents and fans in the stands since if they are rooting for us to win, they like to think that we are in better shape than the competition.

Rule 1 for a proper Time Out Huddle: We RUN to the huddle.

Everything and Everyone has a place.

The 5 chairs next to the head coach are where the players who are IN the game will be sitting. If someone is being substituted, they tell the person they are going in for and then take a seat with the other active players.

The coach will move his chair so that it faces the 5 Active Players. In case the chairs are not moveable, the coach will simply stand or squat in front of the active players.

The next 5 players on the bench will stand BEHIND the active players and hand them their drinks and towels. Right hand = drink, Left hand = towel. This assumes you have 15 players total (the max for varsity in NH) so there are another 5 players who stand behind the head coach. Assistant coaches are on the left and right ends of the active players so they can hear the head coach and offer suggestions if called upon.

Speaking of suggestions, and this may be something particular to a head coach’s style, this formation lends itself to a 5-10 second window of time when the players are getting to the bench and getting something to drink where the assistant coaches can feed the head coach their ideas/thoughts/suggestions. I know that is not much time but if a head coach wants the input, it is important for assistant coaches to be concise with their communication. Remember, timeouts are not long and it is important to get the right information to the active players so that they can head back out on the court and compete effectively.

Rule # 2 for a proper Time Out Huddle: Fill The Formation

Listen up !

The final focus of an effective Time out huddle is ATTENTION. All players should be listening to what the head coach is saying so they are prepared to go out on the floor and execute the strategy. All it takes is one person not paying attention to miss a key point of the conversation which could translate into a critical mistake at a key point later in the game.

Rule # 3 for a proper Time Out Huddle: Pay Attention!

As I said in the beginning, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” That means that they way that you execute your Time Out Huddle reflects how you execute any other part of your game. If you are serious about winning a basketball game, you need to be serious about each component that goes into that game, whether it is making foul shots or playing tough defense or something as simple as how you set up and perform your Time Out Huddle. For my teams, I like to say “We run our timeouts like champions.” and it also shows the competition that we are not a “typical” team. We are special. We care about doing the things that are required to win.

What does your Time Out Huddle say about your commitment to winning basketball games?

Mental Toughness – Control Your Story

Narrative is the story you are telling yourself.

You have a voice in your head that is narrating or explaining what everything in your life means. Picture Morgan Freeman’s voice doing a play-by-play as your coach tells you that you won’t be starting the next game.  Maybe the voice says “The coach hates me.” or “The coach has his favorite players and there is nothing I can do to change his mind.” With this thinking (and the story it implies), are you likely to do the things which will get you into the starting lineup any time soon? Probably not.

On the other hand, what if Morgan Freeman said, “The team we are playing is very tall and obviously coach thinks we need our taller players in there.” or “I wonder what I need to do to get into the starting lineup?” or “Coach has always treated me fairly so he must have a good reason for not starting me. I will need to ask him to explain it to me so I can find a way to contribute to the team’s success.”

Where do these stories in my head come from?

The story we tell ourselves is built on the beliefs we have accumulated over the years and it can be hard to change our thinking… or it can be as easy as considering a different (more effective) story to explain the situation. This is the difference of being controlled by your past or developing the mental toughness skill of actively CHOOSING how you interpret events in your life.

How do I change the Narrative or Story I tell myself?

Get some alternatives. Ask someone else how they would explain the situation, preferably someone who does not have an interest in the outcome. Often your family’s beliefs are the same or at least very similar to our own beliefs. This means that they may not offer stories or narratives that are substantially different from our own and their stories may not give you a better course of action.

Find an “objective 3rd party”, i.e. someone who is not part of the “problem”, and see what types of explanations they can find for you.

What if the new story is not true?

Living in denial of the truth will certainly bring poor results but the reality is that there are a multitude of ways that events in your life can be interpreted. Clearly you need to recognize the facts of the case, like in our example the fact that the coach said you are not starting in the next game.

The key is how you react to the facts… and the sooner you realize that while you might initially think a particular circumstance is “good” or “bad” it is often how we react that makes it good or bad for us. Choose to be mentally tough and create your own story.

You can change your story…

… and this can open up all kinds of opportunities that you would have missed.

“Problems are not solved at the same level of thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein

Comments on Changing Your Narrative and Creating Your own Story are welcome and encouraged…

Dealing with Zebra’s (aka referees)

Dealing with RefereesAs a player or coach, how do you work with the referees who are officiating your game?  Or are you in a constant battle with them to try to get them to make the “right” call?

Today I interviewed an experienced basketball referee to find out the best ways to “deal with the zebras” wearing the referee jerseys during your games.  A lot of it comes down to common sense and simply respecting that officials have a difficult job to do.  The best ones know that they are not perfect (and I even got my interviewee to say that he might have missed a call at some point in his career as a basketball referee).

Here is a link to the audio recording of the interview…
“What Coaches need to know about the Zebras”

[I am working on a transcript of the interview for those who would prefer to read instead of listen.  Check back here tomorrow.]

In the meantime, please leave your comments, reactions and questions in the comment section below.  What has worked for you?  Do you have a story involving referees that at the time wasn’t very funny but with time you were able to see the humor?  We would love to hear about it… so leave a comment below!

 

Coach’s Obstacle of the Week (COW) #1 – Slow Start

Coaches Obstacle of the Week (COW)
cow image courtesy of ModernFarmer.com!

What obstacle have you encountered this week?  What obstacles or challenging situations have you overcome (or not) and how did you tackle it?

I have always said that problems at the individual level are always easier to solve at the group level.  Why? Because the odds go up in a group that someone has already solved the problem or challenge or “obstacle” that is causing you trouble.  Is there more than one way to solve a particular problem? Of course, but wouldn’t it save you time to at least consider what someone else has already tried?

Our goal with the weekly “COW’s” is to leverage the experience of our fellow coaches so that when you encounter one of the situations we describe here you are armed with some ideas for a solution.  As the coach of your team, you always get the choice of what you think will work best for your team in that situation.  Need an example?  Here is one from my own history…

COW # 1 – The Slow Start / Poor Shooting

This example of a COW might be something that a lot of coaches have encountered…

My team started out the game very slow and fell behind 7-0 before we knew what hit us.  To compound the situation, it was against our toughest rival who had beaten us multiple times the year before.  If things kept going this way, it was not going to be a pretty picture by the end of the game.  What would you do?Need more information about the situation?

We were taking good, high percentage open shots that just were not going in.  They were shots that we typically make.  We also did not get as many offensive rebounds as we had against other teams.  (That could be because of the competition or our own effort… hard to say.)  Our full court press, which was one of our strongest weapons, had yet to be applied since we had not scored.  I called a timeout.  What would you say to your team?

Here is what I said in the timeout.
Do you agree? Or would you have done something different?

“OK, we are taking good shots and we got the misses out of the way.  Keep moving the ball and shooting those open shots.  Do you know why we were missing?  We were TOO open.  We had time to think about the shot before we shot it.  We don’t have to think… just pull the trigger and put it in.

What we do need to do is hustle after those offensive rebounds and get more shots. Keep playing hard, especially on defense and we will wear them down.  They can’t keep up with us!”

What do you think happened?

Leave your comments and ideas below.  Once I get a comment or two, I will let you know how this challenge turned out and break down the psychology of it as well.

Be sure to add your own COWs to the comments as well.  It might be chosen for next week’s COW discussion!