{"id":6412,"date":"2011-06-03T21:58:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-04T05:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=6412"},"modified":"2013-09-10T13:14:48","modified_gmt":"2013-09-10T21:14:48","slug":"shooting-lessons-4-ways-to-make-things-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/shooting-lessons-4-ways-to-make-things-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Shooting Lessons: 4 Ways to Make Things Happen"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/a><\/p>\n

A couple of days ago I was shooting around at my neighborhood basketball court. And unfortunately, my shot was off. And when I say off, I mean way off. I felt like I couldn\u2019t make a shot if my life depended on it. In fact, I even shouted that out loud!<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s when I realized what I was doing wrong. Every time I missed a shot, I was reinforcing the idea that I couldn\u2019t make one. And as a result, I kept missing over and over again. But what I was doing wrong wasn\u2019t my only problem. I wasn\u2019t doing enough things right either.<\/p>\n

This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I was a much better shooter when I was a kid than I am today. Granted, I played almost every day back then. But I was only about five feet tall. And now I\u2019m over six! So physically, there was no reason why I was better back then than I am today.<\/p>\n

So I stepped off the court for a little and got to thinking: If what made me better as a kid wasn\u2019t physical, then it had to be mental. So, the question became: What did I do differently as a kid that I wasn\u2019t doing now?<\/p>\n

Then it hit me. On the basketball court as a kid, I didn\u2019t see myself as just a kid (what I was). In my imagination, I was me in an adult form (what I am today ironically), playing alongside basketball greats like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. But that wasn\u2019t good enough for me. I had to be the one who THEY passed it to when the game was on the line with just seconds remaining.<\/p>\n

Here are the steps I took when I was shooting the \u201cbuzzer beater\u201d in my mind when I was a kid:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make Positive Affirmations:<\/strong> Before I shot the ball, I told myself \u201cThis is going in\u201d and \u201cI am a great shooter!\u201d<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Visualize It Happening:<\/strong> Then, I visualized the ball going in. Not just the part where the ball swishes through the hoop (the end result) but also the path the ball traveled along the way to the hoop.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take Action:<\/strong> Then, I shot it! As I was jumping up into the air I kept visualizing what I wanted to happen and re-affirmed to myself \u201cThis is going in!\u201d<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Act as If:<\/strong> After the ball left my fingertips, I held my arm up in the air where it was when I last touched the ball. This is called \u201cfollowing through\u201d in the basketball world. Not only does this help your form, it exudes confidence in your shot. I was \u201cacting as if\u201d the shot I took was going in.<\/p>\n

With these steps fresh in my mind, I stepped back onto the court. And all of the sudden my shots started going in. I can\u2019t tell you that I made every shot afterwards (if I did I\u2019d be trying out for the NBA), but I can tell you that I was making most of them.<\/p>\n

I learned an important lesson that day. If my attitude and mindset could help me achieve a simple goal like shooting a basketball, what else could it help me achieve? A goal is a goal no matter how big or small it is. Whether it is having a successful business, getting a promotion, losing weight, or shooting a ball though a hoop, we should approach each and every one of our goals with the steps above.<\/p>\n

Sure, you may not need to do it when it comes to the small goals in life. But following these steps will not only help you achieve those small goals, they will also reinforce your habit of doing them so you\u2019ll do them naturally when it comes to your bigger goals.<\/p>\n

David Rahimi is a freelance blogger and the voice behind www.newagethinker.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Related Articles:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The 21 Habits of Healthy People<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

The Benefits of Meditation<\/em><\/a>
\n<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So physically, there was no reason why I was better back then than I am today.<\/p>\n

So I stepped off the court for a little and got to thinking: If what made me better as a kid wasn\u2019t physical, then it had to be mental. So, the question became: What did I do differently as a kid that I wasn\u2019t doing now? Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":6414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[30,6],"tags":[1418,934,66,4639,4629],"yoast_head":"\nShooting Lessons: 4 Ways to Make Things Happen - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I learned an important lesson that day. If my attitude and mindset could help me achieve a simple goal like shooting a basketball, what else could it help me achieve? 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