I believe that one of our biggest problems in life is wanting the right things too much. Our over-desires for good things often lead us astray.
This is true everywhere, but so obviously true in the world of sports. Coaching, parenting, playing. Because we want good things, we often get in the way of the very process we (or others) need to gain those good things. We want our players to be successful so bad that we put pressure on them to perform. But it doesn’t make them better. They end up worse. We want to make the shot so bad we can’t make it. We want our kids to improve so much we burn them out.
I am currently reading the book, Range, by David Esptein. It’s fantastic. I am only a third of the way through, but it has been a wonderful reminder that the process of becoming great isn’t easy or quick. Indeed, it’s messy and lengthy and good. It’s a beautiful mess. I will elaborate more in the weeks ahead, but for now, I’ll leave you with a few good quotes. All these quotes are well-applied to the world of personal and basketball development.
“Socrates was apparently on to something when he forced pupils to generate answers rather than bestowing them. It requires the learned to intentionally sacrifice current performance for future benefit.”
“If the teacher didn’t already turn the work into using-procedures practice, well-meaning parents will. They aren’t comfortable with bewildered kids, and they want understanding to come quickly and easily. But for learning that is both durable (it sticks) and flexible (it can be applied broadly), fast and easy is precisely the problem.”
“Repetition, it turned out, was less important than struggle.”
“Above all, the most basic message is that teachers and students must avoid interpreting current performance as learning. Good performance on a test during the learning process can indicate mastery, but learners and teachers need to be aware that such performance will often index, instead, fast but fleeting progress.”
“Learning deeply means learning slowly. The cult of the head start fails the learners it seeks to serve.”