Mastering the Left-Handed Layup
Growing up, I loved basketball. I watched, I played, and I studied it. While I knew I wouldn’t be a professional, I certainly figured I could get to college. I made it to about seventh grade. But make no mistake, I was my grade’s finest shooter. Not only was I an excellent shooter, but I could also shoot with both hands. It was a skill I had worked on tirelessly.
In fact, I began to get so good that we were doing a two-on-one drill; I had the ball and was running down the court toward the basket. I proceeded to start a left-handed layup when I noticed I was doubled-teamed and needed to get rid of the ball. So I made a smooth behind-the-back pass to my team in hopes we’d get the bucket. That didn’t happen. In fact, my teammate didn’t even catch the ball--because the ball hit him square in the face and dropped him to the ground. He sat there on his knees, holding his nose as blood dripped on the wood floor. I was lucky I didn’t break his nose.
My teammate knew my left-handed skills enough that he expected me to continue the layup instead of passing it off. What was once wholly unnatural and awkward, playing basketball left-handed, was now totally normal. It was something I no longer needed to think about. What about you? It certainly doesn’t have to be basketball. But is there something in your life that was unnatural at one time but is now normal?
The more you do something, the more natural it becomes. In sports, we call it muscle memory. But our brains work the same way in other areas of life too. Repetition creates neurological pathways in your brain. The deeper those pathways become, the easier and more natural it feels. This is why changing life-long behaviors is really hard--you’re trying to carve out new paths. But over time, with careful attention and repetition, you can give your brain that rush of dopamine it craves to motivate you to keep working at the new behavior. The first few hundred left-handed shots felt really awkward. Then I finally got the rhythm right--which felt great. Then I made a shot--I was hooked. Before long, a brand new pathway was created.
The neurological pathways are where our habits come from. We are designed that way so we can run smoothly without having to think about every little thing we do. However, some of these habits can be harmful--bad eating habits or substance abuse. Yet others are incredibly beneficial--exercise or bruising your teeth.
The point is this: you need time, persistence, and practice to change a habit, to change your past, to start something new, or change your lifestyle. Something new will always feel completely unnatural and out of place. That is until you stick with it long enough to get that dopamine rush, and you begin to create a new and lasting habit.
Challenges/Points:
Our actions create neuro-pathways which, in turn, develop habits--for good or bad.
When we try to change these habits, we have to create new pathways that often feel awkward and unnatural.
To change a habit, you need practice, persistence, and time.
Questions:
What’s one bad habit you have that needs to end or a new skill you’d like to develop?
If you tried to change the habit, what did a new routine feel like at first?
Is there a new habit you now have that once felt awkward that now feels regular and routine? If so, what helped you form the new habit?
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