Be More Present
“The ego doesn’t exist in the present moment: To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only past and future are considered important.” – Eckhart Tolle
Being “in the present” is so important in bowling. It frees your mind from negative thinking and your ego, allowing you to just be and get access to your best skills. The challenge we have today, is that nobody is ever truly present – we are constantly distracted (mostly by our mobile devices), and this doesn’t help us in the bowling center. We’re losing the ability to be present, and we are at the mercy of every thought that pops into our heads.
The ancient practice of meditation and mindfulness is all about improving a person’s ability to access the present moment and increasing awareness of what they are focusing on and how they feel. With this practice you develop more self-control, and more control over your “performance state”, instead of allowing your thinking to dictate it.
I advise all my students to start a daily practice of meditation and mindfulness, as it has so many benefits (beyond bowling). We have discussed this on Mental Monday.
Samurai Warriors adopted Zen Buddhism and meditation because it allowed them to fight with an “empty mind”. For these swordsman, having an empty mind was vital in the midst of combat as it freed them from doubt, fear and focus on technique. Of course they trained technique, but when combat began, all thinking departed and the purity of the action took over. This is how we need to be on the approach– less thinking and more playing.
Tomorrow we will discuss being more MINDFUL and I’ll share an exercise with you.
Start thinking about becoming more PRESENT to Win the Day!