(O...O....OXXXX) Rational Bowling

by phil on Wednesday Dec 31, 2003 2:53 AM
Progress Tracking

(I've been trying to educate myself to be a more rational thinker, here's a sample of some progress)

We went bowling this past night and I got a chance to see rational thinking in action.

Here is a simple "before" and "after" of my thought space to show what effect may have been gleaned from imprinting rational thinking into my mind.

oooo|||||BEFORE

(This is a more emotionally locked in phil)

- I'd spend a lot of time getting into gear or mode before swinging. In between shots, I'd be trying to get myself "relaxed" or into a "confident mode" hoping that that would affect my swing.
- I'd spend a lot of time analysing the score, looking at where the game was going. I'd also be looking at competing bowlers in other lanes, thinking about how well I was doing in comparison to them.
- I'd score a strike and think that I'd be doomed to mess up on the next one.

oooo|||||AFTER

(This is a Phil that is willing to look the Truth in the face and accept it)

- I understood that the primary determinant of my success in bowling was the attention and effort I put while I had the ball in my hand and was on deck. I then stopped focusing on how I was going to bowl and put my attention to the bowling process itself
- I convinced myself that the outcome of this game, in the larger scheme of things, was a trifling. Believe it or not, this was hard for me to swallow.
- I tried to convince myself that I CAN score a strike. Just knowing that you are ABLE to do something in a lot of cases can help you actually do it. This made me more confident

In addition, I had a more case-by-case self-correcting of my game. I'd tell myself, okay, you need to focus more on your aim now or maybe I should use more energy. i.e. I'd distribute my thoughts toward things that actually helped my game.

My scores improved. In addition, I recognized I was tired in the 4th game, and just took it easy. I switched balls and threw in weird ways to get me from being competitive--an attitude which was making me a little stressed. And when I went home, I didn't think much about how I did relative to others.

Describing this event may seem petty. But, oh well. It's progress in my book.

(I'm doing all this "Progress Tracking" BTW because I read somewhere that keep a journal of your progress helps you stay on tasks. It also reminds you of minor successes which are helpful in obtaining happiness)