Post by bulkey on Feb 11, 2021 11:19:01 GMT -5
Pardon my "BS" but thought it might be fun to start this conversation, especially since we're seeing players evolving at very different rates.
There are all kinds of psychological theories about how young adults integrate their worlds holistically (Piaget's work still dominates my own understanding). It's an evolving process, but here's my "BS":
Essentially, athletes start out thinking about their individual performance. They see the court through their own eyes. They feel their ups and downs as reflecting on their own self-worth.
Gradually, at least some of them evolve a greater sense of the whole. Some (like Paige) eventually don't even think; muscle memory takes over their actions, which are merely reflections of some greater court vision...of all the moving parts...pretty much how Neo begins to see his opponent in The Matrix. Their own individually is substantially diminished as they are "in the moment."
That sense of flow state (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) is the ultimate athletic evolution. Many never get there; some get there sometimes.
But some stay mainly stuck in the initial state in which, during play, they perceive their performance precisely as about themselves. Not that they're selfish; quite the contrary, they'd do anything to help the team. But they continue to see the court through their eyes outward and conscious mind, rather than from a broader court vision and by their own instincts. It is such a conscious, exhausting effort that they press, and it's a spiralling downward cycle.
The solution? Short of a mental evolution toward a flow state, which cannot simply be willed (kinetic genius is the final one of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences), the best one can do is temporarily achieve some peace of mind and relax. But there's the contradiction, sort of like the best remedy for insomnia is a good night's sleep.
There are all kinds of psychological theories about how young adults integrate their worlds holistically (Piaget's work still dominates my own understanding). It's an evolving process, but here's my "BS":
Essentially, athletes start out thinking about their individual performance. They see the court through their own eyes. They feel their ups and downs as reflecting on their own self-worth.
Gradually, at least some of them evolve a greater sense of the whole. Some (like Paige) eventually don't even think; muscle memory takes over their actions, which are merely reflections of some greater court vision...of all the moving parts...pretty much how Neo begins to see his opponent in The Matrix. Their own individually is substantially diminished as they are "in the moment."
That sense of flow state (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) is the ultimate athletic evolution. Many never get there; some get there sometimes.
But some stay mainly stuck in the initial state in which, during play, they perceive their performance precisely as about themselves. Not that they're selfish; quite the contrary, they'd do anything to help the team. But they continue to see the court through their eyes outward and conscious mind, rather than from a broader court vision and by their own instincts. It is such a conscious, exhausting effort that they press, and it's a spiralling downward cycle.
The solution? Short of a mental evolution toward a flow state, which cannot simply be willed (kinetic genius is the final one of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences), the best one can do is temporarily achieve some peace of mind and relax. But there's the contradiction, sort of like the best remedy for insomnia is a good night's sleep.
