Strikes, spares and misses...what does bowling have to do with building confidence...or any other skill?
This past weekend my family went bowling. All six of us for the first time ever. To be clear, I am not a "bowler" at all, in fact, the last time I went bowling was BC...you know what I'm saying...
The thing is, I couldn't stop unseeing the parallels between bowling and confidence.
In my experience? It boiled down to intention. Stay with me here...
My intention for the entire night? Connect with my people, have some fun and food...at least initially. I could see by the way others got going that they had a clear intention of doing well. How could I tell? Their posture when they grabbed the ball, the time they took before they released the ball, all of it and, not surprisingly, they tended to get more strikes, do better overall. Initially.
Perspective -
Strikes
In bowling it's a win, in baseball? Not so much.
Know where you're 'playing' - sometimes it's not about knocking down all of the pins. It's actually about showing up and trying.
Spares
A chance for "redemption" so to speak. To try again.
You can knock down all of the pins the second time around and while technically that's a "spare" a couple of us argued (okay, maybe just me) that it's still a strike. What do you think?
Misses
In order to get better at anything you have to experience the misses, the gutter balls. When you don't get one single pin.
Humbling and yet definitely a part of growing ANY skill. The painful beginning. The starting point.
Remember intention?
I couldn't help but notice as the night progressed, I got a little more focused and did better on a few frames when I did. I also noticed that as we all got tired the focus shifted from winning to going through the motions. In fact a couple of us declared we were done.
I know we're talking about bowling here and yet the parallels are there. As intentions dwindled or changed so did performance and outcomes.
When you have focus and intention, you do better, regardless of your skill level. It's just true - no matter what you may be working on.
Are you ready?
Let's get to it...
Your challenge...
Maybe bowling isn't your jam and I'm thinking that the lessons you can learn are universal:
You can't skip to the end and be an expert. It doesn't work that way.
Be Patient:
With yourself. Being new at something requires patience.
Consistency:
Show up.
Think about it. If you bowl once a year, how much will your skills improve?
Persistence
Showing up regularly. Practicing and preparing. Knowing your outcome. All of these contribute to improving your "game", whatever it is.
Intention:
Know what you want to get out of each and every interaction. It matters.
Start with the end in mind. Always.
Want to learn more about how a few sessions with me can dramatically increase your confidence? Contact me I guarantee you'll be glad you did!
Warmly,
Ann
As a Confidence Coach, I help you to be intentional in all of your interactions. Especially those where there's no "do-over".
Strikes, spares and misses…