Revelation!

Accessing the Filler in Your Brain

I just read a recent study about the brain is constantly anticipating ahead of where we are. It will compensate for tiny differences in timing input and output to make things synchronous – even though they are not.

For example, I can be standing next to you and be dribbling a basketball. And as I walk away from it, due to the difference in the speed of sound and light, at 100-110 feet the brain cannot sync up the sound of the ball and the visual of the ball hitting the ground. Up until that point, though, it can.

So to work with your brain’s automatic circuit of anticipation, your anticipation of what you are about to do is critical for accessing the filler. This is why the preload and your belief in the preload are so critical.

When the preload is vivid, believed (based on previous successful experiences), and in sync with your performance, you experience this rhythmic sensation of the brain constantly anticipating where you want to be. And at the same time, you are clearly telling it to anticipate in a certain way.

A-HOOGA! You are in that zone where both voices are agreeing on the outcome.

It’s like spell-check. All the words you type are so close to correct that it fynally relly wrks.

Less Conscious Focus

When you’re thinking, you cannot anticipate or use the filler because you’re not anticipating.

It seems to me that the more skillful you are, the less conscious focus you have on any one thing. This allows for instant future plans. Since you are concentrating on what you are going to do in the future (and the brain is constantly living in the future) your actions are more predictable to the brain. This allows it to make minor corrections to make your almost perfect movement perfect during the shot.

Hello, preload!

Over-Trying Doesn’t Work

Deep performance experiences occur when your thoughts are clear and about what you’re about to do and your actions are good enough that the brain has to make the least amount of physical corrections. Therefore the corrections are more consistent and near perfect.

When the brain has to make a big correction and does so successfully, this is why you have the sensation “Woah, where’d that come from?”

This is why over-trying doesn’t work. When you overtry, you are trying to create outcomes and control the actions consciously. It puts you in the present, which is really in the past. Being in the now allows the brain to anticipate the future (where it stays and is happy). It shows you what needs to be done by giving clear pictures of what you want to do.

I think I’m really on to something here. I will continue to mull it over as we plod along in California today and in Houston next week.