Defining Mental Representations

Creating long-term memory is defining mental representations: a visual image we see when a phrase is introduced to our brain.

Long-term memory enables the brain to process enormous amounts of data in a fraction of a second. The pattern recognition via repetitions in deep practice makes the patterns more and more obvious to the brain. This enables the brain to fill in more and more precisely, allowing for the athlete to produce higher and higher levels of performance while at the same time relying on fewer and fewer visual cues.

This is why the preload is so vital in building the mental representations that eventually become patterns because you have done them so many times and predicted the shot in detail and then successfully made the shot.

To just do this once is not building long-term memory. But doing it over and over in deep deliberate practice allows for the brain to say, “Oh yes, I remember this. Let’s do it – I am ready!” 

The more fascinated you become with the long-term memory’s ability, the more you can depend on it. The more you depend on it, the easier it is to let go and trust it.

You are either in long or short-term memory and you can’t be in neither or both!

Attitude plays a big role!