The “IZE” Have It

This lessons from the Lane's Video will focus on how we can harness and stretch our mentality for improved results in bowling and in life. Our minds can do amazing things. For example, have you ever woke up a split-second before your alarm went off? Have you ever said it 4:00 PM wanted AM but still woke up at the AM time? Have you ever had a dream that was so real?

You thought it actually had happened? One of the greatest debates in history is how much of sports is physical and how much is mental. While the estimates are all over the board and there's a common cliche out there that says it's 90% mental while that seems a little bit extreme there is no way to determine the exact percentage. It certainly plays a major role after all, if it didn't that would mean practicing a speech in front of a mirror would yield the same results as performing it in front of a thousand people. And trust me as a full-time speaker for the past 30 years the game changes when you step out on the stage and a few thousand eyes are staring at you.

Just for fun, let's use bowling as your stage. Imagine you are being introduced for the championship match under the hot lights in front of a large crowd for a Nationally Broadcast Tournament. Did picturing that scene make your heart rate jump just a little? If it did you have access and felt the power of visualization. You might be asking, how do we capitalize on how we visualize?

Think of a movie director who runs film after a long day of production, they watch take after take to get the right one for the movie. Here's what's powerful. We can become the director and produce our own mental films. In this session, I will itemize the run|run|create formula. By using this formula you will be able to direct your own mind and mentality for better results in bowling and in life.

The run|run|create formula works like this. Run the ideal mental film. You can use this strategy on or off the lanes. Let's start off the lanes. Find a comfortable place to sit down or lay down where you're not gonna be distracted.

Now you can also do this prior to falling asleep as the subconscious mind is wide open at that point. With your eyes closed, mentally see yourself executing several different shots, ranging from a strike to converting a variety of different spares. You can run this film as if it's being captured from your eyes, or you can see it as if you were watching it on a monitor or a tablet. The more you see it off the lanes the more comfortable you'll be when it happens in real life. Now you can also use visualization on the lane.

This can be done as you're waiting your turn or during your pre-shot routine. For me, the last three things I do before taking my first step is to number one say a positive statement to myself. Something like I've got this, stay loose. They're going down. Next I exhale.

To relax my body and clear my mind. Finally, I visualize the ball and not just any ball, the ball I'm using. Rolling down its intended path, hitting the pins for a successful shot. That's what works for me. Experiment and see what works for you.

Run multiple types of scenarios. This concept came from a podcast where the guest was a swimmer who competed in open water competitions. For several months prior to her first race, she ran a single perfect film through her mind. Hundreds of times, she ran this. The challenge was the actual race didn't line up with her mental film.

She didn't visualize her actual starting position being in the middle of the pack. She always was the first one in the water in her mind. She didn't visualize being kicked in the head several times causing her goggles to be pushed off. She didn't visualize swelling. What felt like a gallon of salt water.

See these real life obstacles were a surprise to her and she wasn't mentally prepared for them. Unfortunately, her results were far from the film that she had been running. Her lesson to others was run the film in multiple types of scenarios. You can do this as a bowler too. You can visualize getting back on track after a poor start.

You can visualize keeping your cool when another bowler over-celebrates their shot. You can visualize your response when the Penn Center breaks down after rolling nine strikes in a row and all the eyes of the bowling center are on you. By running multiple types of scenarios when something tough happens instead of freaking out you've already been there, done that. And now your mentality is I've been preparing for this type of situation. Now it's my time to shine.

This approach will certainly improve the odds of a better result. So we run the ideal mental film. We run multiple types of scenarios. Next create habits to keep the mind present. Justin Su'a is a mindset expert.

One distinction he discovered is when the mind starts to wander on the non-essentials of competitions, things can go haywire and you can fall into a mental trap. Maybe you've been in a league role for the championship against your rival or perhaps you find yourself advancing in a stepladder tournament. Suddenly your mind goes to, huh? I wonder if I win, what am I gonna do with the money? I wonder how much I'm gonna have to pay in taxes.

Can't believe how many people are in this bowling center watching me because your mind is not present. Thinking about the essentials of what got you here your focus slips into a poor shot or disappointing game. To avoid these mental traps, top performers in any sport create a pre-shot routine by creating and maintaining habits that keep your mind present. The mind has less of a chance to wander when the non-essentials show up. If you don't have a pre-shot routine or want to learn more about them, do a quick search on the National Bowling Academy website and get the specifics.

Remember just like everything else in bowling, what works for one person may not work for another. The key is to create routines that work for you and be consistent with them, even in your practice sessions. By taking this approach, the next time you find yourself in a pressure situation your visualization and routines take over and you bring the mental films from your library to life. To review, we capitalize on how we visualize by using the run|run|create formula. Run the ideal mental film.

Run multiple types of scenarios. Create habits, so the mind stays present. This formula means that you can practice every day, even on days when you can't make it to the lanes. Those are your lessons from the lanes.