Surrender Your Game
February 5, 2010
Jerome Green
Don’t have a left hand ? Can’t dribble with your head up ? It is probably time to surrender. Yes, surrender. Magic, Bird, Jordan and Kobe all did it. Every summer they took stock in what part of their game worked and didn’t work and spent the time getting better at what they didn’t do well and then went to work.
Recently I was reading a comment on my Face Book page by an ex player of mind and he said. “ I will never surrender”. It triggered something in me on why so many players today (Pro, college, H.S and youth) may not be improving at the rate they should be. They are refusing to surrender. I think many people confuse surrender with submission. They are two different things entirely. In fact most of us submit to doing the same dumb things over and over and refuse to surrender to the fact that it’s time to do something new. To surrender requires learning to take place. To submit is to admit that you can’t learn or develop.
Surrendering requires a pedantic approach to learning. The process can be addictive and fun. Why continue doing something the same stupid way over and over again? Well, for one, it’s safe, comfortable and gives the illusion of being easier. In truth the refusal to surrender is a avoidance of relaxation. Once you surrender to something, you stop the internal fight and await the adventure. I know when I surrender I breath a lot deeper, laugh more and really enjoy the process. When submit to my way or the high way. I breathing is shallow, my listening is restrictive and my fun meter is below the poverty line.
Some of the greatest athletes like a Usain Bolt at some point in their development embraced his talents and then proceeded to learn how to develop them. Gretchen Bleiler the Winter X Games champion snowboarder says:
“ As a professional snowboarder, it's my job to scare myself every day," Bleiler said. "Lots of people say, 'You must never be afraid of anything.' It's not the case at all. I am afraid -- but it's getting past it and having the confidence in yourself that you can push past those boundaries."
Gretchen is able to acknowledge the fear and then surrender to learning how to get past it. To develop your game to the fullest, you have to get past your fears of looking bad, not doing well, being awkward and surrender to the fact that it’s part of the process. If not, just submit to being the same player who just gets older, but not that much better.