Everyone has that family member, friend, or coworker who, no matter what the situation, finds a way to complain. You know, the ones that swear they have worse luck than anyone on the planet and are convinced that someone is out to get them. Well, when it comes to building self-discipline in life, the more negativity you are around, the less productivity you will generate.
Jason credited a lot of his success to surrounding himself with the right individuals. He said, “When you’re around someone or around people who are doing the right thing, that makes it a lot easier for you to do the right thing.” When Jason spent that summer practicing with NBA stars, he was able to pick their brains and get a first-person look at what it takes to be a professional.
It’s time to put your ego aside and seek out individuals who are smarter and more experienced than you. While you may feel inadequate or feeble at first, much like Jason when he first stepped up against Gary Payton, I can promise that hard work pays off and that there is no better way to grow in a particular field or area than spending time with those who have already walked the path that you are pursuing.
For those who aren’t blessed to be in an atmosphere with high performers in the department that they hope to specialize in, Jason recommends writing in a diary—something that was suggested to him during his time with the Phoenix Suns. In this diary, Kidd would document when things were going well and when things weren’t so pretty. That way, he was able to better prepare himself for when future events arise.
“You have to write things down,” he said. “Things aren’t always going to go well. You can go back at your notes and look back at the time when you were playing at a very high level. [I can see] what was I doing during this time, what was I eating, what was I doing on the court, what was going on in my life, so you can always reflect. When it’s 60 games in [of the NBA season] and I’m tired, I look back at the book to see what I did last year during this time to get over the hump.” Whether it was the ups and downs of the rigorous NBA season or far-fetched goals he wished to accomplish, Kidd made note of it all.
In our goal-setting chapter, we saw the power of writing down our dreams, aspirations, and even simple tasks that we wanted to get done. Jason Kidd’s story is a living example of the benefits of taking time out of your day to document your journey, manifesting that this simple action is a pivotal step in attaining long-term success.
Only two players in NBA history have scored over 15,000 points, corralled 5,000 rebounds, and dished out 10,000 assists: Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Jason Kidd.
After talking with Jason, I purchased my own diary. Any time I felt a day went well, I would make sure to jot down the steps I took during that day for it to be a success. Whether it was the food I ate, the people I spoke with, how I managed my time, or even the thoughts I generated inside my head, I included it all. On days that I struggled or encountered moments where I came up short, I went into full detail as to why the particular situation played out as it did and how I can improve the next time it arises.
The concept of writing in a diary is now a staple for me. Think about it. Life happens so fast, making it impossible to remember everything that goes on. With a diary, you give yourself the ability to reflect on your personal life, which ultimately helps prepare yourself for a brighter future.
While I was hoping to learn a little bit about swag from Jason (if you haven’t seen his bleach blonde hair cut from his Phoenix days, please check it out), getting the chance to talk about discipline and absorbing ways to ultimately better myself is just as good.
Discipline is, by far, the most common trait adopted by all successful people. If you aspire to be in the top 1 percent, you must do what only 1 percent of people are willing to do. While breaking down videos of your opponents in high school or taking thousands of jump shots a day may not be the most glamourous way to spend time, it was how Jason Kidd separated himself from the pack.
Self-discipline is attained by training your mind to solely focus on what you feel is important in order to achieve your goals. Someone who wants to lose weight must develop the discipline to eat strong, healthy foods rather than those filled with sugar. If you wish to get all As on your report card, you must discipline yourself and spend extra time studying while others take part in activities that will not benefit them in the long run.
Beyond self-reflection, journals can be utilized as a way to mightily improve our efficiency. As you know, when we write things down, we automatically give ourselves a better chance to accomplish any task or goal. For further emphasis, here is an examination on doodling in the classroom.
In 1996, Beesley and Apthorp conducted a study to see the links between strong note-taking and overall success of college students. They were eager to see if writing down notes led to stronger retention of the information at hand. According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the group who took notes performed better on tests than those who chose not to record the information during lectures. The researchers also found that the note-takers actually outperformed the control group who reviewed the lecture annotations but did not physically write them down.
In 2012, James and Engelhardt constructed a study using fifteen children in Indiana. The boys and girls were asked to write, trace, or type out letters while their brains were scanned. The researchers, according to Trends in Neuroscience and Education, identified that scripting the letters triggered more brain regions than typing them on a computer.
Even in the digital age, there is still something special about writing things down. Not only are you more prone to retain the information you write, but your brain is literally energized in ways that aren’t possible unless you put pen to paper. So each day, write down what you would like to accomplish. It only takes a minute and automatically increases your chances of getting things done.
Paramount Points
•Boost your benchmark by surrounding yourself with individuals who have a successful track record in the field that you wish to excel in.
•Identify what it takes to be successful in your coveted field. Part of becoming a self-disciplined individual is grasping what it takes to be prosperous
•There will be days when you are tired, not in the mood, and shots just aren’t falling, but KEEP GOING.
•Purchase a journal, and use it to track your journey.
•If you want to be in the 1 percent of people, you must do what only 1 percent of people are willing to do.
“People think that I’m a four or five-star recruit, but I wasn’t. I didn’t start on the varsity team until my junior year. My peers around me—they were better athletes than I was.”
The first son to Marilyn Heard, Terrell Owens grew up in Alexander City, Alabama. He was raised by his mother and grandmother. When Marilyn was young, Alice, Terrell’s grandmother, raised her in a relatively restrictive environment. Marilyn was not allowed to play with the other children in the neighborhood and was forced to come straight home after school. Had she broken any of her mother’s rules, you can bet there were heavy repercussions.
Terrell was brought up no differently. He was whipped regularly and was not allowed to spend time with friends. There were often times where Owens would glance across the street and see his friends shooting hoops or throwing a ball around, but, because of his firm, unbending grandmother, Owens couldn’t do more than observe the kids having fun. Despite this, Terrell loved his grandmother, who taught him strength and truly made him into the person he has become today. In his emotional Pro Football Hall of Fame speech, Owens made sure the first people he thanked were his mother and late grandmother.
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