Do what you feel, not what you think

Something I’ve ironically been thinking about lately is the art of not thinking at all.

What I mean by this is moving from intellect to instinct and intuition.

I know so many people (myself included) who get in their own way, simply by thinking too much. We try calculate, predict, and bend the world to our own will instead of riding it’s waves.

There are so many parallels I could draw here to demonstrate when commitment and confidence trumps intellectual hesitation and doubt.

For my skaters, you know that when your about to do a trick you need hundred percent commitment, because the moment you start questioning yourself is the exact moment that sends you to the emergency ward at the hospital.

Another example for my footy players this time is when your coach has come up with a plan for the game, and a set structure you should follow, however, in the blink of an eye you see an opportunity open up out the back that goes against everything you’ve trained. This is when you read your opposition, see a crack in their defence and go for it. We call this playing what’s in front.

I draw another comparison here from footy to acting. You could memorise your lines and know them word for word, however, if your partner is going off script from what you were planning, you need to adapt, and instead of going back to the lines you trained, you learn to speak with your partner, not to them, as you react to one another in harmony.

The reason why I bring up all these examples up—especially the footy and acting ones, is because you are not siloed from the world—you are a part of it and you are both simultaneously reacting to each other.