December 05, 2018 | Tagged Leadership,
Key Ways to Be Less Fearful
Key questions to answer and evaluate when trying to build basketball talent.
How do you respond when you are afraid? Do you shut down, do you run from what you need to do? Do you feel paralyzed, discouraged and overwhelmed? Fear can come in many forms, a phone call with cancer results from the doctor, a text message about a lockdown at school, an injury that takes away the rest of your season. One of the key questions we ask at NBC Basketball is, “How do you want to live?” Though fear is a reality that each of us must face at some point in our lives, we do have a choice when faced with a difficult situation either to live in fear or live with a mindset of courage.
Key Ways to Be Fearless
No one plans to be afraid, but it is an emotion that confronts us in many situations in life even on the basketball court. Fear can emerge suddenly like the feeling of falling into a pit. Fear can creep up slowly as thoughts about an upcoming test, game or challenge comes closer. Here are key ways to remain fearless even in the midst of challenge.
Mission is stronger than fear. Fearlessness isn’t the absence of fear, it’s just that your fear is overshadowed by a stronger emotion. When a person runs into danger to save someone else, their fear is superseded by the desire to help those in need. Have a higher mission than what you fear and focus your mind on this. If you have a public speaking event, instead of letting fear of failure creep into your mind, focus on the value of the information you are giving someone else.
Don’t waste energy imagining what could possibly happen. Wendell Berry in his beautiful poem, The Peace of Wild Things, has a line that says, “I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.” How much energy have we spent imagining scenarios that never happen? Instead of freaking out before you know all the facts, learn to discipline your imagination and stay in a place of mental strength and calm. This will allow you to make the best decisions if crisis really does ensue.
Create a new habit. Fear is a habit like anything in life. You can feed fear or you can feed courage. If you find yourself moving quickly to anxiety on small aspects of life, you can guarantee you will wallow in fear if a big situation comes. Build a habit of fearlessness. When a small anxiety comes into your life, don’t indulge in panic. Instead build a new pattern of mental toughness and patience.
About NBC Basketball
NBC Basketball is a sports training program helping campers, coaches and parents live well. NBC Basketball offers camps, clinics, leadership seminars, travel teams and more. NBC Camps was founded in 1971 and since grown to be one of the largest overnight basketball camp programs in the world. NBC stands for Nothing Beats Commitment and the mission to dedicate oneself to a life of excellence on and off the court. For more information about NBC Basketball visit www.nbccamps.com.