DON'T THINK. FEEL.

Now EVERYONE who's reading this blog has probably seen this scene before. And though most people look to Bruce's "Be like water" quote, I find that this quote has just as much, if not more gravity than the "water" one.

Try to think back to an important moment in your life.  As you think, what probably comes up first is what you felt.  Although they have been stunted by evolution and society, we still retain some of our basic instincts.  The instinct to seek out food, shelter and companionship is something we take for granted.  Our instincts are always working, but since most of us don't (think we) need to dodge predators or keep a keen eye out for our next meal, we undervalue them.  We watch movies to raise the hair on the back of our necks. When you're in the world and that happens, you take notice. Your stomach clenches and you may dismiss it as nerves.  That's actually your body's way of telling you to MOVE YOUR HEAD.  

If you've ever trained for an activity, job, or conflict, the point of repetitive training is to create a muscle memory (doesn't only apply to muscles) that guide the instincts during the moment to react in an optimized fashion.   

Look at how many different things Kobe is doing on-the-fly, that's muscle memory.  He feels where his defender is, the time left on the clock, his distance from the basket, the angle, how high he needs to jump to shoot past the block, and finally how late to release the shot.  Actually calculating that information takes time that he doesn't have.  When you're in the moment, be it competition, audition, crisis or confrontation, let your instincts guide you.  If you have trained for this moment, then you have trained for this moment.

See?  I'm not saying anything new.  

The only way one can know the contractions/expansions of a situation is to feel them.  Watch your opponent and place yourself where you want to be.  If there is an obstacle, remove it.  It will not remove itself.  If there is a pause, experience it, don't rush to fill the space. If there is an opportunity, ALLOW YOURSELF TO SEIZE IT. Our interactions are like a dance; all the parties involved move in concert, to the rhythm of the event.  It is very difficult to dance when you have to think about the steps, and it is IMPOSSIBLE to enjoy the dance.