4 Steps to Rewire Your Mindset for Basketball Success

You CAN change your mindset:

Growing up, I always thought the mindset I had-- my thoughts and my beliefs-- were what they were. I thought, "this is how my mind is and this is how it's always going to be. I'm always going to think this way. I'm always going to believe certain things."

But that was a false way of thinking.

Our mindset--our thoughts and beliefs-- they are not static. They are dynamic. They are fluid and capable of change.

You CAN change your mindset. You CAN improve certain areas of your mindset that need growth. 

And by changing the areas of your mindset that need growth, you can become the best version of yourself. You can reach your full potential as a basketball player.

The mindset you have is your choice. Whether that's a positive mindset, or a negative one, a growth mindset, or a fixed one. It's your choice.⁠

So you've decided you want to improve your mindset. Now what?⁠

When you change your mindset, really what you're doing is rewiring your mindset. You're rewiring your brain. ⁠

Your mindset is like a software program in your brain. It is your programmed response to what you experience in your life. You react to things in your day-to-day life based on your mindset towards that thing.

Let's say you experience adversity. The mindset you have towards adversity dictates how you respond.

If your mindset towards adversity is that adversity is bad, then you are going to react negatively towards any adversity you face and try to avoid it at all costs.

But if your mindset towards adversity is that adversity is an opportunity to learn and grow, then you are going to react more positively towards adversity and use any adversity you face as a stepping stone for growth.

So your mindset is your programmed response to things which has been molded throughout your life based on your thoughts, beliefs, experiences and what you've learned from your parents/friends/society/etc.

But again, you can improve parts of your mindset that are holding you back from being your best.

Rewiring your mindset is a 4 step process: 

1. Become aware of the negative
2. Become aware of the positive
3. Replace
4. Ingrain
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1. Become aware of the negative

⁠The first step to rewiring your mindset is to become aware of any negative thoughts or beliefs that you currently have that are holding you back.

Example: you believe there's no way you can ever become a great 3 point shooter. This is a fixed mindset. This is a limiting belief. It limits how good you can become.

The first step to rewiring your mindset is to actually understand that believing you can never become a great 3 point shooter is a negative belief and it is holding you back. 

2. Become aware of the positive

You've identified a negative belief that you have, now, you have to learn a replacement for that negative belief: a positive belief.

Negative belief: "I'll never become a great 3 point shooter."

Positive belief: "I CAN become a great 3 point shooter."

It's that simple.

3. Replace

⁠You've identified a negative belief you have. You've become aware of the positive alternative.

Now, whenever you catch yourself having that negative belief, replace it with the positive alternative.

For example, whenever you catch yourself thinking, "I'll never become a great 3 point shooter," immediately say to yourself, "Yes, I CAN become a great 3 point shooter." 

Don't listen to that negative belief. Don't believe it. Squash that negative belief with a positive belief instead.

The more you do this "catch and replace" technique, the less power you give to the negative belief. 

And with repetition, you'll reach the point where you no longer even have the negative belief. It'll stop popping into your head. It'll give up. It'll be like, "Well, I keep getting replaced so I'm just not even going to show up anymore." 

And all of a sudden, your mindset towards 3 point shooting is rewired. Your programmed response to 3 point shooting is now a positive belief.

And you WILL become a great 3 point shooter.

4. Ingrain

⁠

Meditating, visualizing, and stating affirmations will supplement and really speed up this mindset rewiring process.

By practicing these techniques on a daily basis you will ingrain your new beliefs into your subconscious.

And when a belief is in your subconscious, it is your automatic response. You don't even think about it.

3 point shooting? Boom. "I CAN become a great 3 point shooter."

Patience and persistence:

Rewiring your mindset is not going to happen overnight. It's a process.

And the negative beliefs you have are not going to go away easily. They're going to try to hang around. They're going to go down swinging.

But they will go down if you are resilient and you continue to apply this 4 step process with consistency and persistence.