What I am learning while prepping for my third season on the PWBA Tour
The PWBA Tour brings out a lot of feelings. Most people would think it’s just excitement…however, that’s not always the case. It can be scary, it can bring up doubts and feelings of inadequacy, you could be stuck on what went wrong in the previous seasons, especially if you haven’t taken the time to process everything.
I have looked more deeply into the past than ever before, identified where I can improve, and prepared accordingly. Or so I thought…
During a call with Coach Tyrel Rose, I realized a part of me was holding back from fully digging into some aspects of my prep, namely debriefing recent events. As we talked I had this overwhelming fear of failing. It came up suddenly and once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. A deep part of me feels like the past two seasons on tour were an utter failure. Well, that’s interesting! My logical brain knows there’s been significant improvement; I know I have improved in ways that might not be overt to the outside eyes.
And yet, this deep part of me is crying and saying I was terrible, I only cashed x number of times, I didn’t make a top 12…yada, yada, yada, and the list goes on. I mentioned this to Tye and he asked, what does failure on tour mean to you and what does success mean? What’s funny is that when I’m coaching someone, I will often talk about defining their success factors outside of the outcomes, and yet, I hadn’t done that for myself, especially with regard to the PWBA Tour.
Of course, everyone who bowls on tour is looking to win. That is a no-brainer. We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t want to win. But what success factors need to be in place to put myself in the best position to win?
I went back to my why. Why do I bowl? I want to be the best version of myself every time I step on the lanes, regardless of the environment (practice, league, local events, national events, PWBA events, and World Championships). If you look back at a previous blog post, you will see that’s why I went on tour. To put myself in “pressure situations” and be able to be my best self. I want to shed my limiting beliefs and step into my highest self.
Alright, so what does that mean in the context of bowling? I came up with the list below. Contained in the list are the things I feel make up my best performances, regardless of the outcome! I say that now but if I did all this and still didn’t cash…which happened in Waterloo last year and is a different conversation, so more on that later. For now, here are the success factors that define me being my best me on the lanes:
Making great shots 9/10 times
Feeling in the flow at least 90% of the time
Letting adjustments be more intuitive
Making 85% of multiple pins
Making 97% of my single pins
Bringing out my passion (all the f*ck yeah feels)
Being patient and knowing that everything is going to work out and keep on my path (not freaking out if I shoot a low game) like when I made the step ladder in Butte
I know that when I am doing these things, I am being my best self on the lanes. And that will be my focus and intention this season. Stay tuned for the recaps!