We rush. We are quick to react or respond. Unless on Jeopardy, why hurry?

My football coach at San Mateo High School, Buz Williams, used to tell the quarterbacks to “set, look, throw.” This meant, first, get your feet set. Next, look and mentally “see” or “acknowledge” exactly where you want to throw the ball. Then and finally, boom, let it rip. The key to this process was that “look”, that intentional millisecond dedicated to looking at and seeing the target, as it helped the body get organized and aligned to do what it does: deliver the ball through space and on time to its intended target.

Coach White, one of my elementary school basketball coaches, taught a similar approach to shooting hoops. He would tell us to get set by squaring up to the basket, “see the rim,” and follow-thru after the shot. He highlighted how that moment of having your eyes lock on the front of the rim made everything work, once your feet were set.

“Good shooters never miss left or right,” said Coach White. “Just long or short.”

Intention and Reflection

Psychologist Gloria Mark, author of Attention Span, writes:

Many people don’t consciously consider where they direct their attention.

Our attention and habits and actions comprise our time on Earth. The extent to which we allocate, with intent, our focus on one priority at a time determines the depth of our learning, understanding, and progress. The ability to pay attention also affects our relationships and results with people and situations.

Ryan Holiday, author of many books on Stoicism, asks, “how often do you pause and reflect before responding?” Scanning anonymous ill-spirited comments under an online op-ed or profile does raise the question. We are quick to post, anger, frustrate…Holiday notes how Stoics “practiced pausing—not as weakness, but as wisdom.” That small imperceptible acknowledgement, sometimes extended as a breath, that brief look to see the situation, the target, the rim, aligns the body and mind to make a better decision in the moment.

Conclusion

In sports – from football to basketball to baseball and soccer and tennis and more – effective play requires the picking and “hitting” of targets. Sometimes, the best choice is to not throw, not shoot, not pass. The ability to optimize our attention helps us leverage the thousands of practiced repetitions when it matters most during competition. It can also allow the small pause, the wise hesitancy, that enables a better outcome.