Three Quick Things: Mental Ignition Points, Acceptance Equals Action, and Rethinking the Crossover Step

In this new recurring feature, I’ll be digging into three quick things to help improve your game. In each installment, we’ll cover one aspect of the mental game, a lane play issue, and an element of the physical game.

In this inaugural edition, we’ll discuss the three mental ignition points to get into your best mental space before competition begins, why acceptance is so important to effective lane play, and rethinking the crossover step.

Three mental starting points

Bowling with your best competitive mindset isn’t a light switch. It’s not something that a person can simply turn on and off when needed. When it comes to bringing your best self to the lanes, it’s more of an on-ramp to the highway. The goal is to gradually accelerate so that by the time you’re merging into the freeway, you’re up to full speed.

The mental game is no different. By the time the arrows come up, if you’re just starting to get zoned in, it’s too late. Maybe you can get away with it in league, but the higher your level of competition, the less time you can waste working your way into the block. With that in mind, here are the three mental starting points to help you get into your ideal competitive mindset.

Entering the arena

On his Finding Mastery podcast, Dr. Michael Gervais shared a story of a football player he used to work with. Now on opposing teams, he went to greet him before the game in their usual way but was met with, “I don’t really do that before the game.” As a world-class athlete, he had already started to get zoned in, presumably accessing the more violent, competitive aspects of his personality, well before the start of the game.

Bowlers can train themselves to also begin the process of accessing their best mindset when they walk into the bowling center. It’s not about being unfriendly the way a football player might. ...