Hang on. I am not here to tell the answer to life, universe or everything. (Douglas Adams has already that one figured it out: The answer is 42.) I rather would talk about something more mundane and more common occurring phenomenon. I am here to talk about the role of momentum and confidence in life and in sports.
Why do some teams keep winning games after games? Why is it so hard to lose once you are on a roll? Why does everything seem achievable when you are at top? This question has been around for many centuries. None knows the answer precisely. There is a vague cloud over the understanding of role of momentum among our species and as usual we always make up something for which we don't understand. I mean this: Come on! Why in the Merlin's beard winning should be easier when you have won your last game? The events are independent of each other. The molecules in the atmosphere have changed. So many cells inside your body and your opposition's body have died and reborn since you last played them. Why you should be having any advantage over them at all? Is it merely psychological? Does it exist? No real evidence.
No. Stats will silence you. Forget about stats. Even you must have noticed how easy things seem to be when last few things you have done were awesome and easily managed. Didn't you feel lighter and felt like you could do anything, achieve absolutely anything? Yeah. Me too. It happens. That is confidence and momentum right there. At work. Silently.
Gift of momentum: I don't want to even start over examples of momentum in sports. They are probably countably infinite. Okay. Let us take a few. Remember how England, in spite of being huge underdogs, were able to topple in-form favorites Australia in Ashes 2015. How everyone predicted that England are going to lose 5-nil, which will make it total of 10-nil over last two Ashes. Well, I wasn't very surprised when England actually managed the opposite and won the Ashes. That was actually win from New Zealand test series just carrying over. Baz and co. infected them with positive aggressive cricket and England just embraced it, went with the flow and crushed Australia with the gift of momentum. Don't believe it?
Let us take a few more. Examples of Mitchell Johnson and Steve Smith. Mitchell Johnson was probably at the final edge of his test career at Gabba 2011-12 Ashes. His figures read 111-0. Everyone wrote him off. His bowling average had increased to around 32, his career highest. He took a break from cricket, worked with his mentor Dennis Lilee, came back, destroyed England in 2013-14 Ashes with 37 wickets, murdered South Africa in their home, leading to retirement to legendary Greame Smith, won ICC cricketer of the year for the second time and he was able to bring his bowling average to 27. Almost 5 below to where he was a few years ago. Confidence and momentum at work. Simple as that.
Steve Smith is probably the latest example of how to ride momentum and make your life a fairy tale. His test career had a horrific start. After 11 tests, he was averaging 22 with the bat, batting at number 8 for Australia and had a highest score of 91. He got one hundred after that. Then came confidence along with it. He started his career as a leg break bowler. Today, he is the sixth best batsman ever in terms of test batting ratings point. Ricky Ponting has even used the phrase, "The greatest Australian Batsman Since Sir Don Bradman". How the hell did that happen? He wasn't meant to score runs. Wasn't he supposed to be a bowler?
Everyone was confused how Smithy was getting hundreds after 100s. Is he scoring hundreds because he is a great batsman or is he a great batsman because he is scoring hundreds? Which was true? Which came first? There was no answer. The secret was simple. Hundreds begat hundreds, which lead to more hundreds and so on. Once you are on that road, it is hard to look back and you will even occasionally wonder, "That wasn't so hard, was it? I could have done that over and over."
So, Why does it happen? Isn't it against the weak law of large numbers? Aren't you supposed to fail after a success? How come success embrace you daily on a regular basis when it eludes everyone else?
Well, It is counter-intuitive, but don't worry. We don't understand it either. None does. There is no logical explanation.
Coming out of the pit: So now what? I am in a bad patch. How do I overcome it? I have been failing for a number of times now. Is there no hope for me? How to come out of the pit of failures when success is mostly about confidence and momentum? Isn't it a chicken and egg problem? You need to succeed to gain confidence and you need confidence to succeed. This is so confusing. Ugh.
About that, Yes it is. It is just so hard to break the shackles first time. Once you are over that, then you are unstoppable. First step is always the toughest one. You must have heard the quote, "The hardest thing to do is to begin". Just try to win the first game and see the magic of momentum take you over. Of course you need to work harder and harder every time, but the effort gets reduced. It is like starting a rolling car on a surface, once you take over the static friction, Kinetic friction is always lower than that. Just have the self-belief that you can turn it around. It is never as bad as it looks. None is invincible. You just need to knock it harder and harder and someday you are going to cross the winning line.
Ride the wave of Goddess of momentum. Make the most of it. Enjoy it as much as you can. Never ever take it for granted. You never know when she will desert you. Even when she does, just remember that you are one good performance away. She has not left you forever. Just try harder next time. Win her back. Never let her go.
I am still trying to understand it at a spiritual level. I don't know why confidence and momentum works either. I guess I will never know. More in the next blog post.
Thanks.
Why do some teams keep winning games after games? Why is it so hard to lose once you are on a roll? Why does everything seem achievable when you are at top? This question has been around for many centuries. None knows the answer precisely. There is a vague cloud over the understanding of role of momentum among our species and as usual we always make up something for which we don't understand. I mean this: Come on! Why in the Merlin's beard winning should be easier when you have won your last game? The events are independent of each other. The molecules in the atmosphere have changed. So many cells inside your body and your opposition's body have died and reborn since you last played them. Why you should be having any advantage over them at all? Is it merely psychological? Does it exist? No real evidence.
No. Stats will silence you. Forget about stats. Even you must have noticed how easy things seem to be when last few things you have done were awesome and easily managed. Didn't you feel lighter and felt like you could do anything, achieve absolutely anything? Yeah. Me too. It happens. That is confidence and momentum right there. At work. Silently.
Gift of momentum: I don't want to even start over examples of momentum in sports. They are probably countably infinite. Okay. Let us take a few. Remember how England, in spite of being huge underdogs, were able to topple in-form favorites Australia in Ashes 2015. How everyone predicted that England are going to lose 5-nil, which will make it total of 10-nil over last two Ashes. Well, I wasn't very surprised when England actually managed the opposite and won the Ashes. That was actually win from New Zealand test series just carrying over. Baz and co. infected them with positive aggressive cricket and England just embraced it, went with the flow and crushed Australia with the gift of momentum. Don't believe it?
Let us take a few more. Examples of Mitchell Johnson and Steve Smith. Mitchell Johnson was probably at the final edge of his test career at Gabba 2011-12 Ashes. His figures read 111-0. Everyone wrote him off. His bowling average had increased to around 32, his career highest. He took a break from cricket, worked with his mentor Dennis Lilee, came back, destroyed England in 2013-14 Ashes with 37 wickets, murdered South Africa in their home, leading to retirement to legendary Greame Smith, won ICC cricketer of the year for the second time and he was able to bring his bowling average to 27. Almost 5 below to where he was a few years ago. Confidence and momentum at work. Simple as that.
Steve Smith is probably the latest example of how to ride momentum and make your life a fairy tale. His test career had a horrific start. After 11 tests, he was averaging 22 with the bat, batting at number 8 for Australia and had a highest score of 91. He got one hundred after that. Then came confidence along with it. He started his career as a leg break bowler. Today, he is the sixth best batsman ever in terms of test batting ratings point. Ricky Ponting has even used the phrase, "The greatest Australian Batsman Since Sir Don Bradman". How the hell did that happen? He wasn't meant to score runs. Wasn't he supposed to be a bowler?
Everyone was confused how Smithy was getting hundreds after 100s. Is he scoring hundreds because he is a great batsman or is he a great batsman because he is scoring hundreds? Which was true? Which came first? There was no answer. The secret was simple. Hundreds begat hundreds, which lead to more hundreds and so on. Once you are on that road, it is hard to look back and you will even occasionally wonder, "That wasn't so hard, was it? I could have done that over and over."
So, Why does it happen? Isn't it against the weak law of large numbers? Aren't you supposed to fail after a success? How come success embrace you daily on a regular basis when it eludes everyone else?
Well, It is counter-intuitive, but don't worry. We don't understand it either. None does. There is no logical explanation.
Coming out of the pit: So now what? I am in a bad patch. How do I overcome it? I have been failing for a number of times now. Is there no hope for me? How to come out of the pit of failures when success is mostly about confidence and momentum? Isn't it a chicken and egg problem? You need to succeed to gain confidence and you need confidence to succeed. This is so confusing. Ugh.
About that, Yes it is. It is just so hard to break the shackles first time. Once you are over that, then you are unstoppable. First step is always the toughest one. You must have heard the quote, "The hardest thing to do is to begin". Just try to win the first game and see the magic of momentum take you over. Of course you need to work harder and harder every time, but the effort gets reduced. It is like starting a rolling car on a surface, once you take over the static friction, Kinetic friction is always lower than that. Just have the self-belief that you can turn it around. It is never as bad as it looks. None is invincible. You just need to knock it harder and harder and someday you are going to cross the winning line.
Ride the wave of Goddess of momentum. Make the most of it. Enjoy it as much as you can. Never ever take it for granted. You never know when she will desert you. Even when she does, just remember that you are one good performance away. She has not left you forever. Just try harder next time. Win her back. Never let her go.
I am still trying to understand it at a spiritual level. I don't know why confidence and momentum works either. I guess I will never know. More in the next blog post.
Thanks.
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