How to Go All-In Without Getting Bored

Summary

This video explores the concept of 'deliberate play', a practice method used by elite athletes like Stephen Curry to transform rigorous training into an enjoyable experience. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining a childlike enthusiasm and incorporating elements of fun into deliberate practice sessions to avoid burnout and boredom. The video offers five actionable principles for athletes to apply this approach to their own training, enhancing their performance and passion for their sport.

Takeaways

• 🏀 The script discusses the importance of finding enjoyment in the practice routine to avoid burnout and boredom, using the example of basketball player Steph Curry.
• 🎯 The concept of 'deliberate practice' is highlighted, which involves purposeful and systematic training with clear goals, feedback, and pushing beyond comfort zones.
• 🚀 Steph Curry's success is attributed to a practice method that combines hard work with enjoyment, transforming the grind into a more engaging experience.
• 🤔 The idea of 'Borout' is introduced, a combination of boredom and burnout resulting from repetitive training, which many athletes face.
• 🧩 The coach Brandon Payne's philosophy emphasizes the importance of 'deliberate play' in workouts to maintain fun and focus during practice.
• 🎲 Deliberate play involves incorporating game-like elements into drills, setting scores or times to beat, and ensuring variety to keep the practice challenging and enjoyable.
• 🔄 The importance of mixing up drills in an unexpected way is underscored to keep the practice fresh and to prepare for the unpredictability of real games.
• 🎯 Five principles of deliberate play are suggested for athletes: setting challenges, prioritizing variety, adding spontaneity, role-playing scenarios, and asking reflective questions.
• 📚 The script is inspired by Adam Grant's book 'Hidden Potential', which explores concepts that can help individuals reach their full potential.
• 🔋 The video also touches on the importance of maintaining energy levels for consistent and effective practice sessions.

Q & A

What is the main issue athletes face with the traditional practice routine?

Athletes often face burnout and boredom due to the monotonous cycle of repetitive drills and the constant push to improve, which can lead to a lack of enjoyment and motivation in their training.

How does Steph Curry's approach to practice differ from the traditional grind?

Steph Curry's practice method, influenced by coach Brandon Payne, incorporates deliberate play, which makes the training focused yet enjoyable and fun, transforming the grind into an effective and engaging process.

What is 'deliberate practice' and how is it traditionally viewed in the context of athletic success?

Deliberate practice is a purposeful and systematic type of practice with clear goals, regular feedback, and pushing oneself outside of comfort zones. It is traditionally viewed as the root to mastery, sustained progress, and peak performance in sports.

What is 'Borout' and how does it affect athletes?

Borout is a term for the combination of boredom and burnout that high potential athletes can experience from endlessly practicing the same drills, leading to a decline in motivation and enjoyment.

How did Brandon Payne's coaching philosophy help Steph Curry become a top performer?

Brandon Payne introduced deliberate play into Curry's training, ensuring every practice session had an element of fun and challenge, which helped Curry maintain high energy and enthusiasm, leading to his rise as a top shooter.

What is 'deliberate play' and how does it benefit athletes?

Deliberate play is a practice method that combines focused training on developing specific skills with elements of play to make it enjoyable. It helps athletes stay motivated, accelerates development, and prevents burnout.

What are some principles of deliberate play that can be applied to athletic practice?

Principles include having something to beat (like a score or time), prioritizing variety in drills, adding spontaneity, role-playing scenarios, and asking questions to increase engagement and enjoyment in practice.

How can athletes introduce novelty into their training routine to prevent boredom?

Athletes can introduce novelty by trying out new drills, changing the order of exercises, using randomization tools like dice or coins to decide which drills to do, and changing training environments.

What role does visualization play in the deliberate play method?

Visualization in deliberate play helps athletes mentally prepare for high-pressure situations by imagining themselves in critical game moments, which can enhance focus and execution of skills.

Why is it important for athletes to regularly ask themselves questions about their practice routine?

Asking questions helps athletes reflect on their practice, identify areas for improvement, and find ways to increase engagement and enjoyment, which is crucial for sustaining high performance and preventing burnout.

How does the concept of 'deliberate play' relate to the idea of maintaining childlike enthusiasm in sports?

Deliberate play encourages athletes to tap into the childlike enthusiasm they had for their sport, where they would play with full energy and joy, which can lead to more effective and enjoyable training sessions.

Outlines

00:00

🏀 The Secret to Enjoyable Elite Athlete Training

This paragraph discusses the common challenges athletes face, such as burnout and boredom, due to the monotony of practice. It introduces the concept of 'deliberate play' used by elite athletes, exemplified by NBA star Steph Curry's training regimen with coach Brandon Payne. The summary explains how Payne's philosophy of avoiding 'boring workouts' and incorporating fun into deliberate practice helped Curry become a top performer. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of maintaining childlike enthusiasm in training to prevent burnout and stay motivated.

05:00

🎯 Implementing Deliberate Play in Athletic Training

The second paragraph delves into the practical application of 'deliberate play' by offering five general principles that athletes can adopt. These include setting challenges with scores or time limits, prioritizing variety to prevent boredom, adding spontaneity to training routines, role-playing scenarios to enhance focus and visualization, and asking reflective questions to refine practice. The summary highlights the importance of maintaining novelty and unpredictability in training to keep athletes engaged and to simulate real-game conditions, as well as the psychological benefits of visualization and self-reflection.

Keywords

💡Daily Grind

The term 'Daily Grind' refers to the routine and often monotonous tasks that one must perform daily, especially in the context of work or training. In the video, it is used to describe the repetitive nature of an athlete's practice sessions, which can lead to burnout and boredom if not managed properly.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It is related to the video's theme as it highlights the potential negative outcome of the 'Daily Grind' for athletes, where the constant push to improve without balance can be detrimental to their well-being and performance.

💡Deliberate Practice

Deliberate practice is a concept that emphasizes purposeful and systematic practice with clear goals, regular feedback, and pushing oneself beyond comfort zones. It is central to the video's message, illustrating the traditional belief about what it takes to achieve mastery in a skill, as opposed to the 'Deliberate Play' introduced later.

💡10,000 Hour Rule

The '10,000 Hour Rule' is a theory suggesting that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field. It is mentioned in the script to underscore the traditional view on the amount of practice required to become an expert, which the video later challenges with the concept of 'Deliberate Play'.

💡Steph Curry

Steph Curry is a professional basketball player known for his exceptional three-point shooting skills. The video uses his journey as an example to illustrate how incorporating fun and play into practice can lead to enjoyment and effectiveness, rather than just focusing on the grind.

💡Deliberate Play

Deliberate Play is a practice method that combines the focus of deliberate practice with elements of play to make the process enjoyable. The video introduces this concept as a way to transform the grind of practice into something that is still hard work but does not feel like a chore, using Curry's experience with coach Brandon Payne as an example.

💡Borout

Borout is a portmanteau of 'boredom' and 'burnout,' referring to the state of being both bored and exhausted from overwork. The video discusses this concept to explain why high-potential athletes might experience a decline in motivation and performance due to the repetitive nature of their training.

💡Brandon Payne

Brandon Payne is a former basketball player turned coach who worked with Steph Curry. The video credits Payne's coaching philosophy, which emphasizes fun and play in workouts, as a key factor in Curry's transformation into a top athlete, illustrating the effectiveness of 'Deliberate Play'.

💡Unpredictability

Unpredictability in the context of the video refers to the idea of regularly changing up practice routines to prevent boredom and to prepare athletes for the unexpected situations that can occur in real games. It is a key component of the 'Deliberate Play' method, as it keeps athletes engaged and motivated.

💡Peak Performance

Peak Performance is the optimal level of performance that an individual can achieve. The video discusses how the incorporation of 'Deliberate Play' can lead to peak performance by maintaining high levels of energy, motivation, and enjoyment in practice, which are crucial for athletes to reach their full potential.

💡Role Play

Role Play, in the context of the video, is a technique where athletes imagine themselves in high-pressure situations during practice to mentally prepare for real-life scenarios. It is one of the principles of 'Deliberate Play' that helps athletes to visualize and practice executing skills under pressure.

💡Reflection

Reflection is the process of thinking deeply about one's experiences, thoughts, feelings, and actions. The video encourages athletes to engage in regular reflection to identify what makes their practice more enjoyable and how to maintain motivation, which is essential for continuous improvement and avoiding burnout.

Highlights

The daily grind of practice for athletes can lead to burnout and boredom, but there's a secret hack used by elite athletes to make it enjoyable.

Steph Curry, known as the greatest three-point shooter in basketball, didn't rise to the top through monotonous practice but through a unique method.

The concept of deliberate practice is crucial for athletes, involving purposeful and systematic training with clear goals and feedback.

Deliberate play, a practice method involving fun and focused work, is introduced as a way to avoid burnout and maintain motivation.

Brandon Payne, Curry's coach, emphasized the importance of making workouts enjoyable to counteract the 'bor out' experienced by high potential athletes.

Payne's philosophy includes incorporating game-like elements into drills to maintain the excitement and challenge of practice.

Curry's training involved creative drills like '21', which combined scoring with physical exertion to simulate real-game conditions.

Mixing up drills unexpectedly helps athletes stay engaged and prepares them for the unpredictability of actual games.

Deliberate play is about maximizing performance through energy and enthusiasm, not just going through the motions.

The video offers five principles of deliberate play that can be implemented by any athlete to enhance their practice sessions.

Setting challenges with scores or time limits can increase effort and turn practice into a game.

Prioritizing variety in drills and methods can prevent boredom and keep athletes engaged.

Adding spontaneity to training, such as randomizing drills, can keep athletes alert and responsive.

Role-playing scenarios in drills can enhance focus and prepare athletes for high-pressure situations.

Asking reflective questions can help athletes identify what makes practice more enjoyable and how to implement changes.

The video is inspired by Adam Grant's book 'Hidden Potential', which explores ideas for fulfilling one's potential.

Sustaining energy levels is crucial for peak performance, and the video suggests watching a follow-up video on this topic.

Transcripts

for many athletes The Daily Grind of

practice can feel like an endless

monotonous cycle the pressure to perform

the repetitive drills and the constant

push to improve can lead to burnout and

boredom but what if there was a secret

Hack That Elite athletes use to make

going Allin not just effective but

surprisingly enjoyable well meet Steph

Curry you probably already know him as

the greatest three-point shooter in

basketball history was his rise to the

top just about grinding out thousands of

shots week after week like a robot no

Curry's Journey towards absolute Mastery

was not about the pain and suffering

that those those who Champion hustle

culture think is required to become

world class behind Curry's incredible

success lies a practice method that

transforms the grind into something that

for sure is hard work but it doesn't end

up feeling like it and so in this video

I'm going to share what this practice

method is and also how every single

athlete no matter their sport can apply

to their own game so if you're currently

experiencing a practice Plateau then

this is the video for you so let's get

started now chances are if you're

watching this video you're probably

someone who is already quite clued up on

what it takes to practice and train well

as an athlete you've most likely heard

that those who reach the top often

engage in what's known as deliberate

practice this is the concept that

birthed the 10,000 hour rule and refers

to a special type of practice that is

purposeful and systematic it's not about

doing mindless reps it's about doing

things with clear goals and intentions

getting regular feedback and pushing

yourself outside of your comfort zone

and for a long time psychologists

believed that deliberate practice was

the root to not only Mastery of a skill

but sustain progress development and

Peak Performance and I also believe this

until until I learned about Steph

Curry's rise to the top you see Steph

Curry was nothing special as a kid

despite his dad playing in the NBA Steph

didn't look like he would live up to his

dad's name he was a three- star recruit

coming out of high school and many felt

that he just wouldn't be able to cut it

at the highest level due to his two star

body and despite hustling his way to

become the seventh overall pick in the

NBA draft his team the Golden State

Warriors was still not 100% convinced

that this kid coming out of Davidson

College would become the world-class

guard that they needed that was until

Curry met Brandon pay an next player

turned one-on-one coach who also

struggled to make an impact as a player

due to his shortcomings in athleticism

and in Curry's First full season in

working with pay he became the lead top

three-point shooter in terms of

three-point shots made so what changed

for curry what did Brandon Payne

actually do with him well they just had

fun together Payne's philosophy as a

coach starts with one simple principle

there is no boring in our workouts you

see when it comes to deliberate practice

it's being increasingly shown in

research that many high potential

athletes often end up experiencing

what's termed Bor out a mix of boredom

and burnout that comes from endless

grinding away at the same skills drills

and workouts for weeks and months on end

so with curry what Brandon Payne did was

ensure that at the heart of every

practice session was what psychologists

call deliberate play the idea of this is

that you still make practice incredibly

focused and therefore deliberate on

developing certain skills but you also

add in elements of play to still make it

enjoyable and fun now it sounds simple

and Incredibly basic but typically as

you rise the ranks in sport things get

more serious and that childlike

enthusiasm Slips Away which often leads

to many Pros falling out of love with

the game or just not looking forward to

practicing on a daily basis so pay would

always ensure that the drills he gave

Curry always had an element of fun but

not in a gimmick Type of Way Curry would

have to play 21 where he was given one

minute to score 21 points through a

mixture of shots but he'd have to Sprint

to half court and back in between those

shots and the point of a drill like this

is to make it a game but it also mirrors

real life games or matches because doing

something like this mimics the fatigue

of a real life game where you need to

jack up a game time three with only a

few seconds left on the clock and you're

having to run up the court full Sprint

to make that shot in every single

session Curry had with pain there would

be a game to play within each drill

there was always a time to be or a score

to be and another key thing that pay

would do is regularly mix up the drills

in an unexpected way this would ensure

there was no predictability for curry

which again one makes it more motivating

and fun but two also condition Curry to

grow comfortable with the

unpredictability that occurs in a real

life NBA game so deliberate play is not

about messing around and joking around

it's about getting the most out of

yourself and accelerating your

development through bringing a greater

energy and enthusiasm to practice every

single day if practice feels like too

much of a grind then you just drag your

feet you only focus on ticking off reps

instead of doing them with full energy

and intention or you just end up cutting

corners but if it feels playful you

embody that spirit that you had as a

child where you would just play your

sport all day and all night until your

parents had to literally drag you off

the court or pitch so the question now

is how can you introduce a sense of

deliberate play into your practice well

one thing you can do is join the Arena

my new Peak Performance coaching

Community we've got top athletes from

all around the world collectively

building top 1% mentalities and you can

join them by checking out the link below

but for now here are five simple general

principles of deliberate play that any

athlete can Implement one always have

something to beat so this goes back to

pay's idea that there always needs to be

a score or time to beat when you have a

proximal goal in other words something

very close to aim for you naturally

increase your effort to reach it so set

yourself challenges such as going

through dribbling sequences five times

in a row without hitting a single cone

or like Curry trying to score a certain

amount of points in a very small time

window doing this ensures your practice

is a challenge instead of a chore two

prioritize variety naturally we can all

get bored quite quickly of things even

if we love it your favorite food might

be pizza but you'd get sick of it if you

had to eat it for breakfast lunch and

dinner every single day for a week

straight and the same goes for our

Sports practice and training so try out

new drills and methods every single week

keep looking for something slightly

different so that you satisfy the human

desire for novelty and even if you have

to do certain drills consistently do

what Curry would do in terms of mixing

the order up in which you do them three

add spontaneity to follow from the

variety point you can also make it fun

through randomly deciding which drills

to do through using things like rolling

a dice or flipping a coin this again

keeps you on your toes super engaged and

also conditions you to be able to

instantly react to things it may be that

you roll a six and this turns out to be

the drill that you least wanted to come

up you then get stuck in and you've not

only improve that skill but also your

ability to tackle tough situations at a

moment's notice other things you can do

is is randomly decide where to train you

might have a couple of different fields

or courts that you could go to so again

flip a coin to decide on the day

sometimes a changing environment can

break any hint of boredom that might be

settling in then four is to role play

for certain drills you can imagine

certain moments so convince yourself

that you're losing and there's only a

few seconds on the clock and that you

need to make a shot in order to win or

tie the game as a kid it's very likely

that you played your sport thinking it

was the World Cup final or NBA finals

and you'd imagine yourself taking that

game-winning shot in front of thousands

of people and it's still a great idea to

tap into that now that you're older so

you can get the same buzz from

successfully nailing certain movements

skills or drills this is also a great

way to practice visualization where

you're mentally preparing yourself to

not only be able to execute a skill but

really be able to execute it when the

pressure is actually on and of course

this never fully matches the real thing

but the mind is super powerful in

convincing yourself that the stakes are

far higher than they actually are so

lean into that come up with all kinds of

scenarios about how important it is to

nail the movements related to the drill

that you're working you'll often find

you complete them with a greater sense

of urgency and focus then lastly ask

questions it's very easy to fall into a

practice route of that bore out and then

just accept it thinking that that's just

the reality of training and working hard

as an athlete but the very elite like

Curry constantly ask themselves

questions in order to change their

situation or how to increase their

engagement with all that they're working

on so regularly ask yourself simple

questions like if this was to be twice

as fun what would this look like or what

would make this feel more enjoyable and

and your answer to those questions will

vary but they will give you Clarity on

what actions you should then take it may

be that to make something feel more

enjoyable you need to actually drop a

drill for a couple of weeks because

you've just gotten super sick of it and

you just need to spend a bit of time

away from it to rest up and re-energize

yourself or it may be that you need to

spend more time training with friends or

teammates if you're doing a lot of solo

practice and that you're actually just

missing out on the social and

competitive side of practice but you can

only work this out through constant

reflection and refinement and the only

way to get that is through asking

yourself questions on a regular basis so

that's deliberate play this video has

been heavily inspired by an awesome

chapter in Adam Grant's book hidden

potential so Props to him for allow me

to learn about this and share my take

and summary with you guys honestly check

this book out if you're someone who

wants to fulfill your potential it's one

of the best that I've read in a while

and another thing that fuels practicing

to the best of our abilities is

sustaining our energy levels so to keep

yours fully topped up day after day you

should watch this video next