How Gratitude Helps the Basketball Brain

Why We Need Gratitude’s Help To Begin With

There’s a lot going on in that basketball brain of yours and I know you’re questioning how gratitude helps any of it. Well, I believe it does. Trust me, gratitude has played a huge role in the success of my basketball journey – helping with things like confidence, work ethic, humility, staying hopeful, finding joy on the journey and navigating relationships along the way.

Being grounded in gratitude is the key and I truly believe gratitude is powerful enough to transform all that stuff in any basketball brain – mine, yours and this little boy’s included…

A Boy & His Championship

One day I ran into a little boy I used to coach in my development program. He and his family stopped to give me an update on his basketball journey… he was playing in his very first championship game just that following day.

“How exciting, congratulations!” I said, but to my confusion, he was not so enthused and uncharacteristically melted behind his mother’s leg.

“He doesn’t want to play in the game.” She informed me, “He’s too scared of the possibility of losing.”

I was perplexed. Playing in any championship is a huge privilege. “These are the moments we live for.” I remember telling him. But not until that very moment had it ever dawned on me that anyone could be more fearful than excitedly grateful to play in a championship.

Of course, I encouraged the poor kid as best I could, but I remember leaving the interaction fascinated by his feelings…

Gratitude Is For The Overcomer

If a little boy allows fear to win out over excitement and gratitude – how many other things are beating out gratitude in our basketball brains? Like being scared of losing a championship game and wanting to just not show up, there are many different obstacles that can make basketball players quit entirely.

Fear, pressure, laziness, pride, jealousy, comparison, discouragement, trials; all things any player is bound to face along their basketball journey. I believe it’s the ones that overcome these obstacles who ultimately achieve their goals and end up ‘livin’ the dream’, so-to-speak.

So how can more players end up ‘livin’ the dream’ of having a long joyful basketball career? I truly believe gratitude helps more than we even realize and here’s how…

Gratitude Helps with Confidence

A lack of confidence stems from a fear of failure. And, of course, this fear is a part of all of us, but to allow it to stop us from going out and achieving our dreams would be the biggest disappointment of all. If we allow gratitude to guide our thoughts and emotions, it would be extremely difficult for fear to set in. You see, gratitude has the power to flip the switch from fear to joy! And we all know we play so much more confidently when we’re playing with joy.

Gratitude is said to begin by noticing or being aware of what we can be grateful for and thinking about why we have been given those things.

So, you find yourself in a championship, for example:

“Woah, what a privilege”, you realize. Then think about why you’ve been given the opportunity:

“How did I even get here? Oh yea, my team and I worked really hard; all those hours of blood, sweat and tears have led to this moment.”

Which then flows into gratitude… “Wow, I’m so grateful for my team.”

And that gratitude turns into confidence… “and I know with them by my side we’re gonna go out there, give it all we got and put ourselves in the best position possible to win. We got this!”

Again, confidence.

What About The Pressure?

Yes, it’s a lot of pressure. Depending on the level you are at, there could be hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people watching or depending on you. But yes, these are the moments… These are the moments we not only live for, but we prepare for. The moments that not every player who prepares for gets to actually play for. Be grateful for that preparation and every thing and person that’s played a part in helping you get to where you are.

Gratitude helps with confidence.

So wherever you are – maybe it is a championship game, or maybe it’s a tryout, or maybe it’s just discovering your role on a team – be aware of the fact that not everyone has had the opportunity you currently have; think about why you have been given the opportunity; be grateful for that opportunity and let your confidence reflect just how grateful you are.

Gratitude Helps with Work Ethic

You know what else will reflect your gratitude? Your work ethic! Is your work ethic reflecting an attitude of gratitude?

Sometimes, as basketball players, we can get lost in the daily grind and think of what we’re doing as what we have to do instead of what we get to do. I know, it’s not always easy, but we must remind ourselves of the privilege it is to be on a team at all.

Be grateful for every chance you have to train and get better with your teammates and learn from your coach. Unless your parents are forcing you to play basketball, this is what you want, isn’t it? And even if your parents are forcing you, again, there’s a lot of parents out there who don’t care enough to register their kids for sports at all. Try not to take your parents’ care as a negative thing.

When you’re aware enough to notice these things and think about why you’re in the stadium to begin with, you should feel grateful. The next stage of gratitude is allowing that feeling to influence your actions. How you act reflects your gratitude. Even in training.

Check Yourself Every Day

So, let me ask you again; Is your work ethic reflecting an attitude of gratitude? Are you getting to training prepared and on time? Are you focused during warm up, or just going through the motions? Are you giving 100% on every rep of every drill? Are you hungry for your coach’s feedback, ready to apply what he or she says, or hardly making eye contact? Are you checking the time wishing for home, or being present where you are? Are you a problem solver / solutions-based thinker, or constantly coming up with excuses?

Gratitude helps with your work ethic in all the above. So check yourself every day – if your work ethic is lacking, what are you forgetting to be grateful for?

Gratitude Helps with Humility

Forgetting to be grateful and losing your work ethic goes hand-in-hand with being a bit too cocky. Think about it, we all know a player who thinks they’re too good to train hard, participate in team activities or abide by team guidelines (I really hope you’re not one of them!). This could also be described as having a sense of entitlement.

Dissolving Entitlement

What’s entitlement mean? Basically, you believe your title is above all else; you earned it, you deserve it, no one or no thing has had any part in how you got to where you are…

Pretty much the exact opposite of humility. And it’s honestly flat out ugly. No one wants to be known for acting entitled. So we must fight it by staying humble. But how do we stay humble?

You guessed it – gratitude!

Even if you are the greatest of all time (which 99.9% of us aren’t!), you did not get there on your own. There is always someone to thank. And if you don’t think so, you will not be great for long. Why? Because “pride comes before a fall”. Don’t fall when you can stay grounded in gratitude.

Gratitude helps with humility by dissolving that sense of entitlement; ensuring you’re working hard- not expecting handouts; keeping you coachable – not above any feedback; and uncovering an appreciation for opponents, fans, and everyone involved in making the basketball dream possible – yes, referees included!

You should never just expect things to be handed to you, stop working hard or treat others as less than; you should work hard always and think of others above yourself. And when good things come from your hard work, be humble enough to say thank you.

Believe me, good things will come.

Gratitude Helps with Being a Great Teammate

As competitive basketball players, we can really let it get to us when good things come to others instead of ourselves. But in doing so, we forget all about being grateful for our own journeys. This then results in jealousy, which leads to resentment and bitterness, which results in being an awful teammate and stealing the joy out of everyone’s journey – including your own.

Gratitude helps with being a great teammate – willing to celebrate others; knowing that no two journeys look the same and choosing to be patient in the process of our own.

Basketball is a team sport – always has been; always will be. When you can truly recognize that and the fact that you cannot be successful as an individual without your teammates; that without kind teammates you wouldn’t have fun; that the memories you share with your teammates are really all you’re going to remember down the road… then that will stop you from being anything but grateful for them.

And the more grateful you are for your teammates, the more considerate you’ll be; the more supportive you’ll be; and the more teammates will love playing the game with you. Let’s be honest, gratitude helps make you a flat-out better, more fun and happier human being – who doesn’t want to be on the same team as that type of human being?

Creating More Opportunities

A bonus to being a great human being/teammate is attracting great people. Gratitude helps attract the right kind of people to your basketball circle and attracting the right kind of people will ultimately create more opportunities for you along your basketball journey.

Gratitude Helps with Staying Hopeful

When you get overlooked for opportunity after opportunity in basketball, how do you stay hopeful?

When you get injured and have to sit out for a whole season, how do you stay hopeful?

I am not telling you it is easy. And I am not telling you your feelings aren’t valid. What you’re going through right now can be so hard, so unfair and so discouraging. Be honest with yourself; be open with how you’re feeling, but try not to let yourself spiral. When you start to feel yourself spiral, stop and be intentional with gratitude – think of 10 things you are grateful for. No rules about it. Just use your gratitude to lift your spirits. Then you’ll be ready for battle.

Because that’s what staying hopeful is – it’s a battle. You will constantly be finding yourself fighting away negative thoughts (usually in the form of lies and discouragement). But practically speaking, the only way to fight the lies and discouragement is to replace them with statements of hope. And hopeful statements can only be found from a place of gratitude.

Gratitude helps you focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t do. This is crucial for seasons of injury. Allowing the obstacle to turn into an opportunity for growth will not only be a catalyst for a successful recovery, but also for how much of an impact you allow your injury to have on your basketball development.

Same goes for seasons of seemingly “missing out” on an opportunity when you’ve been overlooked… allow the obstacle to turn into an opportunity for growth. Let your disappointment turn into determination and you will give yourself a better chance to succeed the next time around – with the potential of being even better than the rest.

Avoid Comparison

Gratitude helps with staying hopeful, perseverant, resilient and determined. But when you’re sitting on that sideline during training – or not allowed at a training at all – thinking about how much better your teammates – or non-teammates – are getting while you fall behind, it’s really hard not to fall into the comparison trap.

Comparison (the opposite of gratitude) is the thief of joy. So don’t compare and count yourself out because you’ve lost sight of your own journey, what you currently can do and all you have to be grateful for. You’re already determined to make the most of your situation – don’t compare that to anyone else; stay focused.

Avoid Complaining

Whatever your situation, overlooked or injured, tell me… could it be worse? Just remember – what you focus on increases. And when you focus on the negative, all you will start to see is the negative. The more you complain about a situation, the worse it will become.

Have you ever hung out with someone who does nothing but complain? Yea, hopefully you’re not that person, and hopefully you don’t attract that kind of person. But, think about it, complaining is the opposite of being hopeful… so don’t be that kind of person to yourself and only hear negative self-talk in your head.

Gratitude helps with staying hopeful by revealing the ‘silver lining. Find the silver lining and fight for what you want, whatever it takes. No solution? Create one. Remain grounded in gratitude and you will find yourself being a solution-based thinker, not a problem finder or excuse maker.

Gratitude Helps with Finding Joy in the Journey

Players who make excuses will only find their journey cut short. Therefore, gratitude actually helps with the longevity of your basketball journey. But the key to longevity is joy in the journey. With anything in life, the happier, more passionate you are, the longer you will stick with it. Possibly even decades.

Can you imagine? Decades of playing basketball and maybe one day getting paid to play basketball?

Just stop and imagine that for a moment – how cool would it be to be paid to play a game?! (Ok, not gonna lie, it is pretty cool;)

But also imagine a game turning into your job… And maybe some of you reading this don’t have to imagine – well, don’t stop reading now!

Be Where Your Feet Are

As in any job, our natural inclination is to ‘climb the ladder’, get to the top, sign our next big contract. Well, along the basketball journey you’ll have so many people telling you ‘climbing the ladder’ is all about points and stats, but the players who believe this miss out on opportunities for higher levels of basketball because they aren’t playing the right way. They aren’t proving they are winning players; they’re only proving that they are bad, selfish teammates. It’s self sabotage, really.

By wanting these things individually – pursuing your next big gig individually – teams will no longer want you. It happens all the time.

But imagine how gratitude helps: it takes you from wanting to be somewhere else, to being fully present where you are. You no longer live with one foot in and one foot out of the current team you are in, but are fully present where your feet are; you do not worry about tomorrow – your next “bigger” opportunity – you make the most of your opportunities both present and future.

You find joy in the journey.

But it starts with gratitude for whatever current team situation you find yourself in; whatever day to day struggle for improvement you’re going through. Embrace it. Maximize it.

If you do that, soon your individual ambitions will be realized out of this mindset anyway. Plus, after embracing nothing but team goals, you’ll find yourself having enjoyed the heck out of your season – joy in the journey; for decades; season after season after season.

Gratitude Helps - There’s No Doubt About It

And now we come full circle to the reminder that, as in any long-term career, there will be seasons in basketball filled with obstacles. It can be a real grind; make you prideful – turn you into a horrible human being (let alone teammate), and, in the same season, deplete you of all hope and joy in the present moment…

Not many players make it for long if that’s their experience. It’s as if they become as scared of the journey as that little boy was of playing in a championship. And who can blame them when they have no answer to help overcome these mind games?

Thankfully, you have the answer. If I haven’t made it clear by now – gratitude helps the basketball brain; gratitude will help you overcome. There’s no doubt about it.

So here’s my final plea: focus on the privilege, what you do have instead of what you don’t; work hard, stay humble, celebrate your teammates, choose hope instead of complaints, and find joy in the journey by being present – believe me, that basketball brain will thank you later!