3 Helpful At Home Practice Tips!
It’s no secret that the more time and effort you put into developing a skill, the faster you can become great. But it may be hard to find the motivation to practice after a long day at school, or at the Dojo.
Read our 3 easy steps to adopt a proper inner dialogue for times when your motivation is difficult to come by. These steps are like a pseudo Jedi Mind Tricks, and asked of your children, will trick them into thinking it was all THEIR idea!
Step 1 Start the conversation by asking about the ONE most important thing they want to achieve in Martial Arts. In other words, ask your child to think about their goals in Martial Arts. When you ask they may say things like “to have fun”, “to see my friends”, “to get my belt”, or the infamous: “I don’t know”. The goal here is to ask specifically for the ONE thing they want to GET. Don’t forget the key words, “GET” and “ONE”. “GET” will get them focused on a goal or physical item they can get (i.e. Belt). “ONE” will force them to prioritize and figure out what they really value.
Step 2 Ask them to describe how they will feel when they achieve that goal. This step is important. Our purpose here is to get them to connect emotionally with their goal. We know they want it, but can we get them to associate the feeling of satisfaction, pride, and achievement? If we can get them to describe what they will feel, we can trigger the release of “feel good” hormones in their brains that will further enforce habits that will pull them towards their goal, and set them up for the next step!
Step 3 If there was ONE thing you could do right now, TODAY, that could help you get to your goal, what would it be? This is the closer! You are going back to asking for one thing they can do that will help them get to their goal. This could be big or small, clear or vague and depending on their age, we may need to guide them or offer suggestions. Adding a time frame to the question, “RIGHT NOW”, is another key point. So, after they decide on which action is most important (hopefully some sort of practice), don’t wait, ride that wave of momentum and get going!
Use these steps and let us know how the conversation went! Pro Tip: try using this for homework!
Sincerely, Dan McDougall, Chief Instructor/Kancho
Barrie Karate Inc
www.barriekarate.com
www.facebook.com/barriekarateinc
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