Article Contents

  • 1. Old school
  • 2. Inside versus outside goals
  • 3. Here is your first test
  • 4. The second test: thinking like a champion
  • 5. Universal formula for success
  • 6. The third test
  • 7. The six steps

You are literally always one decision away from a better life. So, we ask, what is a better athletic life for you? Is it winning titles, making spares, increasing revolutions on your ball, having people respect you? It takes a certain amount of courage to declare what you want. It takes something even more to believe that you get to have it.

There is greatness in you to express. There are accomplishments to knock out. You have visions and goals for sure. You may have established targets and aspirations that are big, awesome, and lofty. But, if you are like most people, you have a track record that belies your intentions. Or perhaps you can cite some other circumstance like age, opportunity, or limited talent that you believe will prevent you from having what you want.

“Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
—Maya Angelou

This article is being written from a particular point of view. That is, if you have a goal, a vision, or a dream, and you think that you cannot achieve it, you are mistaken. And I’m pretty sure that I am right. I am saying that you can have what you want, at least in some form. Everything you desire is at your fingertips. But you may not know it yet.

My aim is to get you to see what you can do, and to start immediately to have better spare shooting, a better game, titles, money, or whatever else you say lights your candle. If it seems to you that I am trotting out pie-in-the-sky, hyper-optimistic goal-setting visions, then you are actually reading me right. I am doing that. ...

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Dean Hinitz

About Dean Hinitz

Dr. Dean Hinitz is a clinical sports psychologist in Reno, Nevada, a bowler, a former competitive gymnast, and a black belt in Japanese-style Karate.