Mamba Mentality

As the world mourns the loss of NBA icon, Kobe Bryant, I've been reflecting on his process, his approach to the game he loved, to his "craft", what he referred to as the Mamba Mentality.

It is a lesson as old as time. It's one that has been reoccurring in my life since 5th grade basketball. When my friend's dad worked on teaching us girls a game he loved so much as well. He'd break down stances, ball handling, foot work, and shooting. I could see there was something there. I could see there were "hacks" to the game that shaved off milliseconds and faked out your opponents. But I didn't really see the bigger picture. I didn't understand he was breaking down a bigger system (the game of basketball) for us. I didn't see how he was having us eat an elephant one bite at a time. When people would say things like "breaking down the game" I didn't know what that meant. And I didn't realize that this is exactly what my 5th grade basketball coach was doing for us. I didn't realize this was a life-long skill. "The game of Basketball" in my head it was already in its basic component. After all it distinguished the sport from another and conveyed the message to others what you were doing. In my head "the game of basketball" was where you went out and shot the ball as many times as you could, and hoped it went in more times than the other team....I didn't see the system. I didn't see the individual components on how you ensured your success. I guess I've always just seen sports as games of chance. And when people would start talking about strategies, I never saw the relevancy.

Then years later I found myself getting a college degree as abstract as "basketball." Instead of graduating with a degree that made me something (teacher, nurse, biologist) I had a degree in another system. Environmental Public Health. I thought by deciding a major, I was deciding who I'd be. Not what path I was on. My mentors in the field would tell me that this was ok, most Environmental Health Officers got the same undergrad degree and then used their Master's Degree to specialize in one area (food safety, industrial hygiene, ) The more I worked in the field, the more I realized my love for food. So I thought to myself "Yeah I finally decided my calling! Food. That's it"......Um come to find out, "food" is another system. "Food" encompasses way too much to tackle in a lifetime (no wonder I have been in a rush my whole life to get to "what's next?" I've felt 90 years was never going to be enough time to do what I needed to get done.) I would sit back and say what the heck? ;) what am I supposed to be doing? All these areas I'm picking lead to dead-ends. None of these makes me anyone. I want a degree that when I am done I have a marketable skill and I'm somebody. I need a title. Even when mentors would remind me that in today's age I can make up my own title. I still felt I needed that validation of a degree. I didn't understand I was looking at systems. And I didn't understand how to further break down that system into it's most basic components. Until now...

The more I learned about the food industry, nutrition, and production I found Permaculture. I thought "Yes! This is it!" This is who I am! Permaculture is another system. While I knew I need to work at the systems level to get the leverage I need to get the global results I'm after.....I was paralyzed by the size of the system and I didn't know what part to move to get those results. I didn't know what buttons operated the system. I was scared I would not be able to create the results in my own life, let alone help anyone else. I remained in that analysis paralysis for years!

I knew the steps are as simple as decide then take inspired action. Then do it again. I knew to be able to decide I needed to work on my beliefs, my thoughts, my feelings, my actions, and then and only then would I start getting the results I am after (empowering every family to be able to feed themselves sustainable nutritious plant-based diets.)

Again the words and phrases that are so prevalent in the sports community came around these past few days. Mamba Mentality has been described on tv, highlighted on shoes, and written about in countless articles. And for the first time in my life, I get it. Mentality (what I've been calling Mindset) and Craft (what I've been calling passion or calling). For the first time in my life I am seeing how all these pieces fit together and translate into literally every area of your entire life. (basketball, building a wardrobe, homesteading, everything!)

Ryan pointed out Kobe's system to me. Kobe broke down the game of basketball (system) into its individual pieces (lay-up, three-point shot, free throw, dribbling) and then worked tirelessly to master each component. "Master this and then build on it. Master the next step and then build on it. Until you have the whole system built."

This blew my mind! You mean Basketball isn't already in its most simplest component??? The lesson that has been evading me for the better part of three decades. "In order to master a system, you need to know and understand its components." Then and only then can you make alterations to the system as a whole to get it to move how you intend.

First you have to be able to identify what you are looking at is indeed a system and then start identifying components, and components of components. I have been stuck at the level of knowing I need to make system-wide changes, but not taking the time to break it down and master each component.

Think about a lay-up for example (only one of a million parts of what makes up a basketball game.) That sounds like you've gotten a component down to its simplest form, right? But let's start opening that up. You need to master the foot work. You need to master the ball handling. You need to master the spin on the ball that when it hits the glass it travels in the direction of the hoop. You need to have the right strength in the right muscles to accomplish this feat......Soon you have enough work to fill six months of practice! In the end Kobe fully understood the components, and he was able to leverage the system and become an legend.

While I thought at each step I was choosing/deciding to master the most basic component (food, permaculture, plant-based diet) I was still looking at systems. When I start to learn about each of these I realize there are so many moving parts. Without a road map, I would quickly get overwhelmed and my progress would stall out.

So when I decided I want to homestead. I thought I needed to identify all the things that I believe make up a "homesteader" and do all of them all at once. (Also a common characteristic in a multi-passionate person. I love food, holistic healthcare, toxin-free lifestyles, plants, community food systems, climate change, and yoga, and pilates...) Only then would I be a legitimate homesteader. If I wasn't doing it all, overnight, I couldn't possible be a legit homesteader. But where do I start? How do I do it all in just 24 hours, and be a mom, and a wife, and a friend, and have time for anything else? I never met the man, but I highly doubt that when Kobe Bryant was focusing on lay-ups, he never thought for a second he was anything less than a full-fledged basketball player (and one of the greatest of all time at that.)

I need to give myself permission to learn and master the individual components of the system before being an expert/master of the entire system.

What in your life are you feeling overwhelm about? What do you need to give yourself permission to further break it down? What do you feel you are looking at the most basic level, but in actuality it needs further breaking down? What do you want to accomplish in this life, year, 90-days? Are you ready to thrive at it? I'll be developing coaching and courses around helping you do just this in an easy and straightforward fashion. So you can learn this faster than my 25 year journey and implement it in your life right away! :)