How Shohei Ohtani became a super star…

Sahil Bloom shared this image in a recent newsletter, along with an explanation of how Ohtani used the “Harada system” to become the superstar he is.

The story of the Harada system is delightful. It was developed by Takashi Harada, an junior high track and field coach in Osaka, Japan who realized that his young athletes needed more than just drills and strength training to succeed (in all ways). He developed a system for them to define their own goals and actions, and then used it to take his last place team (out of 380 schools!) to 1st place – a position they held for 6 years. 

Increasing our attention spans

Our ability to pay attention is how we accomplish the things that are important to us, whether it’s being one of the best (if not the best) baseball players in the world like Shohei Ihtani, or finishing a book that has been lying fallow on a computer for too long (Mea culpa).

Thinking about how to better pay attention led me to this post, which summarizes and shares a 4 minute video from Daniel Pink with his 5 step plan to improve our ability to pay attention👇

Set a baseline 

See how long can you read a book until you are distracted

As you add steps 2-5 (below), repeat to monitor your improvement

Eliminate distractions

Make where you work a “no phone zone”

Close tabs and anything else on your computer that might distract you

No notifications on any device! 

Create a focus ritual

It doesn’t matter what it is, but it matters that it exists

“It’s like hitting play on a playlist your brain already knows.”

Take breaks and move

“Think of your brain like a toddler… It melts down if you don’t give it snacks and naps.”

Reconnect attention to meaning

Take the time to articulate the “why” of what you doing

“It turns a chore into a choice.”

“Purpose fuels persistence.”

Elevation (gratitude on steroids)

In 2000, Jonathan Haidt defined elevation, which he described as “a warm or glowing feeling in the chest [that] makes people want to become morally better themselves.”  It’s the “thrill we experience when we see someone act with courage or compassion”, and it’s most likely the source of prosocial contagion.

And how do we promote elevation, which sounds like just what we need in our society right now? According to Nancy Davis Kho, it’s by developing an ongoing practice of gratitude. 

“Research published in 2015 in Frontiers in Psychology found that an ongoing practice of gratitude basically rewires our brains to reward us for the positive perceptions we have of the people around us. That begets more gratitude and “elevation,” a lovely scientific term defined in a 2000 article by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt as “a warm or glowing feeling in the chest [that] makes people want to become morally better themselves.” Pour me some elevation, barkeep, and make it a double!”

The Thank-You Project by Nancy Davis Kho,