Yesterday, after dinner and homework, I challenged my son to a couple games of bowling via wii. From the start, it was evident that I am a far superior wii bowler. But, I also noticed him getting more and more frustrated with his own performance. It seemed that his ball would go straight and just before hitting the target, take a curve and divert off into the gutter.
It reminded me of some of my own experiences, where I had a goal in my crosshairs and thought it was certain that I would obtain it, only to end up off to the side, not even coming close. In those instances, and even in my son's case, it wasn't the preparation that doomed me. It was the follow-through. I'm generally very diligent on the front end, thinking things through, weighing all options, pondering all possible outcomes, but not taking control once the project was launched.
My son lined up properly, his aim was accurate, but once the ball left his hand, there was no follow through. He just dropped his hands limply and hoped for the best. That was so familiar to me. We worked for a few minutes on his posture and also control, especially once he released the ball. It made a world of difference. He actually beat me a couple games afterwards. I think we both learned something...
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