Forehands, Double Spacing, and Dunning Kruger

Let’s Get Fired Up

What fires you up? What gets you excited just thinking about it? What is the vision you have for your future? These are questions I continually ask myself for my own personal growth. My answer is usually related to encouraging and inspiring others. I’m on a continual search for ways to connect with people so I can share ideas and resources that help us all live life a little better. I’m currently exploring several ways to connect and share and experimenting with strategies and methods that will be useful to me and to those in my circle of influence. I’m working to build the circle, and in the process, improve the crafts necessary to effectively connect, teach, and coach. That’s my vision. That’s what excites me. That’s what fires me up.

Identity as a Craft

We all have many identities. I identify as a husband, dad, teacher, coach, and writer to name just a few. These are identities that I value, so I need to approach these identities with a craftsman mindset. Doing so helps remind me to look for small ways to practice and improve. I never want to feel like I’ve “arrived” at some level of competency as a husband or dad or teacher or coach. I simply want to live and practice with a vision to improve and incrementally close the potential gap between my current self and my best self. My hope is that I approach all of my “identities” in the same way, growing my identity as any craftsman grows their talents and skills. With patience, practice, and a growth mindset.

Crafting a Forehand, Crafting a Coach

It’s easy to mistake competency for mastery. I’ve been coaching for eighteen years, so I think it’s fair to say I’m relatively competent as a coach. But last week I was reminded that there is always room for improvement. Even experts disagree on best practices, strategies, and approaches. For example, there are several ways to teach young players how to hit a forehand. In teaching and coaching, we need to be intentional about listening and discussing. Among teachers and coaches, we understand there is wisdom in debate and conversation. Collectively, our varying thoughts, ideas, and experiences help us consider and appreciate nuances that we could never fully explore on our own. The debate is not an argument or disagreement, but rather a deep conversation with mutual respect and shared interest with the purpose of lifting each other up in our crafts. I love talking with expert teachers and coaches (shout out to Nick Laskaris) who approach their craft with this growth mindset. This is a great reminder that mastery is a journey, not a destination. Craftsmanship is quest, not a state.

One Space or Two?

So here’s a debate that I didn’t know was a debate. How many spaces should there be at the end of a sentence, one or two? If you answered either, you can say you are correct. I’m a lifelong two-spacer. In high school typing class, double spacing was drilled into my head. From what I understand, most people who learned to type on actual typewriters learned to type this way. There are a ton of articles written on this topic, but basically it comes down to this. APA recommends double space for readability, but MLA and CMS recommend single spacing. Generally speaking, older typists prefer double space while younger typists prefer single spacing. I found it interesting that the MLA website says, “Leave one space after a period or other concluding punctuation mark, unless your instructor prefers two spaces. Whichever spacing you choose, be sure to use it consistently throughout your paper.” So I guess do what you want. Unless your teacher wants something else.

So why did I spend all that time on the great space debate? Because I’m on a quest to improve my writing craft. I know that if I learn and implement the small things, over time my writing will improve. By the way, I’ve been practicing the art of the single space and it’s not so bad. Thanks for the heads up on that debate, Eric Fohl.

Quests, States, and Dunning Kruger

I love the Brian McLaren quote, “statements lead you to a state. Questions lead you on a quest.” That’s a beautiful thought. I love questioning. Questioning shows we care. Statements can reveal that we have arrived to a conclusion and the critical thinking and open minded consideration is no longer necessary. I’m not a fan of arguments because those typically leave out the listening. I also have a great fear of my “wisdom” simply being a mistaken cognitive bias (see Dunning Kruger Effect). I am on a journey as a husband, dad, teacher, coach, and writer. My vision is to encourage and inspire by any means necessary.

I am not in a state. I am on a quest. I’m crafting my identity. I don’t care how effective I am, I care about how effective I can be. I want to be better. And I’m fired up! What fires you up? What gets you excited? Adopt an identity, plan your quest, close the gap, and start today.

Enjoy the day!