I worry sometimes that I'm deluding myself about how well the techniques that Jerry and I have developed are working. Maybe it's just that I so want to see success that I do.
Except: No. It's not that.
On Thursday, I was practicing hitting pitch shots from 30ish yards away, and I watched the balls group around the pin. A year ago they didn't do that. I unequivocally have a better short game now than I did a year ago. The practice is paying off.
On Saturday, I was playing tennis, and I paid the most objective attention I could to the quality of my serving, and undeniably, I serve with more power, accuracy, consistency and confidence than I did a year ago. The practice is paying off.
It hit me that the truly challenging question isn't, "What if it's all just confirmation bias?" It's far more challenging to consider this: What if the work we're doing is capable of unlocking our abilities to the very limits of our potential? What if this all really, truly works? What if, by continuing to attend to what's going on in our bodies and what's going on with our energy, coupled with regular practice, the end result is that we see improvement to levels we've barely dared imagine?
What happens if we discover that our limitations have been largely self-imposed? Then what do we do?