From Thinking to Being: The Secret to Engaging in Life Like a Pro Athlete

There’s a profound distinction between truly experiencing life and merely experiencing our thoughts about life. While both seem intertwined, they are not the same, and understanding this can shift the way we approach everything—from daily tasks to life’s most pivotal moments.

A simple yet powerful example comes from basketball, specifically the act of shooting a free throw. Imagine stepping up to the line. Your mind starts to chatter: “I need to make this shot.” “Aim for the back of the rim.” “Don’t mess up.” These thoughts are not about the actual experience of shooting the ball; they are thoughts about shooting the ball. They're focused on outcome, judgment, and abstract ideas that hover around the act itself.

Now contrast this with the pure experience of shooting a free throw. In this state, there’s no internal dialogue. You’re not thinking about the result or strategizing about technique. Instead, you are fully engaged in the moment, feeling the ball in your hands, sensing the muscles in your body as they contract and release in perfect order, applying just the right amount of force. It’s a direct, embodied experience.

Michael Jordan demonstrated this perfectly when he famously shot a free throw with his eyes closed. He wasn’t aiming, thinking, or worrying about the outcome. He was experiencing the shot. His years of training, muscle memory, and instinct took over. His mind was quiet, and his body knew exactly what to do.

This distinction extends far beyond sports. In life, we often find ourselves lost in thoughts about life rather than engaging with life itself. We worry, plan, analyze, and stress over how things might go, but in doing so, we miss the present moment—the experience of living. We think about what could happen, what should happen, and how we’ll feel when it does, but we forget to fully inhabit the now.

To truly live is to immerse ourselves in the direct experience of each moment, free from the clutter of mental commentary. It’s feeling the wind on your skin, hearing the laughter of a loved one, or moving your body through space without overthinking every step.

Like shooting a free throw with your eyes closed, life can be experienced more fully when we quiet the mind and let ourselves simply be. When we do this, we shift from thinking about life to truly experiencing it, and in that space, we discover a deeper connection to ourselves, to others, and to the world around us.

Are you experiencing life, or are you merely experiencing your thoughts about life? The answer might just change everything.