That harmless little iPhone in your pocket seems like a fun communication tool. In fact it's stopping you from achieving your cricket dreams.
How can that even be possible?
We live in an age of unprecedented access to data. With a tiny computer in your pocket that is connected to the internet you have huge information.
And information is power.
But that is also the problem.
Because while the right information used in the right way will help you improve, there is also a lot of "wrong" information.
That is information weakness.
And I'm not even talking about myths, lies and rumours. I'm talking about these three things:
Distraction
The iPhone is an amazing way to pass the time: Facebook, twitter and Google+ can throw you jokes, videos, articles and updates to your hearts content.
But it's a massive distraction from being in the moment.
Think about the last game where your team was batting. How many guys were heads buried in their phones? How much conversation was going on?
I'm willing to bet there are games happening where guys are even checking their phone at fine leg.
Instead of engaging in the match, we drift into a cyberworld. Perhaps it's silly cat pictures, maybe its reading the Times of India. High or low brow the important thing is that you are not present and mindful.
With every tap, you are training your brain to detach from the moment.
And we all know how important it is to stay in the moment as a batter, bowler or fielder.
How can we expect to keep a clear mind if we seek out distractions in the screen of a phone?
Reflection
An extension of this, is that the iPhone stops us reflecting after games and training.
Instead of thinking things through, as the professionals recommend, and adapting practice to what happened, we just sink back to YouTube.
We need space and time to analyse our performances. Without doing this our cricket is like a plane without an autopilot. There is nothing making the tiny adjustments needed to stay on course. You could end up anywhere.
So spending less time on your tech gives you more time to focus and reflect effectively.
Posture
There is also a physical reason to cut back on your phone use. It's hurting your neck and ruining your posture, which will cause injury.
No one can say it better than the insane but brilliant Kelly Starrett:
If that video doesn't motivate you to sit properly, use your phone less and make the most of your ability, there's nothing more I can do for you!
So, don't be an information weakling. Get your iPhone use under control and get back in the game.
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