Alright, let’s talk about something I experimented with recently. I kept hearing about the ‘Pat Summitt stare’. You know, the legendary basketball coach? People talked about this look she had, super intense, like she could see right through you. Got me curious. Not ’cause I wanted to scare folks, but I wondered what was behind it. Seemed like some serious focus, some real mental power there.
So, I decided, okay, let me try and figure this out myself. Not by actually trying to stare people down, that’s just weird. More like, trying to capture that feeling of intense focus she must have had. See if I could bring a bit of that into my own day.
Getting Started – The Awkward Phase
First off, I had no clue what I was doing. Seriously. I’d be doing something simple, like washing the dishes or waiting for the kettle to boil, and I’d try to… well, ‘stare’. I’d pick a spot on the wall and just lock onto it. Tried to make my eyes feel heavy or something? Felt ridiculous, let me tell you. Looked in the mirror once doing it. Yeah, just looked kinda constipated, honestly. Not exactly channeling a coaching legend.
Then I thought, maybe it’s not the eyes, maybe it’s the whole face? Tried setting my jaw, keeping my expression totally flat. Still felt forced. Like I was putting on a mask. It wasn’t doing anything for my actual focus. My mind still wandered all over the place. I was thinking about looking intense, not actually being intense or focused.
Shifting Gears – Inside Job
I realized pretty quick this wasn’t about the outside. It had to be an inside thing. That stare people saw? Probably just what happened on her face when she was 100% locked in mentally. So, I stopped trying to look a certain way.
Instead, I started practicing just being focused. When I was working on something, I’d make a conscious effort to shut out distractions. Like, literally picture putting blinders on my mind. If thoughts popped up about emails, or what’s for dinner, I’d just notice them and push them aside, bringing my attention back. Harder than it sounds.
- Tried it during my morning walks. Instead of letting my mind drift, I focused on my breathing, the feel of my feet hitting the pavement.
- Tried it during conversations. Really listened, tried not to plan my response while the other person was still talking.
- Even tried it when reading. Just focusing purely on the words, not letting my eyes skim or my mind jump ahead.
What Happened?
It wasn’t magic. I didn’t suddenly develop laser eyes. But things did shift a bit. I noticed I could stay on task a little longer. When I felt overwhelmed in a situation, I’d try to bring that focused intention inward. Didn’t always work, sometimes I’d just feel stressed and be trying too hard to focus.
But sometimes, yeah, it helped. Felt like it grounded me a little. Like pulling the scattered bits of my attention back into one place. Nobody ever mentioned I looked intense or anything. Thank goodness. That wasn’t the point anyway.
The Takeaway
So, this whole ‘Pat Summitt stare’ practice? It ended up being less about the stare and more about good old-fashioned concentration. The idea of the ‘stare’ was just a hook, something that got me started thinking about focus in a different way.
It’s really just about mental discipline. About choosing where your attention goes. It’s not some mystical power you learn. It’s just practice. Like anything else. Still working on it, probably always will be. But it was an interesting little experiment, trying to unpack that legend a bit and finding a simple, practical core underneath it all.
