I hope I can explain this properly. Advise whether this should go in the Ask The Instructor forum. But I thought I'd solicit more generally, both what people do, and what I should do.
I struggle mightily controlling my thought patterns. I fully understand that mindless execution is best. Let me give you some examples of what happens to me.
Drills: after I am warmed up and I'm confident I am aligning properly and no anomalies have crept in, I tend to do very well at the start of a drill. For instance, the Mighty-X stop shot. I can't tell you how many times I will make the first few shots, then miss the fourth, fifth, or sixth shot. Then I regroup, and can sink maybe five to 10 in a row, then, a miss. And nearly always, I notice my thought pattern has shifted. Suddenly, I feel the cue in my hand. I feel where my shoulder is. I feel where my feet are. I feel where my elbow is. I am suddenly consciously aware of these things. and invariably, as soon as I notice these thoughts in my head, the misses follow. I can even get down on a shot and tell myself NOT to think about such things, which then forces me to think about them.
So, my questions, in particular directed to the more highly accomplished AZBers here:
1a. From the time you get down on your shot and perform pre-strokes, until you address the cue ball the final time, what do YOU think about?
1b. Same question, but what would you recommend *I* (or any player to whom you are giving advice) think about?
2a. When you at final cue ball address, and you are starting your backstroke, then through your forward stroke, what do YOU think about?
2b. What would you recommend *I* think about?
I am really trying to exorcise my conscious thoughts because the more mindlessly I perform my execution, the better I shoot. (I understand that planning the shot while standing is where thinking and visualizing the shot should occur.)
Competition and game play: similarly and relatedly, I struggle with focus. If it's not the problem stated above, where the shot parameters are fairly simple, it's more nuanced shots, such as the really easy shot where I "lose" focus on exactly where to deliver the cue ball, or a tougher shot where I'll focus so much on potting the ball that my speed/spin plan is forgotten. I have a problem with the mental discipline to focus exactly the same way on every shot. (I bet that's not too uncommon.)
My goal is to move from "Don't be thinking about (x, y, z)", because trying NOT to think about something brings it front of mind. My goals are to have some sort of mantra, some thing I can have my brain occupied with, so anything about shot execution can't enter my thought pattern.
I know, really esoteric, but hopefully I get some good ideas here. I hope this isn't too weird a topic.
P.S. Yes I've read Pleasures of Small Motions. No, I haven't read Inner Game of Tennis.
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