Overcoming Fear And Self Doubt

TDub

TDub

I get the 8!!!
Silver Member
Hello all, I belong to a small APA league here locally and I am on a very successful team. I have noticed a trend, I tend to perform very well during the season but once the playoffs start I have trouble. I have narrowed the issue down to confidence and self doubt. Does anyone have any recommendations on literature on this subject?

Terry
 
TDub said:
Hello all, I belong to a small APA league here locally and I am on a very successful team. I have noticed a trend, I tend to perform very well during the season but once the playoffs start I have trouble. I have narrowed the issue down to confidence and self doubt. Does anyone have any recommendations on literature on this subject?

Terry
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Terry,

All I can tell ya is you played well getting to the play offs, when shooting in the play offs just say to yourself "I've made this shot a hundred times" and then just shoot.

Your obviously pretty good, take a deep breath then exhale and fire away. Its always ONE shot at a time.

Always have fun, practice your weak shots.

John
 
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The Monk

The Monk has a couple of books on the subject. There is a free e-book floating around "THE MINDS EYE" It got me on the right track. I then went on to pick up a set of dvd by him. Start with the free e-book.
 
What is so good about the Pleasures of Small Motions? Loads of people recommended the Inner Game of Tennis, but I lost interest within 2 pages.
 
TheThaiger said:
What is so good about the Pleasures of Small Motions? Loads of people recommended the Inner Game of Tennis, but I lost interest within 2 pages.
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I haven't actually read the book yet, but I plan on it in the near future.

From what I've heard, he uses science/physics to help the mental game. Instead of all that "be one with the ball" zen stuff.
 
IF you can eliminate the nerves at the onset of the match it is much easier to control them once you are in the heat of battle....

You will find that in many team sports they combat the jitters and butterflys by having a special soundtrack they play before taking the field...

In my league days years ago I would head out to my car before I knew my match was coming up and I had a techno/jock jams mix I had created to get myself pumped up... I can recall a bunch of matches that were over before I lost any of the intensity.

The year I used the CD I won 28weeks in a row and had an innings per game avg of just over 1....

I battle nerves just playing for fun and always have.... It's definitely me doing it to myself... Playing with expectations and not just playing... One pothole and the wheels can fly off... No potholes and you likely just got steamrolled..

I think I may have to try and dig my old CD out and convert it to mp3 so it can join the new century LOL... Music City is coming up and the last time I was there my head tried to explode...

The only other fix I know of is to go hit more balls... More balls than you have ever hit... So many balls that you don't recall a miss when it happens... When I can get to my chair and not even recall what I did to put me there nerves don't stand a chance....

Chris
 
JoeW said:
This a long article I wrote some time ago. You may find it useful. It has some specific recommendations near the end that you can use at home.


http://billiards.colostate.edu/PBReview/Competitive_Anxiety.htm
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Thanks for the link Joe.

There are a lot of your articles there. I have read all of them down to the
"Mental articles. I will read them all, as time allows.

I know I can play better than I am now playing.....I just need to get out of the way. :smile:

John
 
TheThaiger said:
What is so good about the Pleasures of Small Motions? Loads of people recommended the Inner Game of Tennis, but I lost interest within 2 pages.
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I have never read the Inner Game of Tennis, but I can tell you my perceived benefits of Pleasures of Small Motions.

It is specifically written for pool, so you aren't translating content that I would suspect is the case. Bob is a pool player and understands how to get the readers attention in the first chapter.

The book is not an "easy" read. There is an abundance of information to absorb. It was written my a PHD psychologist, so this should not be a surprise. I personally read a chapter a day then the next day re-read the same chapter before moving to the next.

There is an except available at the following link:
http://books.google.com/books?id=65uK9Qu5JwEC&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=pleasure+of+small+motions+free&source=bl&ots=KTUAXo5UXl&sig=XQaVQeX3kxjla7Otn5RONSM2GmM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hk_PUJXnJcio0AHZ1oHwAw&ved=0CHMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=pleasure%20of%20small%20motions%20free&f=false
 
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