!!!!!!!!!!!!What!!!!!!!!!!!!Tin Man "DID", Did Not Just talk, Winner never Quit, Quitters New Win.
Consider this..........at some point you must say to yourself........”there is no reason for me to miss”.
One day, I realized that with the amount time I have put in with a focus plan like you are doing, that there is no reason for me to miss.
I had developed my skills to a very high level, but still missed.
So, me missing was all between my ears and not for lack of a very good skill set.
This is where the real hard work begins. Getting whatever thoughts out of your head that is preventing you from using the skills you have developed.
In other words, at some point, your progress will be all mental and not for lack of skills.
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I get a lot of my inspiration from musicians. I feel playing pool has a lot in common with playing music.
Playing great pool requires playing with great feeling just like playing great music requires playing with great feeling.
You can not be just going through the motions. As you must feel the music, you must feel the shot.
This is a fascinating read Demi thanks for posting this.
How are you addressing improvement in mental toughness?
Very interesting to me, as I am struggling with this part of the game enormously. I know I should be able to win a lot more matches with my skill set but I don't because my mental weakness gets in the way. Especially the part about disruptive thoughts at crunch time is very regognizable to me.3) Develop the right outlooks, attitudes, and beliefs about yourself, and the purpose behind your relationship with the game. With the right outlook you can prevent many of the thoughts/pressures/emotions entirely, instead of having to deal with them perpetually. It's like playing shape instead of making so many hard shots. And there aren't hundreds of unique tools, there's an overall optimal approach that helps in nearly all situations.
I used to be a #2 guy but was fortunate enough to have been shown another way. Since then I have come to believe that if you're looking at things right there should be no negative thoughts. Therefor if there are negative thoughts, that is a sign I am looking at something wrong.
I try to keep my approach in check but when I get bogged down I reflect and try to understand where I fell out of balance and alignment. For example if I'm trying to stay focused while I have a substantial lead or skill edge the answer is rarely chanting to myself "Don't let up when you're ahead, have killer instinct" but rather to make sure I am tapped into my process goals which generate motivation regardless of the score. This is one example of a vast number I could discuss.
Very interesting to me, as I am struggling with this part of the game enormously. I know I should be able to win a lot more matches with my skill set but I don't because my mental weakness gets in the way. Especially the part about disruptive thoughts at crunch time is very regognizable to me.
I hope you'll disclose some more of that 'vast number you could discuss' !! I know I should not be hoping for any silver bullets, but it seems your knowledge and the way you describe your thoughts could be very helpful. Thanks anyway for your insightful posts.
Excuse me if this question was answered and I missed it but I also wonder how old the OP is. Fatboy asked and I did not see the answer.
And yes, it is relevant.
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Instead I believe in a reality based approach to pool. I challenge every assumption and expectation. I seem to have ups and downs, so rather than denying that, I accept it. My game plan is simple: "Get up, stay up". When I'm dogging it and being run over I know that it's going to be ugly, so I accept that it's not my turn to run the table over. Instead my best option is to not make it worse. I'm ok with dogging it. I've done it a million times and will do it a million more. And just be being ok with it I don't pour gas on the fire by getting despairing or critical or angry. I've budgeted for this and I have a plan. I just do what's in front of me and keep breathing, and focus on making my worst game not any worse than it has to be. I've seen it turn around often enough to know I can hang in there and it will turn at some point. Maybe not in time to win this set but I'll keep trying. So I try to minimize the amount of time I spend on my back. Then when I catch a gear I don't take it for granted and think it's me from here on out. I know dead stroke is fickle so I respect it and try to keep it going as long as possible. I keep calm, keep making good decisions, keep focused, and I don't start freewheeling thinking I'm entitled to this feeling.
I've beaten players who play as good as me and have higher high gears because at the higher levels it's not about who plays best at their peak, it's about who manages the swings better. If I lose less games when I'm struggling and win more when I'm in stroke then even though the tides can change, in the long run I'll edge ahead through emotional management. And even this understanding of how to win against good players is a reality based approach, because if people think they're going to play a top player and just run them over all day long they are in for an unpleasant surprise when that player fights back and ruins their plan. You may be able to knockout punch your local sparring partner but good luck making a living hitting people once and hoping they stay down.
I'm getting carried away but the main point I'm trying to make is that I really try to be realistic and accepting of my humanity which frees me to make the best decisions off of a realistic assessment of where I'm at and what the best play is. Most players are borderline delusional and as a result make poor decisions and always feel frustration, fear, and tremendous pressure because the truth is always just below the surface waiting to burst their bubble.
Somehow this post is both too long and not nearly long enough. I'm just not sure I can really explain my approach to competition in a forum format. But if you're able to use anything I've shared to help you on your way then godspeed!
Yes, age is very important. Not as important as health but, age is very important.
Putting age and health aside, I doubt many people with families and a house payment, car payments, insurance, trying to save for kids college...etc...etc will be trying to actually do what the OP suggest.
I know I had to "choose" between pool and taking care of my family while at the same time, securing their future. IMO, it's virtually impossible for most to do both.
I may be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.
Jeff
I do recommend people doing what I suggest. But to be clear I didn't suggest that people quit their jobs or go all in on pool disproportionately. The point of this thread that seems to be a hard one to make is that I want people to maximize the impact they make with the resources they have. People seem to be so all or nothing that if they can't do everything they decide to do nothing. All I'm trying to say is if someone has 5-10 hours a week they'll get more out of them if they decide to get fired up and use them strategically rather than saying it's not enough so why bother trying.
It's like saving for retirement. If someone is in their 20s and newly married things are tight. You don't tell them "You don't have enough money to invest right now so don't bother, wait until you are making six figures then you can just start making huge deposits into a 401K". Of course not! You tell them "Even small investments can add up to big numbers over time due to compounding interest, and just as importantly it starts you on the right path with your habits and self image. So don't worry if it doesn't look like much, start investing even $10 a week and you'll be glad you did".
That is what I'm telling people. If you are a competitor then don't buy lotto tickets and decide the only way you can play well is if you suddenly had unlimited resources. Instead take the darn 5-10 hours a week and do something with them. The hardest part is not following the herd that tells you it's a waste of effort. If you want to quit pool quit then go ahead and quit pool, fine, but don't quit pool mentally while continuing to put in 10 hours a week like a zombie. If you're not a competitor and play recreationally that is fine, but that should be by choice, not by defeat.
I can see ^^^^^^^^^ advice seeming more attainable to players that don't live and breath pool.
As for quitting, lol....I had to because my career was to demanding. I had to choose between pool and sleep for a number of years. Family and 70 hour work weeks does that to folks.
I wasn't trying to put your post, you....or anyone down.
I was just trying to keep a realistic prospective for the average Joe.
I play with several people that would LOVE, I mean absolutely LOVE to do exactly what you described in your OP but, they only get about an hour on Saturdays to hit balls.
One of them was at my place. We was looking at some stuff in the for sale section and then browsed the forum for a second and saw your post. That's when my buddy said, dang...lol...
Anyways, after he left, I got to thinking about how many other people would read that and think, "dang, I don't have but one hour a week"...
Jeff
Fair enough Jeff. I don’t dispute there are times in ones life when you have to hang up the cue. If you can’t play there is no shame in not playing. I was addressing the masses of people I see putting in time without purpose. It’s like there are two things. How much time you have and what you do with it. Too many people throw away the time they have thinking it’s not enough. In the end we’re not competing with each other, were competing with ourselves, and however much time we have if we do something with it we’ll be better off than if we don’t.
Not to knockout your story but I knew from the get-go the answer, I knew what you were going to say even though you explained them in detail but to progress in pool the answer is very simple.
Play more, practice more, them pros practice 10 hours a day! Get this in your head, and trust me, the time they stop practicing 10 hrs a day, they will go down a level within a year or two.
I remember a pro player by the name of George SanSouci "RIP", he was so good in the game in the years between 1998 to 2001, he pocketed balls very cleanly, he played incredible positional patterns, the guy was really talented.
However, in the year of 2004 I saw a video of him and he looked like a B player and I asked what happened to him, then I found out that he picked up another hubby "Fishing" and was not practicing as much pool.
In other words, you practice more, you get better, then you keep on practicing, 7hrs or 10hrs a day, unless you have a gambling match or a tournament to go to.
This is what pro's do, it is very very simple, give me a salary and let me practice 10hrs a day "Everyday", then fly me to tournaments, you will see me play at pro speed where breaks will then be the decider of the matchups <--- this is another story.
Ill give you another example, if you take SVB who is an incredible player, and let him do other hubbies for a year with zero practice, he'll lose a level or two.
Wanna be as good as pros? Practice 7 to 10hrs a day, everyday.