Anger as a motivator or what motivates you

Matt90

Matt90

Trust the Process
Silver Member
What motivates you ? What brings out your best game ? Our Tap
leauge has a 8 ball and 9 ball night set up and I go in tonight and
play my 8 ball match first .I made a couple of bad mistakes that cost
me the match ,one being a easy 8 ball when I was on the hill :angry:
So when it came time to play 9 ball I was still pissed and beat the
guy 4-0 . So it leads me to believe I play better when I am pissed or
feel elated by money ,power ,or sex . What does it take to tap into
the inner killer instinct for the rest of you ? Also has anyone found a
way to do it without the anger or elation ?
 
When I was younger I felt the same way. I think "pissed" probably doesn't describe it as much as........focused anger. There are times when you can get pissed off and it totally sharks you but there are times when it can make you bear down. I find the best time for me to play is against someone that thinks they're going to walk all over me. I let them have it. I think that little irritation of their attitude pushes me to beat the piss out of them. hehe!!
MULLY
 
When i am playing my very best is when i am totally relaxed.... Lots of breathing to calm the nerves and maybe a bud light or 2 or 3 or 4...lol.. kidn'...no i'm not...lol.. anyways....
Seriously though anger is only a temperary mindset because you cant stay angry for a long period as you can calm cool and relaxed....Just think about SVB, how calm cool and relaxed he is over the table when you play....
It works longer....=)
 
Anger is basically a form of fear. It can disguise itself as motivation, but it is basically "negative" motivation that is fueled by anxiety. Fear usually leads to panic, a loss of emotional control, and eventually self destruction.

Pocketing balls, getting position, winning a game or match, is an external task. Anger is an emotion, and it it is an internal reaction to external stimuli. It shifts your focus from external to internal.

Anger increases your blood pressure, while decreasing your concentration on the task at hand. When you become angry, the anger (or the source of the anger) becomes the focus of your attention. Your performance will deteriorate which will further fuel the anger.

IMO, there are many positive emotional states that are much better motivators than anger - Happy and confident, calm and focused, anxious but excited, etc. I've been watching Efren for over 20 years and I have never seen him anger himself towards victory.

Players need to avoid evaluating and judging their performance during competition. Judgmental thinking about how you are are playing will often lead to irrational generalizations. You angry at yourself or something else, and that is all you concentrate on. It's like missing a shot during the first game of a set and still focusing on it (with anger) 7 games later.

Anger, like anything else, can be avoided by using key words or cue words. These are phrases that lead you back to being focused and in the zone. This will help you focus on the task at hand, rather than the source or trigger of your anger.

I'm sure there will be many players that will argue that their anger is what motivates them to victory. I am sure there are some instances where that may be true, but remember that anger will use up a lot of your mental energy. Anything that is gained from anger will be short-lived. So, if you are successful while using anger as a motivator, you should expect to experience another momentum shift that will favor your opponent.

Don't get pissed off about it. :smile:
 
Listen to Blackjack, anger is short lived at best.

I try to challenge myself every time I play. I would like to play better than I did last time. Correcting my errors and improving on my successes....SPF=randyg
 
Blackjack said:
Anger is basically a form of fear. It can disguise itself as motivation, but it is basically "negative" motivation that is fueled by anxiety. Fear usually leads to panic, a loss of emotional control, and eventually self destruction.

Pocketing balls, getting position, winning a game or match, is an external task. Anger is an emotion, and it it is an internal reaction to external stimuli. It shifts your focus from external to internal.

:
Click to expand...

Sounds like Cesar Millan's calm assertive energy

Blackjack - Poolplayer Whisperer
 
Matt90 said:
What motivates you ? What brings out your best game ? Our Tap
leauge has a 8 ball and 9 ball night set up and I go in tonight and
play my 8 ball match first .I made a couple of bad mistakes that cost
me the match ,one being a easy 8 ball when I was on the hill :angry:
So when it came time to play 9 ball I was still pissed and beat the
guy 4-0 . So it leads me to believe I play better when I am pissed or
feel elated by money ,power ,or sex . What does it take to tap into
the inner killer instinct for the rest of you ? Also has anyone found a
way to do it without the anger or elation ?
Click to expand...


Remember it's your mind and you have the power to control it. The real question you need to answer is why you missed an easy 8 ball on the hill. Something had to break down whether it was your mechanics, focus or you dogged it. These are the tough questions you have to ask yourself. Self analyze why you miss and when you miss and work on correcting your execution. While anger may have a small positive effect on your game for a short period of time proper execution will have a life long effect on your game.

Just remember all the greats play anger free while they are playing their best. The game when played correctly is a fun and enjoyable experience not one that should have you irate.
 
It was a fluke. (i.e. he was due to get beat anyway, maybe his own negative emotions did him in). Or you didn't win because you got angry, you won because you got determined. Actual anger left the building but motivation did not. Or your visible anger sharked him (this happens all the time) and he couldn't win a game as a result.
===================

I don't tell people not to get angry because it's not realistic. But you gotta limit it. Only get angry at stuff that is truly your fault. Never at stuff beyond your control.

Example:

Chew yourself out if:
You see a potential scratch, but you don't bother putting the right spin on the ball to avoid it... You can see you might end up jacked up over a ball if you get leave a certain way, and then you do... you know that if you make the next shot you'll have no possible leave and will probably be hooked, but you fire at it anyway.

All of these things are your fault and you SHOULD beat yourself up a little for it. Go ahead and get pissed at yourself, figure out what you did wrong, maybe put a nice ding in your ferrule and let out a few swear words. Then make sure you're over it 5 minutes later and vow to never be careless again.


Give yourself a pass if:
you try a difficult breakout and just miss it... or you hit it but catch a bad roll and have nothing to shoot after... or your opponent makes a nice shot and kills your hope of winning this match...

All of these things aren't really your fault, you gave a good effort.


Also worth considering is the old axiom "fake it until you make it". Even if you are seething inside, act calm and normal on the outside. Somehow doing this MAKES you become calm. That might seem to go against what I said about allowing a short outburst and dinging your stick, but I find that I feel a little better if I give my stick a little love tap. It's like spanking yourself, lol. This gets it out of my system almost instantly. You may try another route if you paid any real money for your shaft.
 
CreeDo said:
It was a fluke. (i.e. he was due to get beat anyway, maybe his own negative emotions did him in). Or you didn't win because you got angry, you won because you got determined. Actual anger left the building but motivation did not. Or your visible anger sharked him (this happens all the time) and he couldn't win a game as a result.
===================

I don't tell people not to get angry because it's not realistic. But you gotta limit it. Only get angry at stuff that is truly your fault. Never at stuff beyond your control.

Example:

Chew yourself out if:
You see a potential scratch, but you don't bother putting the right spin on the ball to avoid it... You can see you might end up jacked up over a ball if you get leave a certain way, and then you do... you know that if you make the next shot you'll have no possible leave and will probably be hooked, but you fire at it anyway.

All of these things are your fault and you SHOULD beat yourself up a little for it. Go ahead and get pissed at yourself, figure out what you did wrong, maybe put a nice ding in your ferrule and let out a few swear words. Then make sure you're over it 5 minutes later and vow to never be careless again.


Give yourself a pass if:
you try a difficult breakout and just miss it... or you hit it but catch a bad roll and have nothing to shoot after... or your opponent makes a nice shot and kills your hope of winning this match...

All of these things aren't really your fault, you gave a good effort.


Also worth considering is the old axiom "fake it until you make it". Even if you are seething inside, act calm and normal on the outside. Somehow doing this MAKES you become calm. That might seem to go against what I said about allowing a short outburst and dinging your stick, but I find that I feel a little better if I give my stick a little love tap. It's like spanking yourself, lol. This gets it out of my system almost instantly. You may try another route if you paid any real money for your shaft.
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This is one of the best posts ever. :thumbup:

Rep coming your way...
 
hot and cold anger

Hot anger is only going to motivate you for a few minutes rarely even an hour. If you think it works for you soon your focus will be on trying to maintain an artificial state and you don't have the focus to put on the task at hand. Channeling hot anger and adrenaline can let you do the seeming impossible so unless it ties you up it isn't necessarily bad short term. Fight or flight is in full gear and you can translate "fight" into whatever you are doing.

Cold anger is a different story. I have practiced with great intensity for over eight hours thinking about a large money match with someone that had really offended me. I have also torn through a field like the best there were nothing. Rarely can I hit that level of intensity for even an hour or two in practice. So, anger can work, depending on how you channel it. Anger can also tie up your muscles so you can't make a ball. Anger is somewhat unpredictable and has been mentioned burns tremendous energy. Rarely to be relied on for more than very short performances. One run out for example, unlikely to carry you through a match much less a tourney.

My motivation is very simple, to prove I am the very best at that competition on that day. That doesn't mean that I am better overall than some of the people I beat that day, but it does mean I turned in a better performance that time.

I am two tracking a bit in competition. I am trying to lay down 100% of my best game. At the same time, I know that everyone misses sometimes. Everyone even misses easy shots sometimes. I am not going to beat myself up over a miss or a mistake, realistically I know they are going to happen and I know my 100% goal is rarely going to happen. I am not going to think about blown opportunities until the day's competition is over. Now is not the time to be side-tracked over what went wrong or how to improve. Plenty of time for "bench racing" after the day's competition is over.

After the event is over then I evaluate how I performed on the way home. I have dummied up pretty bad and performed at maybe 85% and won, and I have performed at very close to 100% of my ability and lost when somebody else was having a super day too. It is important to understand if your placing was due to internal or external factors to have a realistic expectation of future results.

Will to win, belief in yourself, and playing to near 100% of your abilities will allow you to perform at levels that many believe they can't. Playing confidently regardless of who is sitting in the chair will let you defeat many people in short tournament matches that you can't defeat in a long race.

Hu
 
Blackjack said:
Anger is basically a form of fear. It can disguise itself as motivation, but it is basically "negative" motivation that is fueled by anxiety. Fear usually leads to panic, a loss of emotional control, and eventually self destruction.

:
Click to expand...

Yes, if you are a whimp anger can turn into fear. Usually, when one gets angered, it is the result of an external pressure.

At this point, you have a choice - fight or flight. Whimps turn in fear and cry MOMMY MOMMY!!.

In an 8 ball APA playoff, I was down 2-1 and their team captain shouted: "Turn it up a notch. Turn it up a notch." I got very angry and when my opponent broke and missed I ran the next 4 racks and out. I completely went into the zone and was so focused I didn't hear or see anything but the pool table, the balls, and the clicks.

I have seen plenty of players get angry and do this.

Black Jack, I respectfully disagree with your assumption.

I don't want to get into this too much, but to answer another poster's question about how you funnel this, the trick is to use anger as a 'trigger' to put you into the zone. RandyG and Fast Larry come to mind when it comes to using 'triggers'. If you go into the zone to long, you will get tired at the end of a deep zone, usually one hour. The trick is to go into a mild zone and hit the trigger switch to get out of the zone before you tire. Sorry to go off on a tangent, but the key here is the 'trigger'.
 
Good thread! What motivates me? Living life to the fullest, always trying to do and be my best, not only in my own daily life but towards others. I read once that Happiness is easy..we just have to decide to be.
 
whitewolf said:
Yes, if you are a whimp anger can turn into fear. Usually, when one gets angered, it is the result of an external pressure.

At this point, you have a choice - fight or flight. Whimps turn in fear and cry MOMMY MOMMY!!.

In an 8 ball APA playoff, I was down 2-1 and their team captain shouted: "Turn it up a notch. Turn it up a notch." I got very angry and when my opponent broke and missed I ran the next 4 racks and out. I completely went into the zone and was so focused I didn't hear or see anything but the pool table, the balls, and the clicks.

I have seen plenty of players get angry and do this.

Black Jack, I respectfully disagree with your assumption.

I don't want to get into this too much, but to answer another poster's question about how you funnel this, the trick is to use anger as a 'trigger' to put you into the zone. RandyG and Fast Larry come to mind when it comes to using 'triggers'. If you go into the zone to long, you will get tired at the end of a deep zone, usually one hour. The trick is to go into a mild zone and hit the trigger switch to get out of the zone before you tire. Sorry to go off on a tangent, but the key here is the 'trigger'.
Click to expand...

Ray,

We will have to agree to disagree. "The zone" is an altered state of consciousness. It is characterized by the player having perfect harmony in their thoughts, emotions, and actions. There is no room for anger.

"Angering" yourself into the zone will make those "deep zone" periods much shorter for obvious reasons. More times than not, if you are overly emotional about the external, the zone will be unavailable to you. Using anger as a trigger won't work either. Anger leads to outbursts (inwardly or outwardly). What I think we might agree on, is the fact that the presence of anger needs to be recognized first. Once it is recognized, you must have cue phrases or triggers that lead your mind and thoughts towards control, NOT what triggered the anger. This is accomplished by (as you said) using triggers. However, you must use triggers that lead you toward positive thought and emotional control, not anger.

Outbursts of anger are signs of loss of emotional control. Outbursts are fine, as long as you are able to regain and maintain control afterward. If the player remains angry, there will be no control, more emotional outbursts, mumbling, ranting, and eventually a loss of confidence.

Fear is a natural emotion and a natural response in high pressure situations. All anger is based in fear. It could be fear of losing control, losing a match, not making a shot, consequences thereof, etc. Anger is used as a primal response to fear, and it is actually deceptive to what is really going on behind the eyes.

Plain and simple, anger masks fear. While in the zone you must be in control of your thoughts, actions and emotions. If you are angry or fearful in the zone, then chances are you aren't there anymore.
 
Another view of how you won your 9 ball match when you were ANGRY.
Your opponent picked up on it and was sharked. Playing against someone that is very emotional (angry in this case) will take you our of your game.

Also, I agree with BlackJack.
 
Blackjack said:
Ray,

We will have to agree to disagree. "The zone" is an altered state of consciousness. It is characterized by the player having perfect harmony in their thoughts, emotions, and actions. There is no room for anger.
Click to expand...

My best games come out when I truly no longer worry about the result or score or anything. The "zone" for me is like crystal clear still water. I don't feel anything. No happiness or sadness or anxiety or excitement. It just "is".
 
When someone trys to put me down or write me off.. not realizing i have the talent to play with the very best... it's just not trained and toned yet.
 
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