Compete without fear

I have been playing pool now for about 3 years now and I am a 500 Fargo level. In the three years I have been playing it is rare for me to be in competition without some sort of fear or stress over missing a shot or losing. It's the same apprehension and fear that all players suffer, and it can ruin your game. Although, there have been times when for whatever reason I have competed devoid of any apprehension or fear, where my skill set came out fully unimpeded, and I have excelled in my game in those moments. I have run tables and made amazing shots when fear is gone, but it is so difficult to get to that point. I am not sure how to get to that point of being without fear of losing or missing, but when I do I am a very good player. Any tips on how to get to that point? Have you had times when you have played when you didn't have any fear? Are there techniques I can use to help me reach this goal?
I think the fear comes from wanting not to lose, not playing up to our expectations or capabilities. We all want to win and do our best, but I think most of us focus on the results rather than the process. If you focus on having solid fundamentals, focus on concentration the fear will diminish over time
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If and when I made an extremely difficult shot, I would immediately think, "if I don't get out that shot didn't happen."
For me it was all too easy to celebrate the shot when the goal is not yet attained. It's such a bitter taste to miss the easy one after making the difficult one. 🤷‍♂️
In surgery we say: The operation was a success but the patient died."

In medical academics I don't give credit for correct answers. I only give credit if the person understands the answer. I am not a professor, I don't give grades per se. But I have "failed" someone that answered all questions correctly but could not demonstrate understanding those answers.

Just as in pool pool, it has to be the complete game that matters. It is a whole entity, with all the parts working together. Just as you should not over-celebrate one small part of it that you do well, you can't let one small failure crush you either. All of the components work together synergistically. Mastering one thing will not master the game just as certainly as the weakest thing will break the game. At the same time, focus demands that when taking the shot, nothing else matters. The last shot is over, the next shot does not exist. There is no game. There is only the shot.

When the skill, aptitude, and knowledge all come together and you achieve mastery, it's like when Neo saw the Matrix. It's a different plane of existence, you see the world differently, and you command the ability to step into and out of that state of mind at will. Some seek that all their lives. Some find it and lose it. Some find it more naturally while others need to be more deliberate and need help. While there are certainly commonalities, each experience is different. No one method or approach works best for all at all times, and for each the best methods evolve over time as they grow and change. Adaptability is key. This is what keeps it interesting for me.

I could never do this professionally if there was a magic standard formula for performance success. I would die of boredom. When I look at someone else that advertises such a magic standard formula, or that some others say is the single best key to success, I automatically know that is wrong. There are those methods that help most, the people in the middle of the bell shaped curve. But even for them, a more dynamic and individual approach will produce better results that are more sustainable. So, my opinion is that when one adopts some individual method or approach with success, if they adopt that approach as their new religion and stay with it only, they have automatically stagnated themselves and limited their possibilities of performance. That includes my own services. There are maybe five doctors that can function at my level in the country. That's great. Yay. But I also know I am not "it". If someone limits themselves to what I offer, they are doomed.
 
In surgery we say: The operation was a success but the patient died."

In medical academics I don't give credit for correct answers. I only give credit if the person understands the answer. I am not a professor, I don't give grades per se. But I have "failed" someone that answered all questions correctly but could not demonstrate understanding those answers.

Just as in pool pool, it has to be the complete game that matters. It is a whole entity, with all the parts working together. Just as you should not over-celebrate one small part of it that you do well, you can't let one small failure crush you either. All of the components work together synergistically. Mastering one thing will not master the game just as certainly as the weakest thing will break the game. At the same time, focus demands that when taking the shot, nothing else matters. The last shot is over, the next shot does not exist. There is no game. There is only the shot.

When the skill, aptitude, and knowledge all come together and you achieve mastery, it's like when Neo saw the Matrix. It's a different plane of existence, you see the world differently, and you command the ability to step into and out of that state of mind at will. Some seek that all their lives. Some find it and lose it. Some find it more naturally while others need to be more deliberate and need help. While there are certainly commonalities, each experience is different. No one method or approach works best for all at all times, and for each the best methods evolve over time as they grow and change. Adaptability is key. This is what keeps it interesting for me.

I could never do this professionally if there was a magic standard formula for performance success. I would die of boredom. When I look at someone else that advertises such a magic standard formula, or that some others say is the single best key to success, I automatically know that is wrong. There are those methods that help most, the people in the middle of the bell shaped curve. But even for them, a more dynamic and individual approach will produce better results that are more sustainable. So, my opinion is that when one adopts some individual method or approach with success, if they adopt that approach as their new religion and stay with it only, they have automatically stagnated themselves and limited their possibilities of performance. That includes my own services. There are maybe five doctors that can function at my level in the country. That's great. Yay. But I also know I am not "it". If someone limits themselves to what I offer, they are doomed.
good post
could you give an example of a correct answer but not demonstrating understanding the answer?
 
Buddy always looked like he had a plan when he walked in the front door. He seemed as inevitable as death and taxes.

When I first met Buddy he was a long lanky guy with just a small beginning of a beer belly. I could have got in action with him then or many a time in the coming years. Somehow it never seemed like a good idea!

Hu
Never saw Buddy look even remotely nervous. 'Inevitable' is a good way to put it. His 'bad' play was better than a lotta people's A-game, his hi-gear was un-fadeable. Like trying to evade a tidal wave: good luck.
 
good post
could you give an example of a correct answer but not demonstrating understanding the answer?
In high school the senior football star needed geometry to graduate and get his scholarship. He hadn't passed geometry.. So the senior was in my sophomore geometry class. The teacher seated him next to me. I was careful to keep my arm out of the way during the tests. He got the answers. I got stories of his accomplishments with the ladies. .He passed geometry but I still didn't have luck with the ladies. 🤷‍♂️ 😉
 
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. Some find it more naturally while others need to be more deliberate and need help
That was my experience with sports in school. The football star had so much natural talent that he excelled at physical tasks the first try. Well everything except bull riding. He did try it though. 🤷‍♂️ at 6 foot and 210 lbs he just wasn't built for that.
I, on the other side of the natural talent scale was still able to attain all league status by studying and practicing. Well all American level coaching played a big part in my success at baseball and football.
 
If and when I made an extremely difficult shot, I would immediately think, "if I don't get out that shot didn't happen."
For me it was all too easy to celebrate the shot when the goal is not yet attained. It's such a bitter taste to miss the easy one after making the difficult one. 🤷‍♂️
There should be a frustrated emoticon! There were several years where I would make a great shot, all the feel good chemicals would dump, and I would miss a duck!

Shooting steel with a pistol I had a perfect score up to the last shot. Eight inch plate at ten yards, I fired with my sight just over an inch inside the top of the plate and relaxed. The plate stood. That's when I found out that you could miss the shot by relaxing between the time the trigger broke and the bullet left the five inch barrel! Another time I was shooting a megabuck ten meter olympic air pistol. I couldn't test the trigger as that is bad for the valving on those guns. As I feared, the gun went off when my sights were about 3/4" left of the pencil lead sized bullseye. An automatic flick of my wrist got back a half inch of that before the pellet left the barrel!


There are maybe five doctors that can function at my level in the country.

That is pretty damned sporty!

Hu
 
An automatic flick of my wrist got back a half inch of that before the pellet left the barrel!
Wow!!!
Well that similar to my pressure with the individual fingers during the stroke. A stroke on the exact same line can produce a different path with different finger pressure on the cue. Barry Stark's mention of the ring finger has helped me significantly. I tap the ring finger on my bridge hand habitually. Watching snooker, I notice the majority tap the middle finger as part of their routine. I at least know why I chose to differ from Ronnie in that aspect. A big part of my practice is comparison of my method to that of the goat 🐐 .
 
In high school the senior football star needed geometry to graduate and get his scholarship. He hadn't passed geometry.. So the senior was in my sophomore geometry class. The teacher seated him next to me. I was careful to keep my arm out of the way during the tests. He got the answers. I got stories of his accomplishments with the ladies. .He passed geometry but I still didn't have luck with the ladies. 🤷‍♂️ 😉
Aha! A "scholar athlete". Don't get me started. LOL!
 
how many college students cram for exams? they may answer the questions correctly but have no clue about the context/use of what they just wrote.
Most. But that does not work to qualify in medicine. So, many of them hit a wall after undergrad. If they don't evolve, they get filtered out.
 
Never saw Buddy look even remotely nervous. 'Inevitable' is a good way to put it. His 'bad' play was better than a lotta people's A-game, his hi-gear was un-fadeable. Like trying to evade a tidal wave: good luck.
He was pretty nervous when he was trying to figure out how to miss that hanger combo on the 9 against Mike Lebron, and still make it look good. ;)
 
That is pretty damned sporty!

Thank you.

One of the best was my mentor, and numerous others contributed.

I left the institutions behind and went on my own 15 years ago. Private fee for service. Mostly individuals but I occasionally contract for the institutions with the condition that I have full autonomy.

I don't advertise or market at all, nor do I pay for referrals. 100% word of mouth. My clients define my success.

I've been booked solid working 70 hours a week for 15 years. The hard thing is getting a break, but I am fortunate and truly love what I do. I make excellent doctors because it matters.
 
I have been playing pool now for about 3 years now and I am a 500 Fargo level. In the three years I have been playing it is rare for me to be in competition without some sort of fear or stress over missing a shot or losing. It's the same apprehension and fear that all players suffer, and it can ruin your game. Although, there have been times when for whatever reason I have competed devoid of any apprehension or fear, where my skill set came out fully unimpeded, and I have excelled in my game in those moments. I have run tables and made amazing shots when fear is gone, but it is so difficult to get to that point. I am not sure how to get to that point of being without fear of losing or missing, but when I do I am a very good player. Any tips on how to get to that point? Have you had times when you have played when you didn't have any fear? Are there techniques I can use to help me reach this goal?
Very recognizable :)

Niels Feijen is very knowledgeable in this area has developed a mental training course for this, you can check it out at:

Endorsed by Fedor Gorst.

If posting a link like this not allowed, please remove the link.
 
good post
could you give an example of a correct answer but not demonstrating understanding the answer?
Good question.

I'll think a little on that to come up with an example more universally understandable or maybe relatable. It would be silly to present something that needs a lot of explaining. It's like having to explain a joke. It isn't funny if you have to explain it. I deal with a lot of technical biomedical stuff that just would not work well because I would have to explain too much.

So...something simple and relatable... :rolleyes:
 
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Good question.

I'll think a little on that to come up with an example more universally understandable or maybe relatable. It would be silly to present something that needs a lot of explaining. It's like having to explain a joke. It isn't funny if you have to explain it. I deal with a lot of technical biomedical stuff that just would not work well because I would have to explain too much.

So...something simple and relatable... :rolleyes:
That gives me a flashback to the movie Top Gun and " I could tell you but then I would have to kill you." 🤷‍♂️
 
The answer to this question lies in the knowledge that we are all going to die and nothing matters. This goes triple for an activity involving balls, sticks and holes :devilish:
 
This topic just brought back memories of in the beginning.
Must have been the early 80s when I got my introduction to 9 ball with the Big Guns at the White Spot in Fife, WA. I was green and totally intimidated by the top players of the North Wet. I recall thinking, "I will be fine as soon as my hands stop shaking. " Then the epiphany, "I better learn to shot with my hands shaking, as they ain't going to stop until I Make A Ball!"
 
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