Confidence in Pool

Force of Will

bstroud said:
lorider said:
compared to you i am just a nobody in the pool world but i have to say there is some validity to what the poster you disagree with states.

you stated in an earlier post that if someone put a 6 pack on you it could take the wind out of your sails ...so to speak. i guess it would to a lot of people but i agree with him. there is nothing you can do but sit in your chair and wait your turn....being down like that will affect your game ...only if you let it.:>

I said nothing about a defeatist attitude. On the contrary when you face an opponent that runs a bunch of racks on you what you must do is FORCE yourself to get up and do better.

Gambling with the people I play it is routine to get hit with a 6 or 8 pac. You don't dwell on it, you just get up a play. You teach yourself to win no matter what happens. You do not learn this by practice. You do it by force of will.

Bill S.
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This is so true. I will never forget a tournament I entered years ago. It was a race to 5 and I broke made a few balls and missed, then the guy I was playing controlled the match putting 4 racks on me. Something snapped inside me and I decided he wasn't going to have any more shots if I did miss and I came back winning 5 straight games. To this day I think back about that match and what happened to cause me to hit this gear not only with my playing but my safety playing.

I look at it from the standpoint you speak of...it was a will to win, a will to not let the other players confidence over power me. Now I intimidate other people without having to try as much as I used to. There is something golden about that will to win and killer instinct, if you could bottle it and bring it out when you needed it, it would be deadly and illegal.
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bstroud said:
lorider said:
compared to you i am just a nobody in the pool world but i have to say there is some validity to what the poster you disagree with states.

you stated in an earlier post that if someone put a 6 pack on you it could take the wind out of your sails ...so to speak. i guess it would to a lot of people but i agree with him. there is nothing you can do but sit in your chair and wait your turn....being down like that will affect your game ...only if you let it.:>

I said nothing about a defeatist attitude. On the contrary when you face an opponent that runs a bunch of racks on you what you must do is FORCE yourself to get up and do better.

Gambling with the people I play it is routine to get hit with a 6 or 8 pac. You don't dwell on it, you just get up a play. You teach yourself to win no matter what happens. You do not learn this by practice. You do it by force of will.

Bill S.
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your last sentence is ironic.

i started a thread about a match i had fri night titled...the will to win.

no replies in it so far.:confused:
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I have a fortune cookie in my wallet that says:
Winning isn't everything but the will to win is.
I can't say that my confidence is unwavering but after playing all sorts of sports since I was around 6, and having success from early on, I do have a deep reservoir that I can call on.
To me your mind set can be looked at like a gauge. Perpendicular, 90 degrees, 12 noon or whatever is right, if I feel its slipping too high or low I make adjustments.
 
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FranCrimi said:
With training and therapy they may have good days and learn how to manage their thoughts on their bad days, but I don't think there will ever be a true transformation.

But it's not such a terrible thing. Most of us function on a semi-insecure level. Managing it is the key.
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As l read the first thread of the OP....analysis paralysis ''jumped out''. During match play, ones true character surfaces for all to see. Some got it, some don't and others will never get it, sports minds are NOT for everyone. Pool really is too tough for some people, why not? If pool wasn't the most difficult discipline of all to master, we all wouldn't be here, most minds love a good challenge but pool pushes your limits and buttons....with those momentary perfect shots/your addiction. How you process that during a beat down, and all the other situations match play puts you in.... is learning....about yourself, like flunking a class in school. Basically it's a great way to grow up in life, the hard way. You learn how to talk to ''yourself''.
 
Island Drive said:
As l read the first thread of the OP....analysis paralysis ''jumped out''. During match play, ones true character surfaces for all to see. Some got it, some don't and others will never get it, sports minds are NOT for everyone. Pool really is too tough for some people, why not? If pool wasn't the most difficult discipline of all to master, we all wouldn't be here, most minds love a good challenge but pool pushes your limits and buttons....with those momentary perfect shots/your addiction. How you process that during a beat down, and all the other situations match play puts you in.... is learning....about yourself, like flunking a class in school. Basically it's a great way to grow up in life, the hard way. You learn how to talk to ''yourself''.
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Now that I'm over 60 I sometimes talk to myself out loud, but not loud enough for my opponent to understand what I'm saying. Having to tell them that I'm only talking to myself I think might actually make that self talk more effective.:wink:

Best 2 You & All.
 
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Island Drive said:
As l read the first thread of the OP....analysis paralysis ''jumped out''. During match play, ones true character surfaces for all to see. Some got it, some don't and others will never get it, sports minds are NOT for everyone. Pool really is too tough for some people, why not? If pool wasn't the most difficult discipline of all to master, we all wouldn't be here, most minds love a good challenge but pool pushes your limits and buttons....with those momentary perfect shots/your addiction. How you process that during a beat down, and all the other situations match play puts you in.... is learning....about yourself, like flunking a class in school. Basically it's a great way to grow up in life, the hard way. You learn how to talk to ''yourself''.
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Great post! Pool is tough. As you Sir well know there are going to be plenty of failures along the way to becoming good and then plenty more after that. I like what you said about learning how to talk to yourself. Mr. Bassham teaches that your identity or self image is of crucial importance because that sets your limits. I think that is what you call someones true character. Mr. Bassham also teaches that what you think about and talk about forms your identity and most people are negative. When most people reflect on how they did in practice or in a game they will recall a lot of the mistakes that they made. You can try this... ask someone how they did after a performance and 9 times out of 10 they will say a quick remark about winning or losing and then they will go into a story about some bad luck or how they messed up on this or that... negative talk imprinting on their identity.

He has three questions that are genius imo that he tells his athletes to answer after every percormance or practice.

1) What did I do well?
2) What did I learn?
3) What am I going to do about it?

One more question that is good is What am I searching for an answer to?

This way of talking to yourself reinforces good imprints on your identity and has one thinking well.
 
ENGLISH! said:
I think what you're talking about here is simply playing the game.

How did Jim Braddock ever beat Max Bear?

Perhaps we're crossing over back into the OP's other thread about what is Heart.

It can also be about wanting things for the right reasons.

Sort of like what Panos is talking about. Does one want to 'beat' someone or does one simply want to not lose & win in the doing of that while just playing the game.

It may sound corny, But... it is about how you play the game. Play it right & the wins will come. Play it wrong & one might be getting the wins but are they really a winner.

Psycho-babble can only go so far & when it promises the world, it is overreaching & becomes false.

Who am I? Am I me? Am I real or am I the product of a concocted mind f-word.

Sorry, but what is self help. Helping one's self has to come from within.

Sure sometimes individuals need help like encouragement or a little talk to help them see the truth & reality, like you're not bad or weak or whatever 'someone' has you thinking about yourself. That's not you. You're much much better than that, you just have to be your true self.

Sorry for the rant. Just food for thought.


Best Wishes to YOU & All.
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Heart, growth mindset, self image, subconscious mind, knowledge, perserverance, all tie together.

Nepolean Hill basically had sports psychology figured out years ago with his 13 priciples in TAGR... Desire, faith, etc.
 
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(((Satori))) said:
Heart, growth mindset, self image, subconscious mind, knowledge, perserverance, all tie together.

Nepolean Hill basically had sports psychology figured out years ago with his 13 priciples in TAGR... Desire, faith, etc.
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I watched a guy go all fanatical with the Napoleon Hill stuff. He wound up getting a divorce from a beautiful woman with a Great Heart.

I don't know if he reached his financial goals or not but I think he came out on the losing end even if he did.

Sigmund Fraud was not the genius some make him out to be.

Like I said, we are all individuals & hence clinical stuff is not applicable to all & perhaps only to the totally average Joe & Jane that is right near the middle of the pack. There are not that many at all that are that near that middle of the pack point.

We all have our own free will. What we do or do not do with it can make all of the difference between what some call success & what is actually real true success.

I don't know about you but I like the great sports figures that lived & payed way before there was anything known as sports psychology.

I think Tiger Woods is now a basket case.

There was a time when Tom Watson was all into all kinds of stuff trying to make it happen. His caddy, Bruce Edwards, finally sat him down & said, 'Tom, It's a Game. You hit the ball, we go find it & you hit it again.'.

Best To YOU & ALL.
 
ENGLISH! said:
I watched a guy go all fanatical with the Napoleon Hill stuff. He wound up getting a divorce from a beautiful woman with a Great Heart.

I don't know if he reached his financial goals or not but I think he came out on the losing end even if he did.

Sigmund Fraud was not the genius some make him out to be.

Like I said, we are all individuals & hence clinical stuff is not applicable to all & perhaps only to the totally average Joe & Jane that is right near the middle of the pack. There are not that many at all that are that near that middle of the pack point.

We all have our own free will. What we do or do not do with it can make all of the difference between what some call success & what is actually real true success.

I don't know about you but I like the great sports figures that lived & payed way before there was anything known as sports psychology.

I think Tiger Woods is now a basket case.

There was a time when Tom Watson was all into all kinds of stuff trying to make it happen. His caddy, Bruce Edwards, finally sat him down & said, 'Tom, It's a Game. You hit the ball, we go find it & you hit it again.'.

Best To YOU & ALL.
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Was Jimmy Reid middle of the pack?

Was Jack Hines?

I also know of plenty of mma fighters who purposely follow the principles. I also know of plenty who dont purposely follow the principles but unknowingly use a lot of them naturally.

I definitely disagree that they are for middle of the pack athletes only.
 
(((Satori))) said:
Was Jimmy Reid middle of the pack?

Was Jack Hines?

I also know of plenty of mma fighters who purposely follow the principles. I also know of plenty who dont purposely follow the principles but unknowingly use a lot of them naturally.

I definitely disagree that they are for middle of the pack athletes only.
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Hey,

I did not mean middle of the pack in what they did. Not middle of the road athletes.

I was talking about clinical psychology might not be truly applicable to most, but instead more so only to those near that average Jane or Joe psychologically speaking & that probably is not that many individuals.

As I've said here before, rarely if ever does man devise something that is 'perfect' & only has good results. There is usually a set of good & bad & rarely is the tally actually taken to actually see if the good really outweighs the bad.

One just needs to be very careful when one gets into that realm & should not play around too much in that realm.

My point with Tom Watson was, who knows what might have happened if Bruce Edwards had not sat him down for a quick lil 'lesson'.

Best 2 Ya.

PS As I also have said, I psychologist at my Wife's work would probably led to a divorce for me & my wife & Napoleon Hill was probably the cause of the divorce of that couple that I know. How much bad is the result vs good? The True tally is never really taken.
 
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Jimmy Reid's speed depended on his chemist, as we're many at the time.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
ENGLISH! said:
Hey,

I did not mean middle of the pack in what they did. Not middle of the road athletes.

I was talking about clinical psychology might not be truly applicable to most, but instead more so only to those near that average Jane or Joe psychologically speaking & that probably is not that many individuals.

As I've said here before, rarely if ever does man devise something that is 'perfect' & only has good results. There is usually a set of good & bad & rarely is the tally actually taken to actually see if the good really outweighs the bad.

One just needs to be very careful when one gets into that realm & should not play around too much in that realm.

My point with Tom Watson was, who knows what might have happened if Bruce Edwards had not sat him down for a quick lil 'lesson'.

Best 2 Ya.

PS As I also have said, I psychologist at my Wife's work would probably led to a divorce for me & my wife & Napoleon Hill was probably the cause of the divorce of that couple that I know. How much bad is the result vs good? The True tally is never really taken.
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What principle specifically do you feel is dangerous?
 
(((Satori))) said:
What principle specifically do you feel is dangerous?
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You sound like an insurance salesman here. I 'sold' it & asking fishing questions to find the true objections are the #1 tactic taught. When a salesman uses tactics with me, I tell him, 'I've been in sales for x years.' The conversation usually changes.

It's not any specific principle exactly & I don't hardly know any specifics.

I've just seen a lot of psycho-babble that is misplaced & the if/thens are not applicable because the premise is usually wrong & I've seen psychologist make misdiagnosis before. It seems that they apply the clinical to specifics rather than to find the specific as it relates to that particular individual. They seem to make judgments without having ALL of the TRUE facts.

It is much how the medical profession has become for many doctors. It's more about making the money than actually being truly professional & with true concern for the patient.

I guess you can say that it is more about bad practitioners.

When it comes to the 'self help' stuff the patient is very often basically 'doctoring' himself & that is not a good scenario.

Acting like an expert or thinking that one is when it comes to matters of the mind is never a good thing.

Best 2 Ya.
 
So why do you continue to be the "expert" with opinions (and usually inaccurate "facts" to try to support your opinions) on every subject posted here? Sports psychology began in earnest almost a century ago. :rolleyes:

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

ENGLISH! said:
Acting like an expert or thinking that one is when it comes to matters of the mind is never a good thing.
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"When it comes to the 'self help' stuff the patient is very often basically 'doctoring' himself & that is not a good scenario."

E<<<<<< Doesnt beleive one should try to help theirself... unless it involves a marriage counselor.
 
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If somebody goes to a witch-doctor for help, they're doing so because they believe that the witch-doctor can help.

If somebody goes to a life coach for help, they're doing so because they believe that the life coach can help.

If somebody goes to a certified therapist for help, they're doing so because they believe the certified therapist can help.

If somebody goes to their mom or dad for help, they're doing so because they believe that mom or dad can help.

If somebody goes to a priest for help, they're doing so because they believe the priest can help.

Psycho-babble, scientific jargon, religious scripture, voodoo dolls and shamanic medicine, or good old fashioned parenting makes no difference here. Somebody with problems looking for solutions is going to find them in a different place than another.

What you consider psycho-babble somebody else will consider words of gold. What you consider to be words of gold somebody else may consider to be absolute BS which has been the case on AZ, here.
 
And, the funniest thing is: the witch doctor, therapist, life coach, parent,and priest have all had success in helping people with their problems.
 
Last thing as well -

Again, I was and still am a psychology major. I appreciate the science behind things but don't see science as the antithesis to spirituality/life coaching. You can find a lot of magical experiences and spirit in the field of science.

What really changed me was that as I read books about human spirit and heart I developed a fire in my belly. Because I experienced this from reading "psycho-babble" I immediately knew that others could as well - not all people, as I've recently forced myself to understand and accept, but still, people can find that same passion/purpose/and fire.

If you don't see any value or purpose in life coaching, religion, mom and dad advice, etc. then so be it but that doesn't mean that those fields have no value in general, they just have no value to you.

-Richard
 
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