Controlling your self-reproach

PoolSharkAllen said:
How does one practice and improve their mental fitness and endurance?
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In a conversation with Sara Rousey she recommended I read the book Body, Mind, Mastery by Dan Melman. It is an excellent book and has helped me in many, many ways. BTW it was adapted into a major motion picture this past year called The Peaceful Warrior
 
I didn't have time to read all the post, but one approach is to keep it simple. The subconscious is very literal and suggestions are more easily accepted and implemented when they are concise. Anger at oneself for missing can come from expecting perfection. Accept the logical notion that you are not, in fact, perfect. There is no evidence anyone on earth is perfect. So, to demand perfection is irrational. Repeat as necessary.
 
Tim5000 said:
In a conversation with Sara Rousey she recommended I read the book Body, Mind, Mastery by Dan Melman. It is an excellent book and has helped me in many, many ways. BTW it was adapted into a major motion picture this past year called The Peaceful Warrior
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The author's name is Dan Millman. His first book was "The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior". I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Dan Millman was a national gymnastics champion and Olympic athlete in college. But he was drifting in life until he met a very special person. No one really knows how true this story is (except Dan), but it is an inspiring tale regardless. I'm going to dig it out and read it again. It's been years.
 
Neil said:
You practice mental fitness by thinking correctly. And you practice mental endurance by playing for hours and hours at a time with correct thinking.

Many players can play great for a couple of sets, then they start to burn out. As Blackjack said. You have to put in the time with intense concentration . Each time you do, you can last a little longer.
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Nothing has been mentioned about physical endurance and how it may interact with mental endurance, especially if you've been playing for a while.

The mind may be willing but if the body gets tired, the quality of your play will go downhill regardless of what your mental endurance is.
 
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PoolSharkAllen said:
How does one practice and improve their mental fitness and endurance?
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my answere: i'm sure its different for everyone, maybe johnie archer was born with it and you were a little and i wasnt, nobody knows because were all different. When I realized after a few years of playing this was a problem i read books, asked alot of people, would have on the net if it was around back then, and all I came up was with was nothing, nobody could use words to change my condition. After a while I simpally break down and lose interest, raising the bet was the only thing that would keep me interested, if not I'd blow what ever I won and get out even, it pissed me off because it would happen often.

After comming out of retirement i look at pool totally different I just dont care, if i win, cool, if i lose thats cool to-i dont like it but its cool because i look back at what went wrong where and fix that whitch caused me to lose unless i'm playing Tang Hoa even then there are too many things that went wrong so I just let it slide I cant fix evertyhing. but if i lose closely to someone i look at the shot,rack, move etc that lost me the raqce or match. it usually comes down to one thing if it is a close match, now if you lose like i do to tang its impossible to pin it down to one thing, when I win a rack playing him its only becasue i didnt miss so point is i dont learn much robbing someone or getting robbed, and you dont need mental fitness to get robbed-you need to stop the game. if your robbing someone cool grab the moola and scram. its the close times that i grow from, i get better as a player but it dosent increase my mental endurance it makes me a better pool player. not the exact answere to your question i know.


i know this is a weird answere too, but less is more, the less you try and figure out how improve your mental fitness(while your playing) the more time your brain has to play good pool and not waste waht energy you have on non issues like fitness and endurance. Will those 2 things help you win, yes but they come at a cost they wear you down sooner when your thinking about them. Its counter productive, just get in the Efren zone and let it flow see what happens, it improved mine which by normal standards is weak, jacking the bet is the only thing that interests me otherwise my focus dissapates


some guys are marathon players and some arnt, i believe there is little that can be done to change that, the coke guys in the 80's did but that aint my bag-if some one wants to go that road thats their business, i did roids in body building but refused any chemicals in pool,

either you have it or you dont and there is little to change it much, meaning that if your good for playing 4 hours now in a year you wont be a 24 hour straight player that playes as good in hour 25 as hour 1, they are out there warren costanzo Monk is one of those players, he can go for days and he aint using anything but coffee. betting on him on a friday night was an ok bet on a sunday afternoon assuming he was playing the whole time he was a lock, you cant learn that-your born with it,


i know there are kinda weird off the wall answrers but they are based on my experience and make sence to me, i hope they help you.
 
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PoolSharkAllen said:
Nothing has been mentioned about physical endurance and how it may interact with mental endurance, especially if you've been playing for a while.

The mind may be willing but if the body gets tired, the quality of your play will go downhill regardless of what your mental endurance is.
Click to expand...

i have been in very good shape from the gym and comming offa 30 day hunt in africa once, i was in great condition and it would have been impossible for pool to tire me out, unlke know with my back condition which determines how long i play, for me until my back problems stop me. my mental game folds up way before my physical game does when i'm in any kind of shape at all.

if your physical game is holding you back stop playing pool and do something about getting fit, or you'll die young. seriously pool isnt strenous and if it makes you tired you have alot more to worrie about than pool, I have seen 80 year old men play all day and play good too.they played 1 pocket so they were up/down alot not 9 ball where you might get to sit for 5-10 minutes.
 
Neil said:
You practice mental fitness by thinking correctly. And you practice mental endurance by playing for hours and hours at a time with correct thinking.

Many players can play great for a couple of sets, then they start to burn out. As Blackjack said. You have to put in the time with intense concentration . Each time you do, you can last a little longer.
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i agree with that in theory and if it works for some and it must great, sadly it dosent for me, I tried it many times, once i'm out of gas thats it unless the bet is raised.
 
Scott Lee said:
Humans are emotional creatures. We all have 'performance expectations' in everything we do...our jobs, our hobbies, our relationships with our significant others, and our families. As long as we perform up to our expectations, everything is fine. But as soon as we fail to perform, or make some kind of error, we are quick to jump on ourselves with negative emotion. The problem is we fail to reward ourselves when we do something well. Why? Because we EXPECT to do it well...we practice it, we know it by heart. That's the downfall. Negative thoughts and emotions accumulate in our minds. Unless you balance the negativity with positive reinforcement (when you do something well...or even close to well), the negative thoughts will build up until there is a boilover or meltdown. This comes out as behavior all over the spectrum...from the guy who hurls his cue across the room (or breaks it in two), to someone like Efren, who just smiles, shakes his head and sits down.
Want to overcome the negatives? Start consciously giving yourself pats on the back every time you do something even close to good, let alone excellent.
See if that doesn't help to balance things out. Trust me, this works for anyone, in any part of their lives...and that goes double for playing pool!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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People with addictive problems are among the very best at cutting themselves up over nothing... perfectionists. I've been counseling them for 25 years and this post of Scott's hits the nail right on the head.

You want to play well and you think the way to get better is to give yourself hell... but it doesn't work. Giving yourself praise and encouragement is what works. Balance the negative with positive. Minimize the negative thoughts by catching yourself as soon as possible and then do what Jay suggested... smile and scratch your ass, or your head.... whatever needs scratching :D (the smile is the important factor)

Build the positive thought base in your head by giving yourself honest credit for every "nice shot" you make. A table length straight-in shot is a fine shot to give yourself a pat on the back. Sieze any and every opportunity to give yourself praise, just as you would your beloved son in order to help build his confidence.

Having done this you'll be amazed how much more emotionally heathy you'll become in just a few months.

But.... you still have to work on that missed shot :) so you have it in your bag the next time you need it and can smile with assurance when it comes up. "Ah! I KNOW this shot!!"
 
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JimS said:
People with addictive problems are among the very best at cutting themselves up over nothing... perfectionists. I've been counseling them for 25 years and this post of Scott's hits the nail right on the head.

You want to play well and you think the way to get better is to give yourself hell... but it doesn't work. Giving yourself praise and encouragement is what works. Balance the negative with positive. Minimize the negative thoughts by catching yourself as soon as possible and then do what Jay suggested... smile and scratch your ass, or your head.... whatever needs scratching :D (the smile is the important factor)

Build the positive thought base in your head by giving yourself honest credit for every "nice shot" you make. A table length straight-in shot is a fine shot to give yourself a pat on the back. Sieze any and every opportunity to give yourself praise, just as you would your beloved son in order to help build his confidence.

Having done this you'll be amazed how much more emotionally heathy you'll become in just a few months.

But.... you still have to work on that missed shot :) so you have it in your bag the next time you need it and can smile with assurance when it comes up. "Ah! I KNOW this shot!!"
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Thanks Jim! When nobody posted on my response, I was afraid that NOBODY understood how important this is on the mental side of your pool game. My information is straight out of psychology textbooks, and from the mouths of sports psychologists. It is the REAL deal. Constant negativity is a pool game KILLER! Positive reinforcement is a very 'healing salve'!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
I've found in the last couple of weeks since my game has gotten back to where I believe it should be, that I'm cursing at myself for an error immediately after the shot but I can turn away from the table, take a deep breath & get over it. If my opponent gets out then all credit to him. If I see he has a problem coming up I bide my time until it's my turn. I tend to just stand still & wait, watching every shot. If I lose I'm the first to offer my hand, if he misses then I know I have another chance to win & I'll take it.

I think if you can stop showing your anger at your own mistakes it helps you deal with it yourself. Don't let the other guy see how mad you are, don't be so mad at yourself. Get ready for the next shot.
 
chilli66 said:
I think if you can stop showing your anger at your own mistakes it helps you deal with it yourself. Don't let the other guy see how mad you are, don't be so mad at yourself. Get ready for the next shot.
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chilli66...Although you're correct on the surface, what you don't realize is that the 'negative' emotion affects YOUR game, whether you show it to your opponent or not. Many good players do not show emotion to their opponent (poker face), but they often bring the internal turmoil back to the table with them when they return to the table. This happens whether you're conscious of your emotions or not. The balance of positively reinforcing yourself when you do even close to well is what really works to overcome what you're talking about.


Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Thanks for the insights, Scott. Of course I've thought to myself, 'hey that was a pretty good shot,' but never really thought about it as part of my mental game. I will keep that in mind. As you can see from my new signature, I'm trying to learn a few things from Bob Fancher as well.
 
I tried a new technique last night that goes along with many of the posts here First, the trick and then why it works ? and it does work.

You have a way of walking when you are in a really good mood. Maybe it's that John Travolta walk from "Saturday Night Fever." Whatever it is, there is a bounce to your step, a musical rhythm to your walk that simply feels good.

Perhaps you need an I-pod plugged into your ear to get in the mood. Whatever your style is, when you get up to shoot, walk to the table with that walk and that rhythm -- I'm in a great mood walk. It will put you in the right frame of mind and then use your usual techniques for staying in that mood while you walk around the table and shoot.

Here is why it works. Many years ago some psychologists were trying to determine if your emotions effect your behavior or if your behavior effects your emotions.

Which comes first, behavior or emotions?

The scientists gave something like adrenaline to a group of subjects who thought it was orange juice to see it's effect on intellectual performance (yeah we are known for sneaky studies like this).

Anyway the pumped up subject is in a waiting room prior to the intellectual performance test and a confederate of the experimenter comes in and sits down next to the subject. In one situation the confederate is angry and makes ugly statements about the experiment, the subject too gets angry as one way of explaining their pumped up system.

In another situation the confederate starts joking around, laughing and throwing paper airplanes at the waste basket. The subject too easily starts laughing and joking around as the explanation for the adrenaline.

There were other conditions to control for possible problems in the study. This study is often cited as one of the better studies in the social sciences and has been replicated many times.

The conclusion is that our emotions follow our behavior.

If we act upbeat, our emotions will shift to upbeat. If we act angry, our emotions will become angry. In general, you can change your emotions by changing your behavior.

If you act upbeat, you will get into an upbeat mood and that will improve your game. Now you can see misses for what they are, a part of the game.

So, I suggest that you give it a serious try, say 15 ? 30 minutes of your upbeat walk and personal tempo to get in the right mood for playing pool. From what we know in the experimental sciences it will improve your game.

Pay it forward and it will make everyone?s life / and game better.
 
works

My backyard theory is that both are interconnected and behavior affects emotions and vice-versa. Regardless of the accuracy of my thoughts, I have proven many times that you can lift yourself up by your bootstraps. Act as if what you want is reality and it can become reality. There are limits to this of course but I have done this controlling mood, competition performance, and even cash flow at my business.

Hu


JoeW said:
I tried a new technique last night that goes along with many of the posts here First, the trick and then why it works ? and it does work.

You have a way of walking when you are in a really good mood. Maybe it's that John Travolta walk from "Saturday Night Fever." Whatever it is, there is a bounce to your step, a musical rhythm to your walk that simply feels good.

Perhaps you need an I-pod plugged into your ear to get in the mood. Whatever your style is, when you get up to shoot, walk to the table with that walk and that rhythm -- I'm in a great mood walk. It will put you in the right frame of mind and then use your usual techniques for staying in that mood while you walk around the table and shoot.

Here is why it works. Many years ago some psychologists were trying to determine if your emotions effect your behavior or if your behavior effects your emotions.

Which comes first, behavior or emotions?

The scientists gave something like adrenaline to a group of subjects who thought it was orange juice to see it's effect on intellectual performance (yeah we are known for sneaky studies like this).

Anyway the pumped up subject is in a waiting room prior to the intellectual performance test and a confederate of the experimenter comes in and sits down next to the subject. In one situation the confederate is angry and makes ugly statements about the experiment, the subject too gets angry as one way of explaining their pumped up system.

In another situation the confederate starts joking around, laughing and throwing paper airplanes at the waste basket. The subject too easily starts laughing and joking around as the explanation for the adrenaline.

There were other conditions to control for possible problems in the study. This study is often cited as one of the better studies in the social sciences and has been replicated many times.

The conclusion is that our emotions follow our behavior.

If we act upbeat, our emotions will shift to upbeat. If we act angry, our emotions will become angry. In general, you can change your emotions by changing your behavior.

If you act upbeat, you will get into an upbeat mood and that will improve your game. Now you can see misses for what they are, a part of the game.

So, I suggest that you give it a serious try, say 15 ? 30 minutes of your upbeat walk and personal tempo to get in the right mood for playing pool. From what we know in the experimental sciences it will improve your game.

Pay it forward and it will make everyone?s life / and game better.
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jay helfert said:
Smile and scratch your head like Efren. Works for him.

Actually, remember any shot you miss and make it a point to practice that shot over and over at your first opportunity. Don't quit until you make it at least twice in a row.
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actually when i miss i tell everyone "did u see that pocket move!" cuz there is no way i could miss that bad!!!
 
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