Do you play to win or excel at game?

[Ak147]

Thanks everyone for taking time to respond.

I used to play more for exceling the game but later I went towards winning because that lead better/wiser shot selection. One have to balance between these. Too much winning oriented game leads for anger too easily and your fundamentals suffer. Too much exceling on the game leads low % shots too often and tactical aspect of game suffers too.

Very good point. This is exactly what happens with me. If I try to excel during game i feel that my fighting spirit goes down and I end my losing more game compared to when I foucs on winning. Guess key is to balance out both. Once someone is good at it (pro level) both winning and excelling concides?

Practice to excel and play to win. If you play to excel, your pride comes into play and puts extra pressure on you. Pride and fear of losing face are the most common reasons players get angry when they play. Winning is about being humble and taking one shot at a time and paradoxally forgetting about winning all together. If you concentrate on winning, you will lose focus and add another notch of extra pressure on you.

Guess this is the way forward for me. Thanks!