Get On the Plane

Focus

Recently I have decided that my focus drifts at the moment of contact. I know I am "looking" at the ball but I'm not properly "focused" on the ball.
This is my struggle.
I think it may be some sort of attention deficit, and I am learning through Pool that this is a constant in all aspects of my life.
Focus, Focus, Focus!
Paul
 
I do not like the term "pull the trigger", it makes me think of a jerky stroke. I like a smooth transition from the pause to gradual acceleration.
 
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One reminder I have to give myself regularly is "aim standing up". Once I'm down in my stance I'm sighting the shot and making sure everything is pointing where it should, but the part where I visually identify my intended contact point and the corresponding "shot line" should happen when I'm standing before stepping into stance. I tend to start skipping this step, and when I do I find my pocketing consistency really drops.
 
The biggest game-derailing issues I have are psychological. Pressure and/or frustration can send my head somewhere incompatible with executing my best game.

The most effective self-talk I've found to stave off the frustration longer when I'm making mistakes, or get myself back on track when I start to get flustered, is "forget about the outcomes".

To explain: winning a match isn't something we do. It's just an outcome, resulting from winning games.

Winning games isn't something we do. It's an outcome, resulting from winning safety battles and running out.

We don't do those things either; they're an outcome of making excellent shots (one at a time).

We don't make excellent shots either, that's an outcome of accurate aim, tip position, stroke speed, etc.

Even those are outcomes of choosing the right shot, identifying the right line of aim, knowing what tip position is required, positioning your body correctly, stroking accurately, and applying a perfect amount of force to the stroke.

Those last things are the things we do; the things we control. Those are the things I need to focus on doing to the best of my ability, and the rest of what happens is just outcomes. Trying to manipulate an outcome, rather than focusing on doing the things I actually control correctly, is the main source of frustration and choking for me.
 
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