I still remember the most pressure I'd ever felt when running the last rack in the Mosconi Cup with Earl Strickland as my partner facing snooker legends Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan in London. My hands were shaking so bad I tried to dig my fingers into the slate to keep them steady. After winning that match my confidence was at an all time high, I'd like to share with you my system to increase confidence so you can perform better under any amount of pressure.
Overcoming mental obstacles will positively impact our pool game... especially when we develop a habit of turning fears into confidence using courage. It's natural to fear playing intimidating opponents, especially when large crowds are watching. So how do the champion players get over their fears? Here's some suggestions I've found beneficial in my competitive career like in the Mosconi Cup experience described above, public speaking and running multi-million dollar businesses.
First, lets put this feeling/emotion into a logical perspective - fear is misunderstood because it has life-saving benefits.... fear is essential, even positive in many cases....we have fear of heights because we don't have wings and fear of the dark because we don't have headlights.
These fears protect us and are vitally important in our lives..... a healthy fear will energize you into action.....however there's a negative fear that paralyzes ....often leading to poor performances and a feeling of "impending doom"....in pool we say these players "dog it," or don't have any heart (courage).
These fears can not be eliminated, however they can be educated and trained so they lead to more productive behaviors.
This is done by consciously practicing courage as much and many times as possible until it becomes "automatic pilot". Courage is "doing the right thing no matter how you feel or what the personal consequences might be".....these situations come up often, sometimes several times a day if you really look for them!
Courage can be strengthened with practice, so Next Time you feel fear of any kind ask yourself what action you can take {immediately} that requires courage...you'll know the answer, figure it out and immediately get in the action mode! The main thing is to put yourself in as many uncomfortable situations as you can and do the best you can....it's not how well you do necessarily, the main objective is to practice using courage until you get really, really good at it.
Every time we show courage we automatically receive two units of confidence, imagine how quickly this adds up when you do it every day......the rewards are immense and the greatest thing is you earned it nobody can ever take it away, as your game gets more confidence, your life automatically will too.
The Game is the Teacher
Overcoming mental obstacles will positively impact our pool game... especially when we develop a habit of turning fears into confidence using courage. It's natural to fear playing intimidating opponents, especially when large crowds are watching. So how do the champion players get over their fears? Here's some suggestions I've found beneficial in my competitive career like in the Mosconi Cup experience described above, public speaking and running multi-million dollar businesses.
First, lets put this feeling/emotion into a logical perspective - fear is misunderstood because it has life-saving benefits.... fear is essential, even positive in many cases....we have fear of heights because we don't have wings and fear of the dark because we don't have headlights.
These fears protect us and are vitally important in our lives..... a healthy fear will energize you into action.....however there's a negative fear that paralyzes ....often leading to poor performances and a feeling of "impending doom"....in pool we say these players "dog it," or don't have any heart (courage).
These fears can not be eliminated, however they can be educated and trained so they lead to more productive behaviors.
This is done by consciously practicing courage as much and many times as possible until it becomes "automatic pilot". Courage is "doing the right thing no matter how you feel or what the personal consequences might be".....these situations come up often, sometimes several times a day if you really look for them!
Courage can be strengthened with practice, so Next Time you feel fear of any kind ask yourself what action you can take {immediately} that requires courage...you'll know the answer, figure it out and immediately get in the action mode! The main thing is to put yourself in as many uncomfortable situations as you can and do the best you can....it's not how well you do necessarily, the main objective is to practice using courage until you get really, really good at it.
Every time we show courage we automatically receive two units of confidence, imagine how quickly this adds up when you do it every day......the rewards are immense and the greatest thing is you earned it nobody can ever take it away, as your game gets more confidence, your life automatically will too.
The Game is the Teacher