Just read this and find it interesting:
Thrive Under Pressure Like a Pro Athlete
I find it helpful and would like to read what others think......
Karl
Years ago on RSB, Sincerely Sam bemoaned his performance under pressure at one of his first big tournaments, facing guys that were banging balls in as hard as they could. This is what I shared with him.
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Ah Sam, what you experienced is one of the universal truths in pool: the nagging self-doubt and anxiety every single pool player faces when they step off the high board. The question is: do you have the insight and strength to defeat this beast and master it, or will you allow it to cripple you every time you approach the precipice?
The thoughts and emotions you felt have been thought and felt by all of us (don't let 'em fool you, some guys just forget
"Why did I come here;" "I could be ____ instead;" " I could have done ____ with the time, money, and effort I'm spending here" (this, especially true the first few times you travel to a big time, out-of-town-event). The ammo, weapons, and precision this inner beast has at its disposal are pretty impressive and it knows exactly which buttons to push and when.
The beast is tough -- tough as nails. And it's very easy to fall into the traps it sets: "I don't deserve to be here;" "I don't want to be here;" "I'm wasting my time;" "I could be home with my wife and family;" "I could be home in my jammies."
Frankly, this is a mental challenge that many players never get over and you may be one of them.
But here's the beauty of it: do you know why those guys were banging away at the balls as hard as they could? Because they were scared. They were experiencing all the same self-doubts and anxieties you were and to try and build up their confidence and quell their inner beast, they banged away at the balls as hard as they could. The question then becomes: will you take the easy "out" they have and bang away too, or perhaps buy into the "I don't give a shit" cop out? Or, as many do, take the convenient out drugs and/or alcohol offer?
Or... will you come to the realization that when knowledgeable people talk about things like "seasoning," this is what they're talking about -- defeating the inner beast? Will you always be the ingénue, or will YOU become the battle-hardened beast and become "tough as nails." Seasoning is experience -- the experience of having "been there before" AND having successfully fought off the demon that attacks your psyche from every conceivable angle.
When people talk about pool being a mental game, this is what they're talking about. It's not just about being able to think through the perfect strategy, physics, and execution the game requires, but also defeating the internal harpies we all carry around inside.
What you did was to "dog it." Not in the obvious, most commonly used sense, but in another very subtle, but all the more common sense. And we all do it when we start out. Then the road takes several different paths... Now you know what the beast looks, smells, tastes, and *sounds* like. Some guys never figure out that each match there are two opponents to be defeated: the opponent they face at the table and the tougher one they bring with them.
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Lou Figueroa
