Understanding The Improvement Process in Pool, Life, or Anything!

[Flatfoot]

Being willing to ask for help and risking failure by stretching outside of one's comfort zones are essential in making one's journey to success as predictable and efficient as possible. The wisest among us understand problems, mistakes, and failures are great teachers. Experts in any discipline have worked their way through problems while making many mistakes and experiencing lots of failures.

Those difficulties have taught them much about themselves, how to deal with problems they used to run from, and creating innovative solutions, they would've never considered. Their knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are accessible to those willing to ask for their guidance.

We cannot always control what happens to us, but our responses to those things will make or break us. Those willing to deal with difficult problems rather than running from them have opportunities to gain wisdom and understanding that those afraid of failure never recognize.

While one says, "Why do these bad things happen to me," as they run from problems, the other believes their greatest epiphanies will be revealed as they examine the cause and effect of their problems and what they must learn from them.

That is the essence of the book "GOLF...THE GREAT REVEALER."

Some quotes in the book:

“We have appeared at this time to give you knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, but only if you desire those things and are willing to change. We will provide you with valuable information you will find nowhere else but only if you pay close attention. Respect us; don’t get frustrated by us, and you can achieve almost anything.“ ~Problems, Mistakes, and Failures

"If one learns from every mistake, mistakes become so profitable that they should not be considered mistakes. They become gateways to enlightenment! When one gets that epiphany, they become willing to push past their comfort zones and make mistakes, so their rate of learning increases."

"If you’re not experiencing problems, you are not working on things with enough difficulty. Therefore, you are not learning as fast as you can. If your goal is to have ease and rest, then avoid problems. If your goal is to progress and achieve greater things than your past accomplishments, work on things difficult enough that you experience problems. Then learn everything you can from those problems."

"I realized one day that one who chooses instant gratification over learning gets especially frustrated at difficulties that present great learning opportunities. Eventually, they will sense when one of those opportunities is approaching and do what they can to avoid it. Those opportunities finally become a source of irritation."

 

[PoolBum]

I've succeeded at failing a lot.

 

[MitchAlsup]

In my field, I often remarked that it is the failed experiments (rather than the successes) that should make the Journals documenting the forward progress of <pick an> industry.

If all you do is document what you did and to the extent it succeeded without going to the same extent for the failed cases, all you are doing is condemning someone else to repeat your failed experiment !! Whereas if you also document the failures, the rate of forward progress increases significantly !!

 

[sixpack]

In my field, I often remarked that it is the failed experiments (rather than the successes) that should make the Journals documenting the forward progress of <pick an> industry.

If all you do is document what you did and to the extent it succeeded without going to the same extent for the failed cases, all you are doing is condemning someone else to repeat your failed experiment !! Whereas if you also document the failures, the rate of forward progress increases significantly !!

This is so true!

Also, when you only study the successes you get a lot of bias.

Winners in sports always say the same things: "I work really hard" or "Mindset is key" etc... Lots of similar things for successful projects.

When I was a ski racer I was talking with Scott Henderson (Canadian national team coach) and my racing mentor (two different people) and he made the point that the top skiers were simply the best skiers who had survived without having a serious fall yet. Many, many potentially great and established champions disappeared after they had a serious fall.

Skiers who have a bad fall are never as fearless again and so are dominated by skiers who haven't and don't have that fear and don't hold back. There might be exceptions but the three of us couldn't think of any at that time. (1987ish). That was a factor that my coach and I had never really even thought about.

All the winners do the same thing. But many of the also rans (and unsuccessful projects) also do the same things. But they get hit out of left field sometimes by things they didn't allow for that the successful projects did not have to contend with.

 

[mikemosconi]

As it relates to pool - I find - especially with the internet and the phone camera video / anyone can improve significantly. - always amazed by how many are content not to put the work in to learn how to do things more correctly. I think that the most successful people with balance in their lives are not content with mediocrity and realistic about the achievement of perfection.