The Aftermath

If it looks like I'm about to cry it's because I just returned from going two-and-out of the WPBA Carolina Classic in Rocky Mount, NC!

I had been looking forward to this event for months, but once I was there I felt very low-energy and my performance was flat and uninspired. I have been having this problem in tournaments lately, but this experience was a wake-up call.

I have been working hard on my physical skills, but mental skills also require practice. Duh to me! Why is it that we have to learn and re-learn the same lessons?

Now that the shock of the experience - and the brief suicide watch - are over, it is time to revamp my mental game and get my attitude back in check. To do so, I will be returning to my two favorite resources on the subject:

Mental Toughness Training for Sports
by James Loehr

The Achievement Zone
by Shane Murphy

These two books are helpful far beyond the world of sports. In my years of playing, I have come to realize that you are the same person at the pool table as you are in the rest of your life. Nur!

We have many diversions and defense mechanisms in our day-to-day lives which help us to cover our emotions, but pool comes along and rips off the Band-Aid. If you are anxious and fearful in pool tournaments, chances are that there are other situations in your life to which you respond with the same anxiety and fear.

Conversely, if you set out to help your pool game by learning the skills necessary to build self-confidence, motivation and a positive attitude, you will probably find that you can apply those skills to unscrew the rest of your screwy life.

It's like pool therapy. This is really why I keep playing. If I can conquer something on a pool table, I know can conquer it anywhere.

Annoyingly positive,
Liz