Topic: mental attitude

[bbtuna]

Tyler,

kinesthetic is visual isn't it?...if you were blind it wouldn't matter what the other persons posture is right?

it seems this is just one of the ways one of the 5 work, not a specific seperate sense

I will have to give the balance one some more thought

[Tyler Foos]

Tuna,

I just did a search and was accurate on both, spelling of kinesthetic included. There are 3 types of receptors that give the brain info on body position and movement. The kinesthetic sense is not visual at all. "If you were blind it wouldn't matter what the other persons posture is" - that was a good one!
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0001/ai_2699000193/

The sense of balance is centered in the ear and involves tiny scilia that serve to provide info to the brain concerning balance and orientation towards gravity. They are responsible for motion sickness, usually caused when motion signals don't jive with visual signals, like looking out of a back seat window (side not rear) in a car while on a long trip. Vestibular labrynth is the complex structure that accounts for the sense of balance and equilibrium.
http://webschoolsolutions.com/patts/systems/ear.htm

I really only offered these two often overlooked senses because they are more directly involved with foosball than taste, smell and sound. Sight and touch obviously are critical in foos! Muscle memory is a direct function of the kinesthetic sense and huge to Zeek's information.

Take care...........................................Tyler

[foozkillah]

Foozkillah,  ^^^^Like after studying for hours for a big test, taking a break to play some foosball?! ^^^^^
                                     That's where I was trying to go - thanks.                                                                 Tyler

Interesting to know, because I remember being in same said situation, if your GPA was directly or inversely proportional to the amount of foosball you played to "break the tension"....

 

[foozkillah]

;
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I really only offered these two often overlooked senses because they are more directly involved with foosball than taste, smell and sound. Sight and touch obviously are critical in foos! Muscle memory is a direct function of the kinesthetic sense and huge to Zeek's information.
Take care...........................................Tyler 

Oh yeah? Obviously you never played (or tried to play) intense foosball at the local pizza pit on Endless Tacos & Botomless Burritos nite at college or your local....  Trying to defend shots while you're getting reeked in greek is no small consideration..  suddenly losing your motor control while trying to prevent a ball from leaving your area, or blocking it, is just so difficult.  Then you have to burn your clothes afterwards..  What's worse is sitting around with your head at bomb level,  waiting for your quarters to go up....

[Tyler Foos]

Killah,

LOL! Actually, if the pizza joint is serving tacos and burritos, the sense of smell just might come into play after all...yummy...

Tyler

[zeek mullins]

If you learn only one thing from my stuff, make this it.

Focusing on what you do not want is the cause of all suffering. And it is easy to tell when you are doing this. Anytime you find yourself experiencing unwanted emotions, and the negative actions that go with them, you can be sure you are focusing, unconsciously, on what you do not want. Hopefully all my previous posts have given you some insight into why and how you do this.

So the next time you find yourself experiencing unwanted emotions and actions, you can do one of two things.

You can do what most of us have learned to do. You can stop thinking consciously, and allow the situation to control you. When you do this, sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you don’t get what you want, and sometimes you get what you don’t want. You allow the unwanted emotions and actions to make themselves more powerful. The “software” in your unconscious mind that causes you to react this way just becomes stronger. Since you did not consciously send other instructions, your genie thinks this is what you want. These unwanted reactions can become extremely powerful over time because we allowed them to run unchecked.

I reacted in the above way for the first fifty years of my life. Then I discovered the following process.

The Witness

The next time you begin to suffer because of an unwanted outcome, step back in your head and simply observe your internal and external reactions. Don’t resist, just watch, with no agenda for the outcome. Watch, with curiosity, the feelings and actions you are having. Notice where the emotions are occurring in your body (neck, legs, stomach..). Notice the actions these emotions are causing (talking loud, hitting something...). Notice the thoughts / pictures you are making in your mind (focusing on what you do not want...). See if you can figure out what beliefs you have that would cause this reaction. Like a scientist that has discovered a new insect in the jungle, just watch with curiosity.

I guarantee you the unwanted reactions will just fall away.

You can not experience unwanted reactions while you are in this witness (conscious) mode. And, most importantly, you send a message to your unconscious mind that you no longer wish to react in the negative way. Instead of adding power to the negative software, you begin to disempower it. The next time a similar situation occurs, your reaction will not be as strong. Eventually, if you continue to watch instead of react, it will lose its power over you completely.

While this may seem like a simple thing to do, in the beginning it wont be. Remember that your unconscious mind thinks that the old way of reacting is how to keep you safe. It will fight to keep this old software. You may find, as I did, that you can only stay in the witness mode for a few seconds at first, and then the old software will kick back in. Let this be ok, and switch back to the witness as soon as you become aware.

The witness process is a way of running your mind consciously, as opposed to allowing it to run on automatic. It may be hard for some to adopt it at first. But with practice, patience and persistence it will become habit. It changed my life. I still experience unwanted outcomes, but for the most part, they no longer control my life. I find that I am peaceful and happy most of the time, and having a lot more fun.

A couple of notes:

If suffering is one side of the coin, curiosity is the opposite. When you are being curious, you are totally nonjudgemental and emotionaly positive.

There are many opportunities to practice witnessing in every day life. One of the best for me was while driving. Next time some other driver does something you dont like, try switching to the witness mode. You will begin to understand the process.

Questions?

[Tyler Foos]

Zeek,

Brilliantly spoken. Your offerings added much intuition (speed of awareness) on many facets of motivation, emotion, controlling the unknowns, always on a quest to learn more - supreme layering of much valuable and interesting info and dynamics.

^^^^^^-More soon, after I more fully digest your masterful post - ^^^^^^^

                                   Thanks.....Tyler

[BillV]

Zeek,
Been quietly reading this thread for awhile and found that it really helped. A couple of weeks ago I was visualizing and executing to a much higher standard, one I know I am capable of but rarely seem to pull out under stress. But this past Saturday I hit exactly the kind of problem you just described. Despite knowing I should be providing mental pictures, I was just hitting the ball with poor outcome. Then I was kicking the table instead of just accepting the result. So I'll try this witness technique.

A question though. I believe that I get sidetracked by expectations. I don't see how you can not have them, particularly when a technique seems to be working, but having them seems to destroy the focus. Is there a way to address this trigger for poor performance specifically?

Thanks for all the work you have put into this thread!
BillV

[Old Meister]

Zeek, that witness thing is really interesting. I'm going to mull that one over. Thanks for your posts on this thread.

[Old Meister]

Tyler, I had learned that there was 3 types on learners, visual, auditory and kinesthetic.  Kinesthetic is hands on, you can't tell the person and can't show them, they have to experience it themselves. I found I'm definitely not an auditory learner as information goes in one ear and out the other. But if I write it down I retain it. I think everyone is actually a mix with strengths in one of the methods and weak in another. Some only do well as kinesthetic, you've seen them, the kid who couldn't make a passing grade to save his life but could tear down an engine in a heartbeat.

[Tyler Foos]

OM,

Sorry it took so long to get back - my internet service has been dead for a day and a half!

Another way to come at it is from an aptitude standpoint. People will have an either / or (have it or don't) aptitude pattern based on structural visualization or abstract thinking. We either see things in the spatial or abstract. These 2 aptitudes go hand in hand with having an objective personality (about 75% of us do) or a subjective personality (other 25%, give or take). These aptitude patterns (there are 17 measurable aptitudes studied by the Johnson O'Conner research center) tendencies confirm that some people are pulled to work with things and some are more naturally attracted to ideas.

One of the great parts of this entire thread is just how amazingly diverse and complex we really are.

Here's something to chew on  - the specific idea of MOMENTUM in a match - in all of it's forms and variances in a match.

Take care....................................................Tyler

[zeek mullins]

Billy
  We get in the zone, and start playing at a level that is above our normal ability. We get a glimpse of our potential. Our goal is to make this higher level our "normal" level. The danger comes when we start thinking that this higher level is where we are supposed be all the time. It is where we want to be. It is where we are working to get to. When this level becomes your normal level, you will know it. And then you will have an even higher level to strive for. But when we start thinking we should be playing at a level, all the time, that is higher than our normal level we are just setting ourselves up for disappointment. This is playing a form of White Must Win. If you get a chance, go back and read all the concept posts and the 4 levels of learning post. See if you can see how they apply to your question.
  Bob Rotello is one of the top sports psychologist that works with professional golfers. He teaches his students to have three thoughts on the first tee before every round. Stay in the moment, have no expectations, and have fun. He goes even further. He says that if you must have expectations, expect that some things will to go wrong, because there are many adversities in any round of golf (or anything other endeavor in life). This is his way of helping his people be prepared for them. He points out that no one has ever played a perfect round of golf. Golf tournaments are won by the player that handles the adversities the best.
  Bill Harris suggests still another way of looking at expectations. Instead of expecting things to be a certain way, try preferring that they be a certain way. With this way of thinking you continue to work toward your goal, but you are not as emotionally attached to the results.
  I see people at every tournament that get virtually devastated when they lose a match. Sometimes after just missing a single shot or block. Im sure you have seen this. I guarantee you they had expectations that were higher than their normal ability. As a result, at the first sign of adversity they began to focus, unconsciously, automatically, on what they were trying to avoid. Unless they knew how to shift back to focusing on what they wanted, they had no chance to achieve the zone they had been expecting.
  The witness process is the only way I know to neutralize the negative focusing and then shift back to positive images. I simply cannot overemphasize the importance of this process.
  So, the next time you find yourself playing at a higher level, pay attention to how you are thinking, feeling and acting. Dont be afraid to add positive emotion to the moment. Enjoy!
  And the next time you find yourself underachieving, just pay attention to how you are thinking, acting and feeling, but dont react. Just watch with curiosity. Wait it out. It will fall away. Then start focusing on what you are trying to acheive.

[zeek mullins]

  Since there have been only a few questions about witnessing, i am little concerned that i may have made it seem more complicated than it really is.
  I talked about analyzing the feelings and actions you are having, by switching to witness mode. While this is important, and is the eventual goal, you do not have to do this when you initially start. Just watching, with no agenda, with curiosity, will cause the negative feelings and actions to fall away. Learn to do this first, and once you have become comfortable with it, then add the analysis.
  Witnessing is simply a method of making yourself aware, conscious, of what and why you are thinking and doing what you are. It is a way of staying in the moment. You must understand this before you can use all the other stuff to fix what you do not like.
  I have a couple of other things to cover briefly, and then i will tie it all together and show you the method i have learned to use all this information.

[Old Meister]

Sorry for not getting back to you but I've been trying to put it to use and learn from and about it. I've always been a bit introspective anyway but to become an outside observer is a horse of a different color. I do see it in the respect that it is a productive way of looking at things regardless of how things are going. Being honest with yourself isn't always that easy. Zen is the art of no ego. What you are talking about is much the same. A curious and inquiring approach with honesty about your play and execution and feelings, I think the ego has to go away before this can be accomplished. I delved into this a lot in archery, breathing, step by step execution, visualization, being aware of self but being unattached too. There is great pleasure in pure clean execution and you don't conquer anyone but instead attain joy in the art of the movement.

[zeek mullins]

The witness is who you really are.
  Your ego is just a map of who you think you are. A bunch of bio-computer programs. Concepts. Not real. Bill Harris calls it your map of reality. And he points out that you cannot drive on the lines on a map representing roads, or swim in the blue ink that indicates a lake. The map is not the reality.

That ought to give you something to chew on.