Recent email
Hi,
Just some words on the last things you posted and maybe one or two questions, first I'll quote the concerned part of your post :
"As long as the input coming in to our system does not exceed our computers ability to export entropy back in to the environment, we are happy, peaceful, having fun. But we all have a level, once again based on our programming from past life experiences, at which the input coming at us exceeds our computers ability to export entropy back in to the environment. When this happens, we begin to experience the emotion of being overwhelmed. We unconsciously switch to automatic response mode. Our focus changes from positive, what we want, to negative, what we want to avoid (to much input). As we know, this can causes all fun to cease and we begin to suffer negative emotions and actions. Genie begins searching for ways to export the excess input back in to the environment. Getting mad, yelling, taking offense and thousands of other negative actions are ways we may have learned to do this. There are also positive ways to do this. Refocusing, becoming calm etc.
I hope this is not to confusing. The threshold concept is a way of thinking that explains what happens to us when we experience dysfunctional actions and feelings. It also explains why successful people don’t!"
First this is not confusing at all, I can almost sense and "touch" what you are saying there, this sensation of being overwhelmed is really familiar to me : when things go "to fast" the other way round, I feel some kind of heat in my brain, that's when I'll try for example a 5 bar shot and immediately tell myself "Why the hell do you do this ?", and that's the automatic response mode.
When I think back of when I started foos, first tournament I entered in a small bar with like 15 players I was shaking before playing the first ball, later on when I started playing bigger tourneys with I felt so much pressure just thinking about not taking these slops, I would let one or two get in per match... Now it's still not perfect, but lately I've been able to manage important matches without feeling this sort of pressure, but you know the "good pressure", the one that makes you play well and keep the focus.
Last time I felt bad pressure was at that small tournament right before the open doubles final started, when I saw people around the table waiting to see the match. I was like "Why now ? I've already played in front of 10 times the people here..." I think I felt that because that tournament was important to me, in an emotional way you know. Anyway I had to do something to cool down, so I asked for a referee and that worked ! I don't know, his presence on the table kinda calmed me down, because if there are discussions about faults and stuff during a match it can bug me and take me out of it (it overwhelms me actually). So finally everything went fine and we won the tournament ;-)
I wrote this just to know if this "progression" in managing the pressure/tension has something to do with "raising my threshold" ?
I think yes it does and that I've raised it along the years by acquiring experience, but I'm pretty sure you have methods and/or stuff in your bag to raise it faster and/or higher right ? ;-)
Oh and remember that ****** guy that used to post on bit on the thread ? He won his first open singles at the very same tournament I mentioned earlier, in a way you have something to do in that week-end's results ! ;-)
Ans: It’s very gratifying when I see that my stuff is working for someone
Joe – Pressure/ tension are some of the many negative emotions that interfere with performance, and learning to manage them is what this is about.
If the motor in your car isn’t running properly, and you leave it alone, it will not fix itself.. In fact eventually it may break down. If you do not know anything about motors, and you try to fix it yourself, you may fix it fast, or you may waste much money and time doing hit and miss repairs until you get lucky and fix it. Or you can take it to a mechanic who knows how to fix it. Spend a lot of money and time. And the next time it starts running badly, more money and time, and you still don’t know why it wasn’t working. I’m just trying to give you some knowledge that will help you fix your motor yourself. Not only fix it, but turn it into a high performance motor. Mechanics school if you will. And when you know how, you won’t have to waste all that money and time! Soon your motor will be a fine tuned machine that can run with the best of them. And you will know how to fix it yourself, fast. Then instead of wasting all that time not understanding it and trying to fix it, you can spend your time racing with the big boys.
Understanding “threshold” is learning how your motor (mind) works. It is possible to raise your threshold just through hit and miss experience (letting your mind run unconsciously), but this is a crapshoot at best and can take a long time if it happens at all. Understanding how to raise your threshold is how you turn your mind in to a fine tuned machine, and maintain it, in a much shorter time.
All these concepts, techniques and metaphors are about fine tuning your mind! Patience. You’re getting it!
You wrote that to reach our goals one way to get there is to make a small mental film of what we want and repeat it daily in our head.
In my case the movie mostly consist of simply beating Rico, you know getting that match ball on the 3, scoring it and shaking hands with a yelling crowd... What I think is crazy is whenever I imagine myself playing that final ball I instantly feel tension/pressure (not the good one, the "tetanizing" (does that word exist in english ?) pressure, my heart start beating harder, etc...
Do you think I have to go through this movie until I get used to the situation and don't feel that pressure anymore? Or do you think I should change a bit my movie, focusing only on the result I want (winning the game) and not thinking about actually having to score that ball (how to win it on the table) ?
I don't know something tells me that visualizing to much playing that ball would actually prevent me from performing well the day it will come (and it will), over thinking and preventing the "whatever be ok" going on
Have another tournament this week-end in Germany, I've printed your posts (that's 44 pages in Word !!!) and I'll try to give it a read during the week-end ;-)
Thanks again
Joe
Joe
The movie you have made is creating expectations regarding a specific event. It is these expectations that are creating the negative (fear of not accomplishing them) emotions. Rico is arguably the best player in the world. If you beat him the first time you meet him in a final it will be a hell of an accomplishment. But if you are expecting to, and you don’t, you have set yourself up for much disappointment and suffering (these negative emotions will cause a set back in your progress) Make the first goal to get in a final against him. If you win the first time, awesome. If you don’t, look him in the eye, shake his hand, analyze and learn, go back to work, and know in your heart that your time is coming. If your desire is strong enough, you’ll get him sooner or later! Believe it.
Try something like this for your movie:
Imagine you are sitting in the stands before a pit match. Hear the voice of Jim Stevens (twif announcer) say “before we begin the match I would like to introduce one of the top players in the game, Mr. Joe”. Feel the emotions you would have. Accomplishment, pride, satisfaction. Know that you have already beaten Rico and all the other top players. Know, experience, that you have earned these rewards. Tip your hat to the crowd, and enjoy the match.
Zeek
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