There are times when playing pool is like learning to fall at hapkido...You can spend month after month worrying about it and stressing over what can go wrong but then there comes a moment where you just have to stop worrying about it and just go for it. Falling at hapkido took me three years to learn properly and it wasn't until I got over the fear of flipping my legs over my head and crashing down on my back and just got on with it that it all suddenly clicked.
And I could have done with remembering this last night at pool as I got caught up in the worry rather than getting on with it.
Because last night I played a match that should have been pretty winnable. And even though my opponent is a good player he's a player I feel I can beat and when I went into a 2-0 lead and was playing well I felt everything was on track.
Then I missed a shot and like an idiot I let it prey on my mind. And I know better than this because that way madness lies...
Then I missed another shot and another chance and mentally I hit the self-destruct button as I got more frustrated and my game collapsed and I lost 5-6.
I was annoyed because I'm close to playing really well at the moment and it just didn't go for me last night and I allowed it to gnaw away and it's hard enough trying to beat an opponent without beating yourself and I forgot this...
Then to add insult to injury when the match was over and I playing afterwards I was potting out of my skin. Bugger...
But lesson learnt. From now on I'm going to stop worrying about bad form and just get on with it. And I'm not going to worry about missing shots. Like falling at hapkido I am past the point where I should be worrying about what could go wrong and I should simply focus on getting on with it.
Excellence is a habit. And excellence is a mental approach as well as a practical one.
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