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Chat Area => General Chat => Topic started by: Old Meister on March 02, 2009, 09:57:20 PM
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Here I was, talking smack on the NW board. Telling a guy I didn't know that I'd partner with him even though he was bickering with a number of players who really were down on him. So I figure he has to have game to bring out that kind of aggression in other players. I always liked the "roosters". I just like spirited people who aren't afraid to crow. So I join in and play the hype game. The problem was is that I still didn't have that something that made me a player back when, in the day. I felt that my skills were as good but doubt just kept creeping in. These guys can play nowadays and what I thought I knew seems to be common knowledge for the most part. But not everything, So there I was, thinking maybe I'm finding out that I am now just an older man who is trying to relive the dream, nothing special, a real downer(70's term). So Im moping around"well I gotta do this, I talked the talk, that's easy". But honestly I'm not really feeling like I can back any of it up. About an hour before the "ordeal" was to begin I looked through a book that I used to prepare for archery competiitons. I had a book marker on a page, it had a nice comparative set of lists, one for positive energy and one for negative energy. Positive- Joy fun love challenge optimism determination enjoyment --leading to--calm mental state- good concentration-relaxed muscles-leading to--high performance level. The other side was Negative energy----anxiety, anger,hate,fear,negativism,frustration,distrust--leading to---fast and frantic mental pace, poor concentration, tight muscles--leads to--low-level performance. All those feelings I had were on the negative side and just seeing them made me realise that I like this game, I have game that is a bit different from most due to where I come from and how I learned. I had no reason to go there and not enjoy myself and to put myself out there. And besides, I told the guy I would play back, I love to get into the head games of the game and blocking is all about that. So I just made up my mind that I was going to make anyone I played, deal with me rather than me deal with them. And I had a blast! I just got into this place where I 'played'. The last match I played , and lost, was against a tour player, probably one of the best I ever played. The problem was he had to deal with me. It was a long match and my friends were giving me encouragement for all the blocks I was making on him. My front man got into a funk but I kept going and though we lost it was close and a long time coming. Even though I would compliment him on a good shot he wouldn't acknowledge me at all at the conclusion of the match. I took that as the best compliment of all! Next time I might play front, my true love, and I will kick his arse. The whole point is that attitude is everything and if you're honest with yourself you can come to the conclusion that nobody cares if you play weak. But if you really enjoy this game and have learned how to do some"STUFF" then enjoy and do it! Nobody cares if you lose and it is alot of fun to win or at least make your statement.
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A positive attitude is an essential. If you don't think you can beat someone, you're probably right. Playing someone you know is better than you should only make you play that much harder. No one is unbeatable and you need to get it in your head that you're the one that's going to prove it, even if the body says otherwise.
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from an article on Mental Touhgness in foosball
Mental Toughness
It is best to know right from the start that in the end most games are won or lost on this issue alone. If you are super great physically but you collapse mentally you can lose to people who are much lower than your physical development or experience.
Foosball is about strategy as well but you can be the best strategist in the world and it won't do you any good if you go to pieces in the middle of a match, game, or ball. It is hard to imagine how knowing this can start to make you stronger mentally or but as my dad used to say, “The first step to recovery, is admitting the problem”. Only when you acknowledge the central importance of this, can you then embrace, study, practice, and finally harden this important skill.
Commit yourself to learning how to be mentally tough...anything and everything you can do to stay focused and confident...some people have confidence and toughness built in as part of their make up but others have to work at it. Regardless of what camp you are in, you have to have the drive to do whatever it takes to get tough.
Be in the Moment…NOW
Start now! Each moment of each possession is important, treat them all by focusing on the now...not what you practiced, not how you will execute, not what happens if you do good or you mess up, not what your friends or onlookers will think, not past, not the future...you focus on doing all you can for each ball. That’s it...who you are is not wrapped up in how well you do...you will be defined by your attitude and determination - if you want to win, you stay focused and let the chips fall where they may - nothing will put you in a better position to win as often as you are able… NOTHING, PERIOD
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Kevin Skaltsis 11/2006
What you are describing is very common among skilled players at your particular level. Execution at your level is rarely a problem. Sometimes the inability to figure out a particular problem on the table can occur for any player and a coach can be very useful in these situations. However what you describe is probably attributable to what I call being mentally lazy. This is not to say you are lazy. A coach can also help in this situation, but probably not during the heat of a match unless it has been discussed prior to a match.
Being mentally lazy on the table occurs when a player wants a mental break from the stress of the match. A player will begin taking risks to gain an advantage at ill advised times. This many times can occur at a subconscious level. This makes it hard to combat because sometimes by the time a player realizes that they have made too many bad decisions or more precisely not enough calculated, well thought out good decisions it is too late to be successful in the match.
Sometimes a player can even realize they are making some bad decisions by, for instance, guessing but since some of those decisions end in a successful pass or goal they are lulled into a false sense of confidence and continue to roll the dice. You mentioned that this is gravy. I say that it is poison. Remember when you roll the dice, in the end the house always wins. That is not to say that you should never take a risk when playing. This is another subject, but closely related. Suffice it to say that risk taking during play should occur when you are in an advantageous position and the upside outweighs the downside.
An example:
You are up 2 games to 1 and 4-1 in the fourth game and you have seen your opponent habitually leave the pull side open for 3-4 seconds as you set up your rollover. If you can hit a good pull side front pin from the moment you set up then shooting that may end the match. If you get blocked the odds are in your favor to get another shot in that game to end the match.
The other time risk taking could occur during a match is when you are significantly over matched, you have been unsuccessful and you cannot solve the problems presented to you on the table. Keep in mind however that taking risks with a much more skilled player can sometimes result in them taking risks and ending the match much more quickly. Example: Billy starts shooting pull kicks, push kicks and everything else and ends your match in 3 minutes.
Rolling the dice or guessing also has a domino effect as you aptly described and things can go downhill very fast. It is important to learn to recognize immediately when you are taking risks at inopportune times and stop it immediately. This is easier said than done, but some good examples of people that take very few risks and are very successful are Jeep, Chad Hansen, Rico and Terry. The players that take more risks and are very successful are Todd, Billy, Tony, Tommy, and Mares. If you look at the two groups of players there is one thing that is glaringly apparent, the risk takers are more than likely more naturally gifted with speed and other physical skills that allow them to take risks. The exception probably being Rico and ironically he wins more than anyone. Blessed with natural ability and does not take many risks (read no guessing, plays every ball like it is 4-4 in the fifth game of the finals) = best in the world.
Combating mental laziness on the table means making a good decision on every possession. The first step in doing this is recognizing when you are about to make a potentially bad decision. Utilizing time outs could be the next step to fixing the problem. Use them when you recognize that you are about to make a potentially bad decision. If you are playing mistake free, but are starting to feel some stress, use a timeout to breathe and mentally commit to continue making good decisions. Constantly telling yourself to only make good decisions in matches also goes a long way in eliminating bad decisions. John Smith once told me when I asked him how he trains before Worlds that he does not touch a table for a week or two before the tournament. He told me he meditated about execution and only making good decisions on every possession. Chad Hansen also told me that before he won open doubles at the Worlds back in the 80s that he constantly thought about focusing on doing the right thing on every possession so as to not waste one. He said it was mentally draining at first and that it took him a year to build up enough mental fortitude to focus that much and win the World title.
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Good stuff! I think there is one little item to add that makes it a whole lot easier, thus not creating so much stress but still allowing a high performance level, and that is that this game is FUN! Going into a tough match and looking at it as an opportunity to test yourself and LIKING IT, is, in my view, the best way to go about it. I mean you can win against weak players and the rewards are what they are but to play someone who's really good in any situation but especially a big tournament is what we live for, or should. Fear is the mind killer, joy is the grease that frees up movement and allows you to do everything you want. Many skilled players try to intimidate you with sweet ball handling and a dominate demeanor. If you welcome all of that and answer it with what you like to do then the best interpetation of how to make points while blocking shots wins. What could be better than that? That's not to mean coming to a match with a big dumb smile is going to win it for you. But anyone who understands that the game is 90% between the ears after a certain point can relate to the fact that coming to a match with a positive expectation and not inhibited with fear is the best path to play well.
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that reminds me of my favorite foosball quote by Todd L....he is equating fear and pressure
Overcoming Pressure
The key is to embrace it as a normal part of fighting to win. Expect it, look forward to it. And then understand that the fear is the reason you practice and play. And obviously the fear is where the pressure comes from. So when you feel the most fear, you know that you have arrived to the place where you can face it and do something about it… Todd Loffredo
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I'm going to have to digest that one as I think fear is too negative, Todd or no Todd. I think you could replace fear with desire, that works for me. As arrogant as it might seem I think I'm right on this one. So go to your post Bbtuna and replace fear with desire and ascertain whether it might not be a better path,,,is yearning fear or desire? Besides, why in the world should there be FEAR in the game of foosball? Fear of what, a ball between the eyes? Fear of looking stupid? Fear of losing? Fear of winning? Fear of not being able to do what you falsly told yourself you were capable and should be able to do? Fear is the mind killer. Honesty with yourself is the best way to become the player you think you should be. If you think you are better than you really are(American Idol syndrome, lol) then you will always be disappointed. I learned this lesson recently,,,Go ahead Bb, give it to me, this is good stuff.
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i relate to it because I have experienced the fear he talks about...maybe you don't, you would be the first i have met, but all things are possible
i can't edit a quote, it is what Todd said...it spoke to me but maybe not to all...I have used it with effect when i felt that coming on and so it is that much more reinforced for me
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Hi Tuna,
I've been reading your posts for a while now and am really curious who you are.
I'm Paul Biquet, a semi pro from the Houston area.
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Now about Mental Attitude, This is crucial for success. I've been playing 35 years, and the most important thing I have ever learned about foosball is that once you reach the point of being able to execute the game physically, it is all mental. Being in the Houston area I get to play John Smith, Tracy McMillin, Chad Hanson, Scott King, and Eddie Gartman, all World Champions, and a host of other good players. Tracy and Scott are good friends of mine and we talk a lot. What I hear from both of them is the importance of doing exactly what tuna described:
Combating mental laziness on the table means making a good decision on every possession. The first step in doing this is recognizing when you are about to make a potentially bad decision. Utilizing time outs could be the next step to fixing the problem. Use them when you recognize that you are about to make a potentially bad decision. If you are playing mistake free, but are starting to feel some stress, use a timeout to breathe and mentally commit to continue making good decisions. Constantly telling yourself to only make good decisions in matches also goes a long way in eliminating bad decisions. John Smith once told me when I asked him how he trains before Worlds that he does not touch a table for a week or two before the tournament. He told me he meditated about execution and only making good decisions on every possession. Chad Hansen also told me that before he won open doubles at the Worlds back in the 80s that he constantly thought about focusing on doing the right thing on every possession so as to not waste one. He said it was mentally draining at first and that it took him a year to build up enough mental fortitude to focus that much and win the World title.
I'll post more at a later time, I love this stuff. Thinking about it, is, in it self, a good exersize.
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I'm not saying I wasn't experiencing fear, it was crippling my game and I knew it. What I was able to do at home in practice was not what I was doing in competition. So what was I afraid of, looking stupid with weak play? The fear is what made me do that, what a viscious circle, being afraid of being afraid. So freeing yourself from that fear does not mean you should be emotionally flat. What is the opposite of fear- joy, confidence, boldness, energized. What a nice way to play foosball, free to go for what ever you want to. I was losing to players that I knew I should dominate and it was making me so frustrated I contemplated giving up the game. I knew I was missing something that I used to have in the 70's and 80's and then I realised I was not having fun. Now I am. I'm back to wanting to play the best people I can find. I love to make them come out of their comfort zone and defend things they don't see much. They give me their best and I give them mine and God sorts it out. If they are that good that they give me a whupping well good on them because they also gave me a lesson I'll learn from. Great talent is not something I fear playing against, I hunger for it,,, Bbtuna, your posts have alot of good stuff to think about, I was hoping you would chime in. My whole point of the thread was to relay something that made a profound difference for me and wanted to explore it as much to get more ideas as it might also help people who can relate. I suppose that just by caring a certain amount of fear is present, I don't know, but I really enjoyed being free of it when it counted.
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ComeBack,
my name is Charles Dangler and I am from MO...I started playing 75 or 76, got real serious in 76 and worked hard at my game until probably 79-80 and got seperated from it around 80-81 and totally gave it up when I married in 82
I started playing again in 2003 and I am a student of the game and have a lot of teaching/training in my background...I love information and so I collect it and have a store of my own thoughts which are not proved
I travel seldom because of money primarily but time off is another issue...I still work very hard for my age and physical condition...my game has weaknesses in it now that only tournament play can fix but it is sort of a catch 22 for me...still, I plod on and my game has made vast improvements over the last 2 years
I am not really ranked as anything having only been to a handful of tournaments but my skills are probably at the level of semi although I think this is mis-leading
i started learning serious tournament foosball in Chicago and my first mentor was Jevat Meha...I won't bore you or anyone else with more history, it isn't important
the quote above you attribute to me is from Kevin Skaltsis - I have been collecting stuff for the last 2 1/2-3 years things I thought we particularly good on different aspects of the game
I don't speak with a ton of authority because I don't have the pedigree to "prove" myself out and I still have much to learn but I am a student and teacher by nature...I have never had the benefit of personal training from World class players so although I am very advanced in many ways, I find from time to time, I have significant basic things missing
it is my goal when i am on these boards to encourage players regardless of their interest, recreational or tournament, and to pass along helpful information I have picked up and from time to time I put in my own theories
good to hear from you, bring all the good stuff you can, people are hungry for it
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OM,
thanks, we are buds and all is good...I appreciate your comments and have really enjoyed watching your journey...you have been honest and careful of your evaluation of yourself, your motives, and how that stacks up to the current scene, as we both know, that is hard to do (Am Idol :P)
anyway, each person deals with the mental distractions, fear, insecurity, etc differently but the important thing is to deal with them...some people seem to do this without any apparent effort, others really have to work at it
i like Todd's comments because here is someone who seems natural and born to compete at the high levels who is honest enough with himself to see that even after years and years of sucess he is not above having to face this basic element of competition...on top of that, he is honest enough and secure enough in himself to share it with the world
I am near or at the stage comeback is talking about...I can execute pretty much everything pretty much each time I want and the big weakness in my game is staying focused
I have some writing on this, it is one of the key learnings I have given a heading to...
I don't know if I have shared these before - these are game ones, I have others for training
1. Embrace Fear
2. 90% of the game is half mental
a.Be in the Moment…NOW
b.When the going gets tough, the tough…win!
3. Chance Favors the Prepared
a. Plan to Win – strategy
b. Manage The Game or the Game Will Manage You
c. Play the Rules
4. Favor no hole
5. Possession is 9/10 of the law
6. The 5 man is at The Center of The Game
7. Adjust as Little as Possible But as Much as Needed – adjust or die, adjust to adjustment, continue what works
8. General to Specific – zones, percentages, tendencies, specifics
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Thanks Charles for your candor. We are not so far apart in a lot of ways. I think our journey is important. As thinking men who can sort it out and voice it, I think a lot of people come here to look at the posts and ponder it, mull it over and take from it what they can. I think I'm a bit more raw in my takes than you but we do seem to bounce ideas back and forth pretty well. It would be my greatest pleasure to someday partner with you although I don't know when that might be. It's on the Bucket list. I do think about what you say with an open mind because that is how a person learns and you have taught me alot. Thanks, I always welcome your opinion.
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Charles, consider this, our age means squat other than allowing us to be part of a time where foosball skills were explored and defined. We can come to the table with what ever plan, take, view that we want and with our experience it is considerable. I, just last week, witnessed a gal, who is a top player, play a very controilled execution type game. Nothing of her game demanded strength but she was pure poerty in what she did. I loved it, it made perfect sense. Anyone with time on the table can pursue a control game and it is wonderful. When I was young I wanted to crush my opponents with speed and power and I mostly did. Now I like to embrace what time has done for me. Switching back and forth between styles and disciplines, from intricate to stupidly simple. This game is a plaything, I don't even know why fear should have a place at the table anymore.
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Okay, I will butt in on this thread since I consider myself to be a strong mental player.
Another way to look at Todd's quote about fear. Surely you have heard about the quote about keeping your friends close but keep your enemies closer.
Fear is your enemy, but you must learn to embrace it. It must become your best companion. Once it does, you will start to thrive on this feeling because once you realize fear is only a state of mind, it can't hurt you anymore. You now know how to deal with it because you know everything about it.
You see it all the time. There are players that play great when they have a comfortable lead, they are tough as long as they are in the lead but put some heat on them and they start to crumble. These players have not embraced fear because they fear losing that lead and start to freak out and stumble on what they should be doing to finish a match because they are not comfortable with that feeling.
Learn fear and it keep it close, that way if it approaches you, instead of asking can I help you, you say excuse me, coming through, you're in my way.
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This is all good and I like and get your post, Iceman. I guess my point was Fear>play not to lose. Desire>play to win. It's how your built and how you look at things. For me it was about overcoming fear and I felt I did that in a way that really put me on an emotional high so I brought it here to my buds and shared.
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Anyone want to get deeper in to this
Professional golfers pay sports psychologists big bucks to teach and coach them on the mental game. In my 15 yeaars as a playing professional I spent considerable time and money on the mental game because it became obvious at the start that the "big boys" knew something I didnt. All the stuff i learned was really interesting and can be applied to foosball or any other part of life. I cant tell you how many times i said "if only I had learned this 40 years ago"
Successful players, executives, musicians, mothers or whatever have a certain attitude that allows them to deal with the adversities inherent in every task. The best way I have found to describe this attitude is that they seem to know HOW to have fun and they know HOW to let whatever happens be ok.
The secret to being successful (or unsuccessful) is what you focus your mind on. Your subconscious mind is a powerful computer that is capable of creating anything you ask of it. You make representations (pictures, dialog) in your conscious mind that tell your subconscious mind what you want. But there is a "glitch" in this process. Your subconscious mind only understands these pictures. It does not understand words. example; when you make pictures of "make this pull shot", your subconscious mind (your genie) sets out to figure out how to make it happen. If you have given it enough of these "pictures" of successfully doing the shot (practice and tournament experience) it will give you the shot you want. But if you make representations of "dont miss this pull shot" you have to make pictures of missing this pull shot. Your subconscious does not understand the dont. It thinks "he wants miss this pull shot, we can do "miss this pull shot " and it figures out how to give you what it thinks you want. Focusing on what you dont want, with the intention of avoiding it, is the kiss of death. Unfortunatly most of us learned, at a very young age, that we must avoid danger. And so we focus on what we dont want, which you now know only creates more of what you dont want.
When you are experiencing fear, its always because you are focusing on something you dont want, with the intention of avoiding it!
Ive got much more of this "heavy" stuff if anyone is interested
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Very nice Zeek! That part about, a picture of what you don't want to happen, really gets down to the heart of the matter. I never heard it put that way but as I read it I realised you were right on. By all means delve into it. I think this plays into the calling of a timeout. I know I've set up a shot and then suffered from doubt. To back off and reprogram the visualization certainly can't be a bad thing.
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Ice, that was great, I have a new quote or two that is for sure...
"Learn fear and it keep it close, that way if it approaches you, instead of asking can I help you, you say excuse me, coming through, you're in my way."
Zeek,
Thanks, that is great stuff...you can't say too much or get to deep...this stuff becomes part of the archives of "training" foosers pick up and reference here and there. I am a collector learner/teacher so I am after stuff all the time and someone else has done nearly the same only made it available on a website.
thing is, there is very little (relatively) foosball training and no current books available specfic to foosball this century and beyond.
sooooo, keep it coming my friend, good for the foosball community
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So Zeek, I've been thinking a lot about what your saying about the subconscious receiving images. I mean, that makes so much sense to me and think it has real implications not only in play but in practice. All of this game can be broken down into images, even defense. Thinking is too slow, imagery is right now. To me it seems that that concept gets right down to the bare basics of execution. I really like what you posted. It just strikes a chord with me. I want more,,,
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I love talking about this kind of stuff.
I spent 15 years learning most of this stuff. Most of it comes from a man named Bill Harris of Centerpointe Institute in Portland Oregon. bill believes that knowing what or why you should do something is useless if you dont understand HOW you actually do it. His Life Principles Integration Process, a 36 week course, gets deeply into the actual mechanics of how your mind, your computer, works to create your reality. Its really interesting stuff. But i have found that certain personality types just cant get into it. Its very detail oriented. And theres a lot of it.
So ill start with a little introduction, and if you girls and guys get sick of it, just let me know.
Knowing what you are supposed to do in foosball is just interesting information. Knowing HOW to use this information is what the big boys know.
Having a shot that works for you is very important. But if you play any amount of foosball, I’m sure you know a few players who have a somewhat unusual shot, and a strange passing game that can still manage to beat you somehow. And you have wondered what makes the big boys the big boys. If you are like I was (for many years in golf) this can be the source of a lot of grief. You know you can shoot and pass as well as they can. You practice as much as they do. You have the best equipment. The only thing you don’t do is beat them on a consistant basis. HOW do they do it? If you don’t know where to look, you can spend a lot of time, effort, emotion and money trying to figure this out. I did.
What the players in the previous paragraph know is how to run their minds in a way that allows them to get the most out of the game they have! Chances are they do not know that they know. They just learned a way of thinking, based on previous life experiences, that helps them get what they want. Successful people in any walk of life think this way. Most if not all the PGA professionals know this way of thinking. And they know they know. They work as hard on their mental games as they do on their swings. It is not something you either have or you dont have! It is very learnable.
Concepts are ways of looking at something that are not necessarilly true. You might say they are different ways of looking at something. Many concepts are useful and resourceful, many are not. Here are a couple of useful concepts from Eastern philosophies that are very useful when striving for a particular goal.
Time
Western civilization has an interesting way of looking at the concept of time. In the western view, you have a string of memories or events stretching out into your past, and a line of yet to happen events going into your future. The western belief is that all the events in your past somehow determine what will happen to you in the future.
Example: when you first started playing foosball you probably missed a lot of passes and shots. From the western view of time these missed shots are a part of what makes up you in the present. You may, then, have developed the belief that you are a bad shooter based on those past missed shots. And this belief will affect the way you shoot in the future.
Some eastern philosophies have a different and much more useful way of looking at the concept of time.
The only time that exists is NOW. When the universe was created (big bang) it was now. When Columbus discovered America it was now. When you were born it was now. As you read this it is now!
From this point of view, the past is only memories of now moments (stored in your mind) that no longer exist. And their only value is as references to guide you in creating your future now events. From this view, all past events lose their emotional power over you. They exist only as useful information in your computer.
This is one way of looking at "stay in the moment".
The Gap
Using an unattainable goal as a “must reach” target is a good way to be disappointed. Society is constantly measuring us to perfection, and then making us feel somehow inadequate because we don’t reach it. From this point of view, we never get to feel good about our accomplishments.
Successful people use a different measuring stick.
Consider the horizon. If you start moving toward it, no matter how fast you go, you can never reach it. This has been called The Gap. If you are in New York and you start walking west toward the horizon, after some period of time you would end up on the west coast. You would never reach the horizon, but walking from New York to the west coast would be a hell of an accomplishment.
Successful people measure their success by what they have accomplished! Not by whether or not they have reached perfection. They use perfection as motivation, but they realize it is an unattainable goal. They measure their success by their progress, and this allows them to stay motivated and feel good about themselves.
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Zeek, you cannot possibly stop with a teaser like that! I'm all ears(or eyes). This is just too good of stuff for those who recognise it. When you think about what this game is really about, I mean it is so cerebral ,and it is really important to recognise that and put into practice those disciplines, well it is the difference isn't it?
I also think that your last sentance or thought directly relates to Todd's take on what we are talking about. I think I got to hung up on the terminology rather than the actual intent of his thoughts. A player has to understand the fact that he never can be perfect, I think THAT is huge! So then there is room to manuever and have room to HAVE FUN!
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Ill work on some more in a day or two. Old Meister, are you from the northwest? I spent a year up there working with ts in 1974. I have always wondered what happened to Larry Folk. do you know?
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Zeek, I'm south of a small town of Stayton, 15 miles east of Salem, Oregon. I'm an old schooler that got back into the game about 1 1/2 years ago after a 20+ year lay-off. I'm making foos trips up there(Portland) every other week. I'll ask around about Larry Folk as I don't know him.
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Charles, I would imagine you are playing the Missouri State championships and on Warrior tables. SOOOoo buddy, your backpin game should serve you well on those tables. It would be nice to hear that you did good. Good luck, think good things and give'm h--l!
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Let WHATEVER Happens be OK
As i started thinking again about foosball recently, I realized that all the stuff i learned
about the mental game in golf applies equally to foosball (and actually life in general).
Golf has pretty much dominated my life (except for the 7 years I spent playing
foosball. I started playing golf when I
was 9 years old. I decided to become a professional golfer when I was 45
years old. I started learning how to play golf when I was 50 years old.
For the first 40 years or so I thought the secret to golf was a perfect
swing. I spent endless hours, thousands of practice balls and a ton of money
working on proper grip, left arm straight, slow take away, pause at the top,
start down slow etc etc etc. I was among that 97% of golfers mired in the
mechanics of the swing. Hey, that’s what I was told from day one!
I developed a pretty good swing (only took 40 years). Actually even
as a kid I had a pretty natural swing. My first instructor was a man named Jr.
Hardwick (don’t remember his real first name) who was the pro at Webb Air
Force base in Big Spring Texas. I think Jr. and his brother Billy had some
moderate success on the PGA tour back in those days. I have also taken
lessons, at one time or the other, from Jack Mann, Steve Johnson, Hank
Haney, Jackie Cupit, and several other professionals.
The point of mentioning all these great teachers is to say that I have
learned a pretty good understanding of the mechanical swing. Give me ten
minuets to warm up on the range and I can still beat the driver to the fence
and hit wedges into the barrels. And I’m 61 now.
Around age 45 I decided to pursue my dream of playing professional
golf. I played the Texas mini tours. I went to Florida several winters and
played the Tommy Armour Tour and several others. I went to the Senior Tour Qualifing
school three times. I made it to the second round once. I played some decent
rounds. I played some not so decent rounds. I worked hard on the range and
I worked hard on my swing.
After four and a half years of grinding hard on the mini circuits,
here’s what I learned. I learned that I was getting beat by guy’s who did not
swing any better than me. They couldn’t hit it any farther than me and they
couldn’t hit it any straighter than me! They were not better putters than me
and their short games were not better than mine! Were they just luckier than
me? No (although I must say I thought that sometimes) The only thing they
did better than me was score! wtf! Maybe I’m not pronating my left arm on
the backswing.
It became obvious that I wasn’t playing with a full bag. All my
coaches had touched on the “mental game” at one time or another, but for
some reason the importance just never stuck. But something was missing.
So, six months before my fiftieth birthday, I changed the way I had thought,
for nearly forty years, about golf. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was
when I started learning how to play golf.
We’ve all watched golf on TV. I have for as long as I can remember. I
always watched the swings and listened to the commentators describe the
shots. “Notice how the club face is open”, “See the left shoulder go under
the chin”, “Notice that the crease on the left pant leg is pointing toward
Jupiter” ad infinitum. And I would be on the practice tee the next day trying
to figure out which direction Jupiter was. I had never tried to figure out how
the great players were thinking! Once I changed my attention to their
thoughts, I came up with a whole new set of questions.
What were the top players thinking just before a shot (routine). What
were they thinking during the swing? And most important, what were they
thinking after the shot? How was it that they seemed to handle the “bad” shots so well?
The more I watched in this new way, the more obvious it became that
they all had sound games, but they also had a way of thinking that was
producing the results they wanted! More importantly, they had a way of
thinking that allowed them to deal with the adversities of a round. They
might show a little disgust at a “bad” shot, but I noticed that the displeasure
was almost always gone within a few seconds. How cool would it be to not
be upset at a “bad” shot? (not to let it carry over to the next shot)
How cool would it be to walk off the eighteenth
green feeling as peaceful as you were on the first tee? Even if you didn’t
play as well as you had hoped! I could see that these guy’s were, somehow,
doing this. The best way I’ve found to describe it is they were having fun
and they had learned how to let WHATEVER happened be ok!
So what does let whatever happens be ok mean? Lets start with what it does not mean.
It doesnt mean you dont care what hapens. It doesnt mean you shouldnt have goals
and work hard to get what you want. It doesnt mean you shouldnt have fun and enjoy
what you are doing. It simply means that you can choose not to experience all the
negative emotions that go with unwanted outcomes. Once you understand that negative
outcomes are not your enemy, your ready to climb the ladder.
Next - The Game of Black and White
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I sounds like the NFL phrase,"Let the game come to you". You know, this stuff could be really maddening to someone who's worked their arse off practicing everything under the sun only to hear you say, " let whatever happen be ok". I got into playing pool for a while and I found this book, "Pleasures in Small Motions". The biggest point made was about how we have to remind ourselves why we are in the sport we play, because we enjoy it, it's fun. Play is fun and it is the best when it is fun. And then, myself, I have to remember that it is the most fun to win as I sometimes seem to lose my drive to win. Maybe it's my age. I'll be looking forward to The game of Black and White. I don't know if anyone else is enjoying your posts but I love this stuff.
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did you read the last paragraph? Working your arse off is how you develope the "software" you need to execute. But what the big boys know how to use that software. I have a good schtick on how to get the most out of parctice. gotta lay the ground work first.
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good foundations for a foosball book...keep it coming friend
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I agree.
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zeek mullins (is it John Gilliland?)
This is the best thread I've seen since coming back to foosball in 2006 after a 20 year layoff. Very nice.
zeek mullins....you wrote:
"It is not something you either have or you dont have! It is very learnable...." ......about the "inner game."
I believe that in any competitive sport the aspect of the mental game is the most crucial and all of the competitors strive for that inner peace, or in other words, that ability to perform at their maximum when they need to. When we're in the moment, it seems so peaceful and effortless, yet when we're out of the moment, it can seem so difficult to get it back. One often tries too hard.
So, I ask:
1) Can we all have the mental game of Tiger Woods and the other great performers under pressure?
2) Have you learned any specific strategies of getting back in the moment when you've come out of it; e.g., having those lingering thoughts of the missed, key shots?
3) Are there ways to prepare prior to competition that will encourage one's performance to be at its maximum?
4) If having a strong mental game can be learned (which I'm convinced it can be), how does one do it?
5) On a side bar discussion....regardless of the premise being that the mental game can be learned, there seem to be some players/competitors that have a more innate (or is it learned?) ability to perform under pressure. Why is this?
Keep this stuff coming.....please.
Bruce.
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Bruce
Thanks for the questions. I will give you some short answers here, and get into the details in future posts.
1) Can we all have the mental game of Tiger Woods and the other great performers under pressure?
a) Tiger is the man! I believe he has the strongest mind of any athlete in history. When I watch him in golf interviews and other interviews, I am amazed at his poise. I am convinced that he is not only successful at golf; he is also peaceful and happy with his life. He seems to always talk about getting better at his game, and is never negative. And win, lose or draw he seems to be, and often says he is having fun.
Napolean Hill wrote a book called Think and Grow Rich. It is the second best selling book of all time, behind the bible. In the book he interviewed 250 of the richest men in America. After 20 years of research, Hill reached the conclusion that all of these people had two things in common that caused them to be mega successful. They had a definite major purpose, and they were driven by a burning desire to succeed. I highly recommend this book. There is a reason why it is the second biggest seller of all time.
So I guess the answer to your question is how bad you want it.
2) Have you learned any specific strategies of getting back in the moment when you've come out of it; e.g., having those lingering thoughts of the missed, key shots?
a) Golfers work hard at developing a routine for the 15 seconds or so when it is their turn to hit a shot. They not only work on doing the same things physically every time, they also work on doing the same things mentally every time. This routine is what the top players pay sports psychologist big bucks to develop.
I used to watch Gary Pfeil practice in the early 70s. He had marks on the floor where he placed his feet. Marks on the handle where he placed his hand. He paid attention to his spine angle. He would shoot hundreds of shots during a practice session, and he worked hard at doing them the same way every time. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I bet he was working on his thoughts as well.
I have learned a method for controlling the pictures and representations that we make in our minds. It’s called witnessing, and I will get into it in another posting. It is one of the key elements to all of this stuff
3) Are there ways to prepare prior to competition that will encourage one's performance to be at its maximum?
a) Meditation is the best way to prepare your mind. Once you understand it, it helps clear the negative thoughts and install the positive mindset. Other factors include health, rest, routine and practice.
4) If having a strong mental game can be learned (which I'm convinced it can be), how does one do it?
a) Study this stuff
5) On a side bar discussion....regardless of the premise being that the mental game can be learned, there seem to be some players/competitors that have a more innate (or is it learned?) ability to perform under pressure. Why is this?
a) I guarantee it is learned. They just had previous life experience that guided them to their present mindset.
FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE, THERE IS A WAY OF THINKING AND ACTING THAT WILL GET IT FOR YOU! You just have to find the way, and be willing to adopt it.
Zeek
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John,
This is great stuff. I've always been a student of the mental game, even when I was away from it. But this morning when I read what you'd written it opened my eyes to how I have been living my life, walking off yesterdays green every morning when I awake, beating myself up for missing the last putt, so that this morning I am already being chastised internally for that missed putt - and on the defensive on an emotional level - and worn out.
So it's good timing for me to have found what you've shared so eloquently. What's funny is that when I played foos for a living one of the first things I learned was to not let the past miss affect the next possession, or if I saw it was affecting me - to quickly refocus, breathe, and relax. It was how I learned to think objectively. Things happened, not good or bad things, just things.
I learned it in foosball and was pretty successful in tournaments, and have helped others learning the game. But I wasn't applying the same principles to my daily life. Huh. Cool.
I haven't played competitively for some time, at least not in any tournaments. I'm working the business side of things again after being away for a few years in other pursuits. I don't want to hijack your thread, so I won't go into detail on that here.
I'd be interested in hearing what you've learned about the emotional element to playing and performing. I have my own theories and thoughts about that aspect.
Great to see this stuff being explored here.
Say Hi to Karin for me.
Ken Alwell
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Thanks for the response, John, and your input as well Ken......
and not to change the subject, but KEN ALWELL......
I'm sure you don't remember me, but I started playing in Northern CA and met you and played against you for the first time at the Chico, CA tournaments (Golden Bear Pub??). Do you remember those? Ed Lee, Vic Fong, Jimi Lopez, Forsman, Roy Albert, Thor, (this was pre Adrian, Dube, Dana, Phil, etc.) and on TS Blue Top.
At the time I shot a push kick and you were very helpful, encouraging and humble. I will not forget my first match against you....you were playing with Fern (from Los Angeles) in one of those Chico tourneys....anyway......good memories.
I like your point above about things just happening; not good or bad things, just things. Much like the analogy in "The Inner Game of Tennis" which describes the emotions of the umpire, and the two players. When the server hit his first serve out and is making a judgment about it, the receiver is also, and the umpire is merely seeing the serve as out.
I'd also like to hear opinions about the emotional component to concentration.
Bruce Weltin.
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Very, very good thread! Thanks to all the guys who are contributing here!
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Friends,
This is a great thread with a lot of good information.
I don't remember who said it or what the exact quote is, but basically the idea is that your love of winning should be greater than your fear of losing. I liked the idea because it acknowledges we don't like to lose, but when your mental toughness is being challenged (down 2 games and 2 points in the potentially final game) the love of winning can easily be overshadowed by that fear of losing. Yet that is the time when the love of winning is needed the most, when you need to start, one point at a time, getting into that same mindset you have when you are up 2 games and with a lead. I believe the ability to fall back on your genuine love of the game, that feeling of executing a perfect pass followed by a well executed shot, not feeling the pressure created by thinking you have to win 3 games but one by one enjoying competitive points, from a practiced position of neutrality (12 step influenced) is the direct result of a passion for winning.
When I watch Rico play, he usually portrays this sense that he is in a zone, and although he is always pushing himself to execute as well as possible, I believe his consistency comes from that deep down love of the game (played at his high standards) and not from a fear of a negative result. I guess the idea I am describing is that being motivated to win is better than being motivated not to lose.
Again, really great thread, people!
Take care..................................Tyler
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Sorry - after reading my post above I remembered the quote was about loving to win compared with hating to lose, not fear of losing. My points are the same but I was off on the quote I was trying to remember.
Tyler
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Tyler,
quote is good either way because both are true
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Tuna,
I agree! And I guess the really dynamic part about it is that it is a constantly moving target. If you win the first game of a match, you are feeding off the positive aspects of the good result. But then, if you find yourself down 3 points in the second game, the whole mental toughness comes into focus from a different perspective than it did 5 minutes earlier. The challenge (and reward, sometimes!) to such a large degree is how to play your game (with all the adjustments and momentum shifts that usually happen in a good match) in the face of varying results. Again, Rico is a really good example of this.
Take care.............................Tyler
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Tyler,
I totally agree...mental toughness is not something you attain after a great search and then rest in from then on...mental toughness, right-minded playing, with all the variables and shifts, is a way of being and this way of being has to be worked on as long as you want to be competitive
mental toughness is not a destination, mental toughness is an ongoing process
if you think you can coast because you have reached some special level, remember that people who coast are going down hill
there has to be a concerted ongoing effort to keep flexing these muscles or they will slowly but surely continue to weaken
if you are not exercising your mental muscles for right-minded playing they are being worked for mental weakness, there is not middle ground
this fluid live process is true in the more holistic life view but is also true from match to match, game to game, ball to ball, possession to possession, and sometimes even within a single given possession
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In the "Inner Game" it says that you shouldn't be concerned with winning or losing, because it depends on too many factors you can't control. You should instead focus on what you CAN control: playing your best game RIGHT NOW, in this very moment. It's not about winning or losing a match. It's about winning the Inner Game. Sounds very much like what Zeek wrote about Tiger Woods.
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yes, I did study on this in my first foosball life because I had an issue with the mental side of the game and searched for a mature sport which seemed to have the same mental side of the game as foos and I landed on Tennis, this would have been 1980...since then, I have been a student of the game, physical and mental, practice and play
what you describe, what the Inner Game says, what I have read other places, many things said in this thread, and certainly the core of what zeek is saying is around this "Play in the Now"...it is said in different ways and word pictures to try and capature something that is very hard to describe being more a state of being and so very fluid and hard to describe as opposed to an "event" which is stationary and easier to pic at and describe...
try this illustration, it might not work but lets see...its like I was out water skiing and someone took video of me taking a big jump...it would be like the difference between describing the contents of the video or trying to explain where my mind was at and what I was thinking to accomplish the jump sucessfully...
with the video, I can take as much time as I want to watch it over and over, freeze frame, reverse, slow motion writing and editing until I feel I have the best description of the event as possible explaining what happeind compared with
trying to write or explain feelings, thoughts, the actual state of mind I was in...at this point we start to grasp at anaologies and explanations drawn from our own world view and bucket of experiences...this isn't a frozen event or series of pictures, this is a way of being...very very hard to explain but in the end, it is the same state of being for each person
werid, but fun for some of us to wrestle with
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Tuna,
This reminds me of the saying ' the only people that don't find life difficult are those that acknowledge that life is difficult'. Applied to the mental game of foosball, it implies the need to accurately understand the reality of the challenges in front of you, being physically and mentally prepared to play your best, to evaluate your opponents strengths and weaknesses, how to make adjustments along the way, how to notice patterns that develop during the course of a match (both yours and theirs), how to make overall strategic changes when necessary, etc. You are correct that you don't make it some promised land of mental preparedness, but rather you try to improve your abilites of anticipation and recognition of what is working, what needs to be attempted next, etc. More long term, taking what you learned at an event and practicing for better results the next time, which requires honesty and reflective thought.
Take care.................................Tyler
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Friends,
I just remembered an exercise that might be appropriate here. An old TS buddy of mine from the late 70's showed me this and I remember it increased my awareness on the table. Have a seat, find an object in the room and stare at it for 30 seconds, making every effort possible to not notice anything but the object you are focusing on. Then reverse the exercise, meaning notice/observe as many things in your peripheral vision (keeping your eyes directed at the original object) but not focusing at all on the original object. Next, pick a new object from your peripheral sight and lock in on it, the way you started, concentrating on just the new object and purposely ignoring everything in your peripheral vision. After 30 seconds, again reverse the 2, noticing as much as you can without allowing yourself to concentrate at all on the object in your direct line of sight. Repeat this back and forth concentration exercise for 10 minutes, then play some foosball. If you are like me, you will be surprised at the increase in awareness on the table.
Hope this helps somebody play better!
Tyler
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In the "Inner Game" it says that you shouldn't be concerned with winning or losing, because it depends on too many factors you can't control.
This where the discussion begins on how much emotion comes into play, or if it does; e.g., the desire to win is an emotion and so is the desire to be the best or play one's best. How does that emotion interplay with being in the "now", a state during which there is no emotion, imo.
I believe this is what Gallway, in his follow up book, called Self 3.
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We all know what our cars are supposed to do (get us where we want to go). And we know why (we need to go somewhere). But what do we do if it breaks, or maybe we want it to go faster? We have to take it to someone who knows HOW it works, and HOw to fix it.
There are hundreds of books, like The Inner Game of Golf, that tell you what you should be doing and why you should be doing it. I have probably read most of them. I tried to focus, visualize, relax etc.. It seemed the harder I tried, the more confused I got.
Once I learned HOW you actual do "focus", "visualize" etc., the acutual mechanics of how your machine works, every thing changed. If you knew HOW your car works, you could fix it, or make it go faster, yourself.
There is a price to pay to learn this new way of thinking, some work to be done. However, if you were happy with where you are at, you probably wouldnt be reading this. If you are not happy with where you are, your already paying a price, emotionally, for that.
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I still think that making sure that you are doing it to have fun, and are having fun, that you think right. Everything is easier, loose, focused upon, and enjoyable.
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Fun is the optimum state for success. When you are having fun, you are making representations, pictures, of what you want. You are in the zone. So why dont you have fun all the time? Your mind gets in the way. I guess all this stuff is about knowing HOW to creat "in the zone", and it involves running your mind consceiously, as opposed to allowing it to go unconscious. Knowing who YOU really are is a key component. Ill get into what i know about that after the next post.
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It sounds like a shortcut to the optimum mental state to me, what do you think Zeek?
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The Game of Black and White
Allen Watts was a philospher who specialized in the study of eastern philosophy. He lectured at leading educational institutions all over the world for over 40 years. One of his best known concepts was called The Game of Black and White. It is a way of looking at reality that goes to the core of understanding how successful people think.
We live in a world of dualities. Up and down, in and out, night and day, man and women, Etc.. Everything in the world exists only in relation to something else. Just as you can not have a one sided coin, you could not have up if you didn’t know what down was. And at the top of Allen Watts’ list of dualities was bad and good, or what he called the game of black and white. We all play the game of black and white. But according to Watts, the major cause of suffering in the world is that 95% of us play a version of the game called White Must Win.
We are told at an early age that the world is a dangerous place and black is something to be avoided at all cost’s. And so we live our lives thinking that somehow we can, we must defeat black, and then every thing will be alright. As a result, we are always disappointed, and suffer emotionally when we experience unwanted outcomes. Just as there must be a heads and a tails to a coin, there must be an equal amount of black and white in the world.
So is this good news or bad? Here’s what Watts says.
Successful people accept that there are going to be many adversities in the path to a goal. You can be assured that they have experienced as many unwanted outcomes as those that are not as successful. Probably more. But instead of seeing them as failure, they see them as arrows pointing to where they need to go. They simply learn, adjust, and take more action until they get what they want. With this way of looking at black, black becomes their friend. They continue to be motivated, and they don’t suffer negative emotions every time something doesn’t go their way.
Important: This does not mean that you cannot have more white than black in your life. The harder you work, and the more you understand this concept, the more successful you will be.. But there will always be adversities, and how you perceive these adversities will determine, ultimately, your peace, happiness and success.
Does this make sense? I am not sure I have explained it properly. I can only say that it was one of the most important concepts in my journey.
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I think what you are talking about is more what Todd Loffredo's take on using fear might have been alluding to. Something I used to do while competing in target archery is to tell myself that I couldn't buy a better venue to practice in, that being at a national shoot. And by putting it in that light it allowed me to come to the shooting line while working on my game which I think is a positive, thinking and learning while competing and coming away with a positive regardless of the final outcome. One thing I learned is that I could only control my play, my opponent was going to do what he was going to do. While arhery certainly is this way and you can affect the play of you opponent in foos, it still bears out that you are the center of what happens as it all comes through you in one form or another. And another truth is that you cannot do better than you can do so be true to your own game, not the one you wish you should be able to do. How's that Zeek? Did I come close? Something I would like to explore with you, Zeek, and others, is ego. I like to go into competition egoless. I know I can win if I conquer myself and that is my focus. Ego seems to need another person to compare to. Why would I want to go there? I will win if I win over myself. I'm interested what you think,,,
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so should i continue? theres much more interesting stuff.
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Friends,
Another key variable in the two sides viewpoint Zeek offered is the body's natural tendency to react then calm down, the homeostatic process which returns (or at least is usually trying to) the body to the neutral state after being stimulated. The 'in the zone' feeling has an associated feeling of contentment, when things just feel right, that you are equally aware of the many variables that play out during the course of a match (when to try this vs that, balance and creativity are all working well together). But then, when we are being beaten, the frustration or fear of losing or whatever other specific feeling is stimulated kicks in. Our bodies natural desire is to pull us back to that 'zen' state but what we do consciously when we are knocked out of that state directly affects how quickly (on a physiological level) our homeostatic system can overrule those emotions. A well timed time out can do wonders, if it is spent re-focusing on your own game vs. continuing to react emotionally to the other person's game and how it has you flustered, frustrated, or whatever else.
Just some thoughts.
Tyler
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I like what you are getting at Tyler as we aren't just talking about a single moment in time during a competition. That 'tendency to react then calm down' is certainly a truth that has to be dealt with due to the nature of our game. How many times do you hear about guys having to wait longer than they feel they should for their match and then blame it(a loss} on being cold. While I have my own ideas about that I would be interested in what Zeek has to say. As far as regrouping during a time-out I really got a kick out of the way one of the pro's(don't know his name) dealt with that. You may know who I'm talking about but he sits down on his side of the table, almost under it , his partner leaves him alone, and you can see that he is deep into self and visualization, maybe even verbally conversing with himself. He is totally oblivious of anyone else watching him. At first I thought it was a ploy, a conscious distraction technique aimed towards his opponents as it was so unusual to see, at least for me. But then I could see that his game remained at a consistent high level and it was indeed his way of staying in touch with his focus. Pretty cool to watch.
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So lets start getting into the HOW
So far i have been talking about my quest to figure out how the top golfers think. It
became obvious to me that something was missing in my game that was keeping me from
getting better and moving to the next level. I decided to concentrate my efforts on the
“mental game”, since working on my swing for 40 years had not gotten me to where I
wanted to be. I noticed that the “big boys” seemed to have a way of thinking that produce
the results they were getting. The two things I noticed most was that they knew HOW to handle the adversities of a round of golf, and they appeared to be having fun most
of the time. Bill Harris called this attitude being able to Let Whatever Happens Be OK. I realized
the golf swing was only half the equation for playing good golf! I spent 11 years
discovering and learning a new way of thinking and it changed not only my golf game,
but also my life.
What I have learned is based on understanding who I, the player, really am and
HOW my body and mind actually work. The YOU exercise below is the beginning of that
understanding.
YOU exercise
Find a quiet place, where you will not be interrupted, and give your complete
attention to the exercise. Take some time with this exercise. It is very important
As you are reading this, take a moment to notice the room you are in. Just watch
your surroundings. Easy enough.
Next, hold your hand up in front of you and wiggle your fingers. Just watch your
hand moving.
Now, pay attention to your breathing. Just notice as you breath in and out. Take a
few moments to do this.
Next, pay attention to your thoughts. Notice that you can actually watch them if
you try. Just watch.
Try to bring up some type of emotion. Imagine you just missed a 3 foot putt. Just
notice the emotion.
You can watch all these things, cant you?
.
Who is doing all this watching? If YOU can watch all these things, then they must
not be the real YOU!
The realization and experiencing of the REAL YOU is an amazing thing. Man has
been trying to describe and explain this “thing” that is YOU for thousands of years. It has
been describe as a point of consciousness or your spirit. One thing is certain, and that is
that YOU exist apart from the body you reside in. The YOU exercise will start you on the
road to realizing the real YOU. YOU are the captain of your ship. You are the one who
experiences the fun of foosball (or the “not fun“ of foosball). And YOU are the one who
determines how good you can be.
YOU/spirit have an amazing biological machine, your mind and body, that you
use to experience the real world. Your machine is designed to create for you anything you
ask of it, and it is really good at doing this. And there is nothing magical about the way it
does it. You experience your reality through actions and internal and external feelings,
and the results you get are based solely on the software in your computer. And once you
understand how this works, you can change the programs that are not resourceful and
begin to enter programs that get you what you want. It’s not that hard to do! One of the
main purposes of this information is to show you a way to run your machine to
create the best foosball (or anything else) you are capable of. I guarantee you that all successful people have learned to think this way.
This YOU/spirit thing is the only thing about thsi information that may
seem a little “mystical” or mysterious. But I know that if you will spend a little time
thinking about it, and experiencing it, you will realize that You/spirit really exist,
separately from your body and mind (computer and machine). Read the YOU exercise
several times if necessary.
In the last paragraph I said that you create your own reality based on what you focus
your mind on. And many of you are probably thinking something like “yeah
right, if I focus on hitting a perfect pullshot hard enough, I should magically
wake up one day with the ability to hit a perfect pullshot!” I didn’t say that.
Here’s how it really works.
When you focus on “hitting a perfect pullshot“, you have to make
pictures or representations, in your mind, of doing it, which sends a message to your
subconscious mind to create it. This causes you to take action! You begin to notice and
think about what actually makes a perfect pullshot. This causes you to read
books, watch videos and/or seek out people who know how to do it. You may realize that
you do not have the right mechanics, or you are not in good enough physical shape to do
it, which will cause you to start working out and eating properly. If your desire is strong
enough, focusing on “hitting a perfect pullshot” will cause you to take action to
learn what you need to create it.
Important: Remember that focusing on what you do not want, with the intention
of avoiding it, is the kiss of death! Your mind does not process the words, only the
pictures or representations you make in your head. And focusing on what you do not want
with the intention of avoiding it causes you to make pictures or representations of what
you do not want.
So, focusing on what we want, or do not want, creates the motivation to take
action to get it. The problem is our society teaches us that we must avoid danger in the
world, and thus we have developed the habit of focusing, unconsciously, on what we do
not want. And as you now know, this just gets you more of what you do not want. But
this is really the good news, because habits can be changed!
The process I have learned for making this change, from focusing on what you do
not want to focusing on what you want, has four main steps:
1) Understanding the mechanics of how you “focus”.
2) A method for recognizing when you are focusing on what you do not want, and then
neutralizing the pictures and representations you are making that are not resourceful.
3) A method for creating new and more resourceful “software” that will get you what you
want.
4) A method for committing your new, more resourceful, “software” to habit.
Mastering this four step process will change your game, and maybe other things in your life, in ways you cannot imagine.
The adversities of a game/match/life (and there will always be plenty of them) lose their
power over you because you now know HOW to use them as stepping stones to getting
what you want. Instead of unconsciously allowing them to create negative feelings and actions, you will understand HOW to take charge, consciously, of your game. Once you realize and experience this way of thinking, playing and learning, foosball will become fun, no matter what the situation may be!
Next: The mechanics of focusing
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P.S. dont be afraid to ask questions.
P.S.S. I have been a golf instructor for nearly 20 years (if anyone is interested)
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Interesting, about how a person focuses. In archery I read books that said to "burn a hole in the center of the bull", and I never got it. In fact I ended up with a horrendous case of target panic. It took me years to understand that there were two types of archers, ones who made it happen and the ones who let it happen, I was the latter. I couldn't use a pin, dot, or cross hair as a sight but I could use a ring to look through. The thing was is that I needed to see where the arrow would hit and I needed to simply trust that my subconscious would center that ring on the target and let it happen. My conscious action was to execute so that my hand would end up on my shoulder after the shot. I shot the style similar to the olympic archers, using a finger release and spring loaded wire that clicked when you pulled your arrow tip past it on the draw and aiming sequence. The only difference was I used a compound. At one point I was ranked 6th in the world, a far cry from when I had target panic and could miss the whole bale at 20yds, it was UGLY! So I wonder what that says about how I should approach this game. I never felt comfortable going with set shots but would rather create holes to shoot by moving the ball, causing reactions that I could exploit.
As far as not thinking about what I don't want, I've been working on that ever since you said that and about the pictures given to that part of the brain. It makes perfect sense to me. I'll have to think about the rest. Good stuff, keep'em coming. I don't think I'm the only one following this thread.
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John/Zeek,
Looking for the next installment...hanging on every word.
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You know, Charles, I've gone back through all the threads since I first came to this site and if there was any that could help the game of those who lurk around here I think this is it. We all work on the physical game, some are extraordinary in their skills. Yet this info is primo in my book. I think we should give Zeek/John a big thank you and a,"I want more" until we drain this guy,,lol. Just plain good stuff,,,
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OM,
I agree but that is because I am the kind of person who likes and can relate to this. As zeek said early on, not everyone responds to this sort of thing. I have 3 foos friends who are working on their game and I collected all zeeks stuff and put it into one document (with a little formatting and editing) and sent it as a training document. One of them for sure will benefit because he is for sure wired like that, one I am not certain but if he can tap in it will push his game to the next level, and the last one I wonder why I sent it because I don't think he will even read it and if he did I just don't think he will connect.
this isn't an intellect thing either because all of them are above average smarts and the one I don't think will connect has a genius IQ was in Mensa but despite that, he is a "natural" player. He plays a very intellegent/tricky game, as you would expect, but I really don't think he connects with or needs this so much. I think he is one of the people Zeek talks about who do this naturally and for those kind of people this might actually hurt making them consider things they don't need to.
I don't know for sure because I don't have enough experience with it but we will see. I know this should be able to help a ton of people though and I am certain it will help me.
either way, it is the as good as anything else I have read on the boards and for sure the most detailed. I hope John will keep going.
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I once tried to pick the brain of a kid who was on top of the archery heap, just a wonderful world class shooter. I asked him about his mental process, did he do this or that and he looked at me like I was nuts. He said if he thought about that stuff he'd never hit anything. A few years later a friend of mine won every pro discipline that year in three different world championships, indoors, outdoor target, and field. In short he was the best shooter in the world hands down. And yes he worked on his mental game and could relate perfectly. Like I said, there are two types. Those who execute on the conscious level and those who execute on the subconscious level. I would suspect that you, like me, are the latter just by your preference for the backpin game. Who has time to think, just act. I'm sure John know's who the golfer was back when. He, again, was THE guy and after winning everything there was to win was asked if he would write a How-to book. Apparently he never thought about how he did it, he just did it but he gave it his best shot. So in an effort to identify what he did he paid attention to everything he did and in the process he ruined his game. He never won again. Scary huh? Some can execute while controlling everything, some execute while being what we called brain dead. Flow is what works for that type, fun fits in nicely for that to happen. If there is anything that will mess up my game it is when my partner tells me to slow down as I'm seeking that "flow" and slow isn't it and that other game(deliberate set ups) isn't it. I am not saying I'm on par with these guys but Spree and Freddy seem to play "in flow". Do you think their partners would tell them to slow down? I guess that is a whole other discussion,,,
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I used to hate getting beat by people like that. The common belief was that you were born with the ability. Either you had it or you were screwed. Lucky for me they were wrong.
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Lucky for us
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tuna
i tried to send you a pm but your inbox was full. if you could pm me your email, i have a few questions.
zeek
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You still hitting the locals John?
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As you have probably figured out, I believe in concepts. Remember that concepts are ways of thinking about things. They are simply useful information and cannot in them selves do anything. Some are useful, but there are other concpts that are not useful. Ultimately, you place the meaning on them, based on your beliefs and values (ill get into beliefs and values a little later).
So here is another of my favorite resourceful concepts. The last one before I get into the nuts and bolts of HOW we create our reality.
REALITY
"Nothing is real, but words make it so"
Meatball, finals match, national championship. Forward gets the ball, sets it up, and strokes a long pull for the win. The forwaqrd is extatic. His reality is that this is the best thing that has ever happened. The goaly is devastated. His reality is that this is the worst thing that has ever happened. One event, two completely different realities. Which one is right? Your saying both. And your right. But how could that be?
First lets look at what really, really hapened.
A thing (the man) pulled another thing (the ball) a few inches, and then hit it into a place (hole). In the real world, thats all that happened!
The world is one big happening. Billions, trillions of happenings going on constantly every minute of every day. We place meaning on these happenings, based on the programming in our minds received from previous life experience, thus creating our reality.
And we can choose what meaning we place on these hapenings, if we know HOW.
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Hey Ice
Been playing at Clicks in arlington. I like those t3000s. Bankable. Havent seen you there lately. I actually won one the other night.
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As you have probably figured out, I believe in concepts. Remember that concepts are ways of thinking about things. They are simply useful information and cannot in them selves do anything. Some are useful, but there are other concpts that are not useful. Ultimately, you place the meaning on them, based on your beliefs and values (ill get into beliefs and values a little later).
So here is another of my favorite resourceful concepts. The last one before I get into the nuts and bolts of HOW we create our reality.
REALITY
"Nothing is real, but words make it so"
Meatball, finals match, national championship. Forward gets the ball, sets it up, and strokes a long pull for the win. The forwaqrd is extatic. His reality is that this is the best thing that has ever happened. The goaly is devastated. His reality is that this is the worst thing that has ever happened. One event, two completely different realities. Which one is right? Your saying both. And your right. But how could that be?
First lets look at what really, really hapened.
A thing (the man) pulled another thing (the ball) a few inches, and then hit it into a place (hole). In the real world, thats all that happened!
The world is one big happening. Billions, trillions of happenings going on constantly every minute of every day. We place meaning on these happenings, based on the programming in our minds received from previous life experience, thus creating our reality.
And we can choose what meaning we place on these hapenings, if we know HOW.
I like where you're going . I'll just sit back and take it in as I think I post too much of what I think, it's a Norwegian thing,,,
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I, for one, am totally digging this. Keep it up, it's been giving me a lot to think about and I'm looking forward to keeping this in mind tonight as I practice. A big thank you to all of you who have added to this thread.
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I know what you mean Big Brew, I just found myself in practice looking for the 'right picture'. Hey, it's true, that's how it works. Play the right video and you're smoking,, :D
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you just hit the nail on the head meister
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OK Zeek/John, at the risk of being too 'Norwegian" is it incomplete "pictures" that allow us to fall short or what? I can see where practice gives us reinforcement on our visuals. I'm not trying to put you on the spot because I know certainly that we have to strive for improvement and that improvement comes from practicing in the right way. But is it the ability to identify those visuals and ascertain whether they are complete and positive or incomplete thus less positive, thus needing more attention and honesty?
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Your forcing me to get ahead of myself here, but this goes to the heart of what i have learned.
Meister
We all have millions of videos/pictures stored in our amazing computer. Every event since the day we were born. Both positive and negative. When an event happens, we assign its priority, its strength, by how much emotion we ad to the event. The stronger the emotion, the more powerful the event is registered in your subconscious mind. This applies to both positive and negitive events. When you encounter another event of the same nature, your subconscious mind searches for simular events and calls up the recorded response. If this was an event of an unwanted outcome, and you reacted with strong negative emotion, your unconscious mind will reproduce this reaction. It thinks that is what you want! And if you allow this to happen unconsciously, you just reinforce the negative reaction and experience all the negative emotions. So not only do you reinforce the negative event, you get to suffer as well.
As for your question, you dont make incomplete pictures. You have many pictures of your shot, both positive and negative. If you have empowered the negative results more than the positive, you will get more negative results. Unless you understand this, and know how to program your machine. Im getting to that.
BigJ
The key to getting the most out of practice is to empower the positive results, and give no emotion to the unwanted results. I will be getting into how to do this. But for now, here are some suggestions.
1) Quality practice is more important than quantity practice.
2) Take the time to visualize what you want on every shot. Jack Nicklaus said "i never hit a shot without giving it my complete attention and intintion". Make this a part of your preshot routine.
3) When you achieve the shot you are looking for, take the time to relish the results. Add positive emotion. Pump your fist. Tiger does. (this is called anchoring)
4) When you get unwanted results, take the time to notice the negative emotions. Dont resist them. Just notice them with curiosity (this is important) and wait them out They will just fall away. You can learn to do this, and this sends a signal to your unconscious mind that you dont really want this reaction. I will show you a method for doing this.
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Well it's taking a little time to put together the next bit on "focusing mechanics". I want to make sure i can get it across and still keep it interesting. It involves a lot of detail. It will take a few days to get together. In the mean time, here's some interesting information I learned during my journey.
PERSONALITY TYPES
I attended several training seminars where they stress the importance of understanding the four basic personalities. The trainer I learned from teaches the personalities as precious gems, because all personalities are precious.
The Sapphire Personality.
This personality is motivated by fun. They are the life of any party.
- Trend Setters
- Trendy jewelry and bright hair colors
- Very expressive
- Very optimistic
- Positive thinkers
- Risk takers
- Tend to be disorganized
- Not timely (generally late to appointments)
- Love surprises
- Hate silence
- Don’t do things alone
- In their language…”rules are made to be BROKEN.”
The Sapphire’s gifts are…
1) Faith walkers
2) Dreamers
3) To encourage and motivate
The Sapphire needs to learn…
1) To stay focused and stay with a project
2) To become organized
The Second Personality is the Pearl Personality:
This personality is motivated by a cause. They love to help people
- Dress comfortably
- They like a natural look
- Love easy listening music
- Very spiritual – they love to help and serve
- Very loyal and encouraging
- Non-demanding and non-confrontational
- Enjoy routine
- Peacemakers
- Passionate people – they must have a cause
- Long term thinkers
The Pearl’s have the gift of…
1) To help and serve
2) Planners
3) Making a difference
The Pearl needs to learn…
1) Wisdom
2) Stop letting people take advantage of you
3) Stop giving without expecting a return. This leads to being hurt.
The Third Personality is the Emerald Personality:
This personality is motivated by facts and figures. They are very orderly and analytical.
- Large vocabulary
- Enjoy instruction
- Only personality that is on time
- They want the truth
- Predictable – very scheduled
- Perfectionists
- Well planned – No waste
- In their language…”rules are made to be FOLLOWED.”
The Emerald’s have the gift of…
1) Teaching
2) Wisdom
3) Order
The Emerald needs to learn…
1) It is not about being perfect, it is about getting the job done WITH results.
The Fourth Personality is the Ruby Personality:
This personality is motivated by a challenge. They are very goal oriented
- Intense
- Strong desire
- Focused
- Hate failure – very competitive
- Confident
- They want to be the best and are always sizing up their competition.
- Tend to be over committed
- They say yes to everything and have difficulty delegating
The Ruby Personality has the gift of…
1) Being open to being trained so they can be the best.
The Ruby Personality needs to learn…
1) Humble your confidence
2) Stop settling for peanuts
3) Remain teachable
4) Never stop setting goals
5) Find the best use of your time
6) Compete against personal best/Look in the mirror
7) List priorities
Understanding this information has come in handy for sizing up and deciding how to deal with people. Each personality has its place in certain situations, and the goal is to be able to put your self in the proper personality for the situation at hand. Plus its fun to try to determine a particular persons personality type. For example, what do you think is the best personality for a forward, goalie etc.
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fun and interesting...i have done many of these over the years as well as left brain right brain stuff
most everyone will fit one better than the others and many will find a trait or two from one of the other types
for me, I am like a split personality...the left brain/right brain thing I will score way right one time way left another and most times like dead center...I am a strong mix of 2 of 4 personality types and bits of the others on everyone of these I have done
they say balance is good but when you are in the middle of it, it is more like multi-personality disorder :D :(
one minute I am very creative dipping into the artist part of me and the next minute I am into organizing in detail some series of things as you see in my writing sometimes...I love free association and random bits but love order and linear thinking...I like high-level long term vision and principle oriented thinking but often get caught up in the details of now and the tyranny of the urgent – I like people and can be very interactive and fun but I am a loner too in many ways and the list goes on
keep it coming
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Introduction to focusing mechanics.
Turns out this is not easy for me. I know this information, but telling it turns out to be another story.
The secret to life is what you focus your mind on. There are many books telling athletes what to focus on and why they should be doing it. But they do not tell you HOW the process works. Understanding HOW the process works is the secret that the “big boys” know.
Most of the information I have been talking about so far is what’s and whys. The “concepts” are ways of thinking designed to help you understand why you should “let whatever happens be ok”. But these words are just interesting information unless you actually experience what they are telling you. That amazing computer you call your mind exists for one reason, and that is to create for you whatever you ask of it. And it is really good at doing this. It takes whatever you instruct it to do and figures out how to create it. the “secret” is understanding how to ask! The process of focusing is how you actually experience the information and, thus, program your mind to create it.
Most people habitually allow their minds to run on automatic (unconsciously) 95% of the time. When things are going their way, they are running their minds consciously. But as soon as something happens that is not what they wanted, they habitually switch to unconscious mode. The problem here is that when your mind is running on automatic, unconsciously, sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you don’t get what you want, and sometimes you get what you don’t want. The results you get when your mind is running unconsciously are based on programming you received when you were too young to have control of that programming. IMPORTANT: The next time you hear someone say that a successful person was born with their ability, either you have it or you don’t, understand that that person simply learned, at a younger age, how to run their mind consciously. You can learn to. And it’s never too late. I started when I was 50.
Next: the nuts and bolts (finally)
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"When things are going their way, they are running their minds consciously. But as soon as something happens that is not what they wanted, they habitually switch to unconscious mode." Huh,, I thought it was just the opposite, you know, the control thing.
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The ultimate goal is to be consciously unconscious. Learn how to get out of the way and let your amazing coimputer do what it knows how to do. Hopefully this will make sense soon.
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Ok grasshoppers I keep mess up my game by not thinking quick enough, to think.?? Help
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I always tried to be a conscious observer of my subconscious at work, giving it suggestions from time to time.
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once again you hit the nail on the head meister. i like "instructions" instead of "suggestions". easy to say, not so easy to do.
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unless you understand how.
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its sunday 2:30. anyone watching tiger? see if you can figure out how he is thinking and acting.
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he da man
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John, I find myself floating among the personalities. My biggest problem right now is focus. If playing forward, I can't seem to focus for more than a couple of games at a time. At goalie, I can maintain a higher level of play much longer, but I'm finding that I wear down much quicker than I used to. I attribute this to not playing enough and just getting older.
Get your shrink couch out, I may have to hit you up for a session.
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Lets address this conscious / unconscious thing.
Like a modern computer, our biological computer has three components. Processor / unconscious mind, input device / conscious mind, operator / YOU-spirit.
Our processor / unconscious mind is thousands of times more powerful than any mechanical processor yet invented. It is capable of doing thousands of tasks every second of every day. it monitors our breathing, heartbeat, movements, speach, the movement of every part of our body, literally every cell in our body. At the same time it receives comands from us to accomplish what we ask of it.
Our input device / conscious mind sends messages to the unconscious mind telling it what we (you -spirit) want. This part of our mind can handle five, plus or minus two, bits of information at a time. We use our conscious mind to build the representations / pictures that tell the unconscious mind what we are asking.
YOU - spirit are the operator. You use your conscious mind to tell your unconsciuos mind to figure out how to create what you want.
I believe this is how we work. All my information is based on this concept.
When I refered to "going unconscious" in a previous post, i meant that we stop using our conscious mind to give instructions. Or we allow it to start making pictures of what we dont want, with the intention of avoiding it.
If we are trying to shoot a pull shot, there is no way we can do it with our conscious mind. There is no way it can handle all the movements and processes necessary to do the shot.
As I have said before, the goal is to learn HOW to run our conscious mind in a way that asks the unconscious mind for what we want. Then we have to learn to trust our unconscious mind to do its thing.
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Hey Mark, sup
as you know, i am up there in age myself. But i still have the physical ability to be a top notch player. And here lately i find my self wanting to play again. And im having fun doing it. My desire is driving me to do what i need to do. I have watched you play enough to know that you have the ability to be a top player.
While age does have a role in our physical ability, I dont think it has affected my mental ability. To be a really top level player i will probably have to work some on my conditioning. But if my desire is strong enough, i can do that.
We have a tendancy to use our age as an excuse. But dont forget that with age comes wisdom, and we can use that to beat the flatbellies.
Check your level of desire. Be honest with yourself! If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to do it. You will find the old focus you had way back when. Note: (and understanding this stuff ive been talking about will give you a new weapon to work with) If you find that you dont want it bad enough, you have two choices. You can work at ramping up that desire. Or you can let it be ok. Either way, dont let this silly game get in the way of having fun.
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Ah,, desire. Good topic as it sometimes gets lost in satisfaction or appreciation of the art of our sport. When the testosterone isn't flowing unchecked as these youngsters seem to have, then it seems it is the sensible mind that has to motivate us, as in, "It is the most fun when I win so I will do what I need to to make that happen." Such it is with the boomers. I really enjoy the young players, their drive to be dominant and to deliver lessons of reality so as to them so they keep grounded. ;D
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Ok grasshoppers I keep mess up my game by not thinking quick enough, to think.?? Help
Mr. Steve, try this. It has everything to do with this thread.
Have set and predetermined TRIGGERS for certain situations. In other words, you have already thought out solutions to problems you may encounter beforehand thus freeing your mind to go unconscious.
Ex., last Sat. I played against John twice in which I scored pretty well against him. I later told him what he could change to make his D better. What I told him about what he was doing wrong is what I used as a trigger to shot on him. I knew he was getting better blocking so I figured I would use my trigger reading method of reading his D. In other words, when I saw the trigger, I fired, I didn't think, there was no need to.... because I already have beforehand which in turn freed my mind and body to execute as one.
There is another form of practice I have never mentioned that I know John knows all about. I also practice situations mentally in my head so when they come up, I don't have to think about what to do. I have gone over it a million times in my head already. It's partly what happens when someone is in that unconscious ZONE. No matter what you do, they have an answer because they have been there mentally a million times. They have freed their minds of petty thoughts and just let the mind and body become as one.
Many years ago a study was done with one guy, three situations. First, he practiced free throws over a given period of time and then shot a predetermined number to get a percentage. 2nd, he did not practice at all and the shot the same number of predetermined shots for a percentage. Last, he spent the same amount of time practicing as he did the first time only he did it mentally without a ball by just visualizing it. The percentage he had when he didn't practice was terrible which was no surprise. However, the percentages of the first and the third were almost identical even though he didn't even touch a ball which was very surprising. In other words, his mind was free in the last trial and his body followed through with the execution.
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its a proven fact that if you can visualize what you want, and add the positive emotion to it (as in ices example) the unconscious mind can not tell the difference between the visualization and an actual happening. Visualization, in a positive way, during meditation is an awesome way to practice. I keep putting this in some of my posts, but it is a key point - If you visualize what you dont want, with the intention of avoiding it, you only ask for more of what you dont want.
Also about triggers. a trigger is a picture you make in your conscious mind. If you have tied it to the action you want, the unconscious mind will make it happen. (Note: this picture can be of an event, but it can also be of a situation.) And it can make it happen instantaniously if you have learned not to interfer.
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That trigger stuff is some great information. You see, this is what I love about this thread. Guys in the know, putting into words something you might have brushed on but didn't fully understand. Oh please keep on going. Good good stuff,,,
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The Four Stages of Learning
Stage 1 - Unconsciously Unconscious
You dont have a clue. You walk in to a place and see some people playing foosball. There is a guy shooting a rollover. You are amazed. You dont know what he is doing, but you think it is pretty neat. When they leave, you decide to put in a few quarters and try to do what he was doing. If your interest is strong enough, you move to stage 2.
Stage 2 - Consciously Unconscious
You realize that there is a lot more to this game than you thought. A sign on the wall says there is a tournament every thursday night. You come down and watch. You get to see a few good players. You realize that there is a lot of skill involved. And your thinking you might like to compete. You find yourself coming down a few nights a week and spending some quarters. You realize that you dont know how to play. If your desire is strong enough, you decide you want to learn. You start paying attention to the good players, asking questions, and working a little on your game. You decide what shot you are going to use, and set out to learn it. 75% of the people dont get past this stage. They find out how much work they are going to have do and decide, for whatever reason, that they are not willing to do it. The other 25% move to stage three.
Stage 3 - Consciously Conscious
You made the commitment. You have put in time and work. You have developed a decent game. Maybe you have done well in a few of the local tournaments. You now know how to shoot your shot. But you still have to pay attention to the shot when you are shooting it. You find that if you dont focus on the shot every time you shoot it, you still cant make it happen when you need to. You realize that the top players seem to execute most of the time during the heat of a match. You are down to the nuttcuttin! How bad do you want it? Maybe 20% of the remaing players dont get past this stage. I have noticed that there are a lot of playres at this stage today. Either they are not willing to do the work necessary, or they want to be a top player, but just dont know HOW to get there. It requires dedication and strong desire to move to stage 4. According to Bill Harris, about 5% move on.
Stage 4 - Consciously Unconscious
You decided you want to be one of the best. You made your game a major purpose in your life. You have a burning desire to be the best. You now play in every tournamet you can find. You practice hard and you understand how to practice. Your shot is now a habit. All you have to do is think (make a picture) of the shot and your unconscious mind makes it happen. Now you can place your attention on the nuances of the game. Shot defences, goalie defences, mental game etc. Now you are ready to become a 2%er, or what we call in golf one of the big boys.
Before you can start a journey, you have to know where you are. If you want to go to San Francisco, but you dont know where you are, how are you going to know which direction to go. It is very imortant to know what stage you are at on the learning curve. And it is extemely important to be brutaly honest with yourself when you are determining this.
When I started playing the mini tours, and working hard at my game, I also started taking Taekwondo to work on my conditioning. Jin Chung was my instructor. Master Chung was 5 time Korean middle weight champion and an 8th degree black belt. He loved to play golf. He was a master at the broken sentance metaphors you often hear. We used to play every time i was in town. Sometimes I would go out and play pretty good in a tournament, but when I would come back into town and play with Master Chung, I would often shoot 4,5,6 over par. This would piss me off. Master Chung would say "You not know how good you are", This happened several times, and always he would just say "you not know how good you are" and let it go at that. Finally one day, after a particulary frustating round, Master Chung said "You not know how good you are", and I said "if I should be shooting under par all the time then why dont I?" Master Chung replied "when I say you dont know how good you are, I mean you think you are better than you are."
One of the biggest drawbacks to progressing in the learning curve is thinking you are better than you are.
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Full circle! American idol syndrome. Somebody once pointed that out to me,,, ;)
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John (zeek)....
please continue....I'm (we're) interested as to where you're going with the Master Chung comment.
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Theres really nothing more about the chung story. He was trying to teach me something about expectations. I have several more chungisms if the oportunity presents itself. I have my next post nearly ready.
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Well, I’m still struggling with this mental mechanics thing. There is just so much to it that I could do a post a day for the next month. Just to give you an idea, it involves such things as your internal map (ego), beliefs, values, generalizations, strategies, how you process information, how you receive information from the outside world, how you use this information to form internal representations (pictures), the roll of emotions, and much more. I’m working on a condensed version. But it will take a while, if yall are still interested.
In the mean time, I have decided to get down to the most important two things I learned. Understanding the Personal Responsibility principle is the key to using all this information. Understanding the Witness method changed my life. Its how I went from an uptight, pissed off all of the time person to someone who is happy and peaceful, and having fun most of the time. (Not all the time, but much more than before).
This is a tough one for most people to get. It was for me. But I was determined, and once I understood these next two things, a lot of stuff changed in my life.
Personal Responsibility
You must understand that whatever happens to you comes from inside you. It is your perception of a happening that determines its reality to you!
We have all learned to play the blame game. Something happens outside of us, and if it was not something we wanted to happen, we have learned to place blame on that happening. Someone says or does something we “don’t like”, or we do something and don’t get the results we wanted, and our internal map, our “ego” has been programmed to place fault somewhere. We blame the happening, or we blame ourselves for somehow causing the happening. We react in a negative way both physically and emotionally. Our body releases chemicals in to our system that cause us to feel bad. We begin to focus on what we don’t want, with the intention of avoiding it. Basically, we suffer. This is a learned reaction!
Blame insinuates that we have done something wrong. This is simply not the case. We react to a happening based on the programming in our unconscious mind. We learned these reactions when we were too young to have control of that programming.
Personal responsibility is about accepting that we place the meaning on all the happenings that are going on in our lives. Stuff happens. But we choose what meanings we put on that stuff, thus creating our reality, our experience of life. We have some control over what happens in our immediate life. And we can work at creating the life we want. But we have virtually no control over what happens in the outside world (basically because there are millions of other people out there trying to get what they want). Placing blame on these outside happenings is playing white must win.
So, personal responsibility is about doing away with the blame game. It’s about understanding that it’s not things that happen outside of us that create our reality, it’s our perception of those things. It’s about learning to accept and deal with all the happenings that we cannot control. It’s about realizing that we can place meanings, on all happenings, that will allow us to create peace, happiness and success in our lives. It’s about letting whatever happens be ok,.
Please do not be afraid to ask questions about this. As I said, it was a tough one for me and I want those who are interested to understand it.
Next the most important thing I have learned!
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Quote from Zeek
Next the most important thing I have learned!
I was gonna say something but I'm gonna hold my tongue.
And tell Dave to relax will ya, lol.
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real men dont need to shoot straights
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hahahahahaha
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real men dont need to shoot straights
But they do anyway ,,,,,, because THEY CAN....
Brings a new meaning to the term "Straight-shootin' Son-of-a-Gun..."
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Iron men don't let them shoot straights,,, ;)
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Real men "Favor no hole"
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The last few posts are about an inside joke. Doesnt anyone have a question about personal responsibility?
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I want to hear everything you have to say as this has been a great thread in helping me. Personal responsibility, is that about being honest with yourself or something else?
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Meister
I think the "learning" post was more about being honest with yourself.
Personal responsibility is about accepting who "yourself" really is. If you can accept that the YOU you think you are is just a concept, biocomputer software, stored in your subconscious mind, then YOU are free to change those things about you that dont get you what you want. Just as you can remove old software and install new, more useful software in your PC, you can do the same with your "ego". My next post deals with disempowering the old software you have that is not getting you what you want.
I could not tell from your post if you had read the Personal responsibility post?
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Seems to be getting a bit tight in this here thread... Can we be impersonably irresponsible for just a sec?
I don't mind if you throw a pull or a push or a snake or a dink or Camus or Nietsche or even a Heineken bottle at me ,,,, as long as they don't give me a mental lobotomy.
8) :o :P
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Do you sometimes feel you know more than you need to know about more than you need to know about and not enough about what you know you ought to know more about?
Just wondering.........................................Tyler
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Tyler, there are those who absolutely don't need nor would benefit from this information. It actually would clutter their minds and inhibit their performance. It comes down to personality types and the way we go about learning and executing. It comes down to the question,"Why?". Some need to know and some could care less. Good coaches study the "why?" but might not burden their student with it but rather might give them a task that helps the student achieve the needed skill in a simple and effective manner. It may well be true that those of us who study all the intricacies actually have a harder time dominating as it is still the reactive "caveman brain" that provides the execution needed to win and all this understanding is for naught unless it can be channeled and put in it's place.
Zeek, I re-read the personal responsibility post and will have to read it again for it all to sink in(again, that Norwegian thing) as there is a lot to chew on. I feel I utilized that discipline this weekend at a good sized tournament. There were a good number of pro's, some highly rated, at this tournament. I'm one of those boomers who have come back to the game about 2 years ago and have steadily worked on recapturing my game. So I had the pleasure of playing these wonderfully talented players from the vantage point of pure fun and I found myself winning matches and frustrating people who I read about. I was calm yet energized, friendly yet a real thorn in their side. I just had a blast! My demeanor was real, I was relaxed and having fun and was honest about what I could do and couldn't. This is the value of what you're talking about, the ability to approach the game in this mind-set. Thanks, it hasn't fallen on deaf ears and keep it coming if you want.
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OM,
This is a great thread! Killah reminded me of a shirt my mom had. She was a heavy duty, detail oriented, everything had to be logical professional that would, just for occasional levity, wear that shirt for a quick 'catch your breath before digesting more'. My attempt at levity was not intended to diminish anything, but different personatlity types take things differently I guess.
Again, this is a great thread, please keep it going!
Tyler
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Hi there, I think I haven't posted in this thread yet but I'm reading it with much much attention, especially since these things can not only improve the game, but also life !
So first intention of this post is to tell you to keep that thread going !! :D
Then as you seem to be looking for comments I'll give one of my experience :
I had a league game* yesterday and things went all wrong, even though I knew I had to let it be ok and stay cool and relaxed I couldn't help but getting angry, talking *** about my game while playing and you know, finally loosing motivation...
It's something that happens to me pretty rarely (my partner was almost shocked lol), and even more rarely since I'm aware of the "mental game" !
So when I read this :
"We have all learned to play the blame game. Something happens outside of us, and if it was not something we wanted to happen, we have learned to place blame on that happening. Someone says or does something we “don’t like”, or we do something and don’t get the results we wanted, and our internal map, our “ego” has been programmed to place fault somewhere. We blame the happening, or we blame ourselves for somehow causing the happening. We react in a negative way both physically and emotionally. Our body releases chemicals in to our system that cause us to feel bad. We begin to focus on what we don’t want, with the intention of avoiding it. Basically, we suffer. This is a learned reaction!"
I saw myself a lot in yesterday's game blaming almost everything, so I'll try to list these things and then I'd like you to tell me HOW I should have reacted to these things, to keep being peaceful and even if we had eventually lost I would have been happy with it, because I would have given everything I had.
So what I THINK happened that got me out of the game :
a) Played a lot the night before, didn't sleep a lot and therefore was far from the top physically
b) I'm allergic to pollens, and it's springtime, so my allergy is sucking down a lot of my energy to fight... And it affects my general mood in general
c) The other local team had unfortunately to play there as well, so we had to play on another table in another place
d) Light sucked hard, hard to see clearly the ball while it was moving, as we switched side it got better for this point
e) Ground was not perfectly flat so it affected a lot our passing game
f) One guy of the facing team is a real ball sucker, you know the type of guy, seems whatever you do or happens on the table the ball ends up on his 3 bar 80% of the time. (Thing is usually I am that guy on the table :P)
g) Shot really too fast without success
Well that's mainly it, what bugs me the most is that some weeks ago we had kinda the same type of match, I started bragging on myself in the first few games after each missed pass or shot, and at some point I managed to tell myself to stop being negative, to shut up and just focus on the game and it worked really really well, actually the facing team started to loose their nerves and it was really great to see the inner game working that well :)
Maybe as I was a bit down physically and mentally, I should have try to not play that hard, and change a bit my style and game plan to a more slow paced and relaxed game to let my energy last the whole match. Or maybe I should have prepared myself mentally to have those moments where I wouldn't play my best, as I wasn't on top before the match ? Like if I knew I wasn't going to play my best game it would have been easier to me to accept my misses ? Am I expecting to much of my game ? "Do I not know how good I am" ? ;)
*Our league is played like tennis scorewise, ie we play series of games to 6 points, first to win 6 games wins the set and first to win 2 sets win the match, so a match in 3 sets (33 games max) can last up to 4 hours...
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Tiger Woods' dad would harass him while he was playing, trying to do everything he could to distract him. The lesson was to be able to perform in the worst of circumstances. How can you practice that without being in the worst of circumstances. So next time it seems all wrong, smile, now you get your chance to work on it. By doing so you just made a negative into a positive. Another thing I've learned is to never vocally put yourself down, just don't do it. Not in a game or otherwise. If you're not happy with parts of your game then work on them but be honest about it to yourself not those who want to dominate you. You don't owe them any explanation and certainly don't need to diminish yourself. The game is fun, you win and lose and then you work on what caused you to lose so that you win more. Create your own internal atmosphere, think about what you would like to happen, how you want to execute. Do this to please yourself not in answer to your opponent, that's just the person on the other side of the table, you are on this side, your side. You get to make anything you want happen on this side and it is fun to do so.
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you all thought bbt must not be following this any more but you would be wrong
Joey, good post, honest, and lots of potential for adjustments
OM, like that last post , others too of course but I liked that last line as a quote but I am going to edit it a bit
Do this to please yourself not to answer your opponent, that's just the person on the other side of the table, you are on this side and you get to make anything you want happen on this side.
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I like your edit too Bb. Cool!
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The reason I like questions is because sometimes I am not sure I am getting my message across properly. Your questions give me a chance to, hopefully, clarify the information and explain it better..
Fooskilla wrote:
Seems to be getting a bit tight in this here thread... Can we be impersonably irresponsible for just a sec?
I don't mind if you throw a pull or a push or a snake or a dink or Camus or Nietsche or even a Heineken bottle at me ,,,, as long as they don't give me a mental lobotomy.
This stuff can be confusing. You have to want to learn it to hang in there. If you are happy with the results you are getting, let that be ok. But if there are some things in your game / life that you would like to change, I am showing a way of thinking that will get that for you. If you will be patient, and if you want to learn this, it will make sense eventually.
Oldmeister wrote:
Tyler, there are those who absolutely don't need nor would benefit from this information. It actually would clutter their minds and inhibit their performance. It comes down to personality types and the way we go about learning and executing. It comes down to the question, "Why?". Some need to know and some could care less. Good coaches study the "why?" but might not burden their student with it but rather might give them a task that helps the student achieve the needed skill in a simple and effective manner. It may well be true that those of us who study all the intricacies actually have a harder time dominating as it is still the reactive "caveman brain" that provides the execution needed to win and all this understanding is for naught unless it can be channeled and put in it's place.
Zeek, I re-read the personal responsibility post and will have to read it again for it all to sink in(again, that Norwegian thing) as there is a lot to chew on. I feel I utilized that discipline this weekend at a good sized tournament. There were a good number of pro's, some highly rated, at this tournament. I'm one of those boomers who have come back to the game about 2 years ago and have steadily worked on recapturing my game. So I had the pleasure of playing these wonderfully talented players from the vantage point of pure fun and I found myself winning matches and frustrating people who I read about. I was calm yet energized, friendly yet a real thorn in their side. I just had a blast! My demeanor was real, I was relaxed and having fun and was honest about what I could do and couldn't. This is the value of what you're talking about, the ability to approach the game in this mind-set. Thanks, it hasn't fallen on deaf ears and keep it coming if you want.
Hopefully you are beginning to understand that all that “clutter” is just learned software, running automatically and unconsciously. My stuff is about taking charge of your mind and stopping it from running on automatic. Once you do this, the “clutter” loses its power and eventually ceases.
Sounds like you got into a fairly peaceful state of mind at that tournament. And more importantly it sounds like you recognized it when it was happening. The state of peace/fun is when you are most receptive to learning. The more you pay attention to how you were thinking and acting during these times, the easier it will be to create the state again. Eventually it will be come habit.
Joey
Most of the things you listed were negative in nature. All the reasons you listed were reasons why you could lose the match. Your mind was focused on not losing the match, with the intention of avoiding losing the match. All of these things required you to make pictures of “losing the match” (remember that there is no fault or blame here. Its just the way most peoples software has learned to react). These pictures were being created automatically and unconsciously.
This could be because you have developed a belief (software program), sometime in your previous life experience, that everything must be perfect before you can win. This is playing white must win. It will never happen!
What we are working on in these posts is how to get the most out of what we have at the time. Successful people are successful in spite of the adversities. They have learned to disempower the negative thoughts/images and immediately switch to, focus on, what they want.
You did this in that previous match you talked about! As I said above, the key to using this experience is knowing to pay attention to how you are thinking and acting when it is happening. This is how you begin to change the unwanted programs to programs that will get you what you want.
My next two posts should be very helpful in understanding how to do this.
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I'm absolutely stock-sure that there are one, two, maybe three dozen really excellent little truths in this thread that make so much sense once you get or "ken" them.
My little wordplay is because alas, with all the beginners and scrubs I've had the acute pleasure of encouraging, training, goading, and cajoling, I swear that sometimes, just describing a basic triangle intensely cluttered their minds! Like a new turn on an old phrase:
"Hey You! Don't just do something! Stand there!".. Idle hands in motion are often the Hacker's recroom.
I just want you all to know I'm keeping up on this thread... always looking for analogies or examples to pass on. BUT DON'T EVUH FUGGIT DAH PHUN! Comic relief is important, especially with such intense discourses and discussions.
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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
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Zeek, I think everyone has said that they are all ears in their own way. This is THE biggest and responded to thread yet on foosball.com and for good reason, this is good stuff. This is why we come here, to better our game. :)
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We have been talking about the “software” in our unconscious minds that controls how we think, feel and act. Some of this software is positive in nature, and helps us get what we want. Some of it is negative in nature and creates out comes we do not want. So why is some of this programming positive and some negative? And why and how do we create this software? I decided I needed to do this post before I get to the witness thing.
The Safety Issue
We receive information from the outside world thru our five senses. Sight, hearing, taste smell and touch. We use this information, in our conscious mind, to form the images that tell our unconscious mind what we want. Before this information reaches the conscious mind, it passes thru a series of filters. There are several of these filters, but the main two are beliefs and values. We form these filters usually before the age of 11, well before we are old enough to have control of this process. And they are formed based on what will keep us safe in this early environment.
Example: You have two older brothers or sisters. They are always teasing you, maybe even abusing you physically. You try fighting back, but this just gets you in trouble with your parents for fighting. Then one day while they are picking on you, you start crying and run to your dad to tell him what happened. He gets really mad at them and punishes them. You do the same thing next time, and it works again. Your unconscious mind gets the message that crying is a way to keep you safe when things are not going your way. You form the belief that crying is an excellent way to react to unwanted outcomes.
While this belief may work well in that family environment, it is obviously not a good strategy when you get out in the real world. Your boss wont take kindly to that reaction!
Another Example: Your parents or primary caregivers constantly tell you that you are not a loveable person. Every time you do something to try to make them love you, they scold you and tell you to stop acting so emotional (not their fault. Just they way their internal map was formed). If this happens enough, and enough emotion is involved, you develop the belief that you are not loveable. Later in your life, you find it impossible to develop a loving relationship with another person.
Keep in mind that you unconscious mind is your “geni”. Its sole purpose for existing is to keep you safe and happy. It will do whatever it has to do to make your experience of life conform to your beliefs.
So, if you have developed the belief that you are not a loveable person, your unconscious mind will do whatever it has to do to keep you from getting in a situation where you might develop a loving relationship. It will sabotage every opportunity because it thinks it is not safe to do so. Its just giving you what it thinks you want!
These are just two examples of the thousands, even millions of beliefs you may have formed about all the happenings in your life. Some beliefs are very resourceful and help you get what you want. Obviously some are not. The goal is to keep the ones that are resourceful, and change the ones that are not.
Add On: Beliefs are ideas that we hold to be true. Notice that i did not say they are true. They always seem true to the person that holds them. But in reality they are just concepts, and therefore changeable.
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Zeek,
As usual, more good stuff added and I must say you are doing a nice job of serving up information in an easy to grasp order - meaning you lay the foundation first before building on it.
If I may correct one thing - humans actually have 7 senses (I always get a kick out of 'he has a sixth sense', LOL). Along with the 5 you mentioned, we also have a kinesthetic sense (movement and body posture) and a sense of balance (located in the ear but completely separate from hearing). All 7 factor into your comments so I figured it would be worth mentioning.
Thanks for your well organized presentation..............................................Tyler
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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
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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/ (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 (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
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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"....
:o 8) :o
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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....
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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Zeek, that witness thing is really interesting. I'm going to mull that one over. Thanks for your posts on this thread.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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So many times these processes are about an epiphany, a moment of clarity about what is described. It takes an open mind, a willingness to learn, the realization that there are things to be learned, the intelligence to know when something is being taught that you should learn, the time to put it in practice and the where-with-all to know what you are trying to accomplish. I don't know about anyone else but I suspect this thread has been watched by many and I want to thank Zeek Mullins for the wonderful lessons about what really makes a person into the best competitor that person might be. Kudos Zeek and thank you!
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John, I hope you show up for Texas state. I need a shrink to help me maintain my focus. I also need you there so I won't be the oldest dinosaur in the room. ;)
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very funny mark. Ill be there. thanks om. im having fun doing this. I am getting down to the end of this part, and the last thing i will do is give a method for uaing all this stuff and creating anything you want.
I origionally started learning all this stuff to become a better golfer, a competitor. What i learned was that being peaceful, happy and content with your life is a requirement to being successful. I hope i have conveyed this.
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i am very supportive of the thread but you got me with this last statement "being peaceful, happy and content with your life is a requirement to being successful"
this is NOT universally true...there have been and are many people in all walks of life who have been "OCD, insecure, driven, and dis-content" have been "successful" in life
well, unless of course you define "success" as "being peaceful, happy, and content" but I don't think that is what you were saying
I personally think living like that is the most important thing about life but it isn't a formula for "success" as defined by most people and alone, it won't make you a winner in competitive things
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Touche', BBT,
I would say from an Eastern (translated to: Non-Occidental) point of view, that life is an extended series of moments or points of clarity, or complete darkness and confusion. Some are assuredly moments of "being peaceful, happy and content with one's life," while other moments are exactly that: moments, often of clarity as well, where one worries WHAT ARE THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS to attain "being peaceful, happy and content with one's life AND successful as well."
:-\ :o ;D
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Napoleon Hill (think and grow rich) wrote another book, i think it was called The Twelve Riches of Life. The first 11 riches were spiritual riches. The twelth was material success. He put material success last because he came to the conclusion that if you had the first eleven, material success became easy to achieve. Many people think its the other way around. that material success brings peace and happiness.
I guess it depends on your definition of success. "Success" to one can be considered failure by someone else. Its just a concept. Same with "worry".
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Napoleon Hill (think and grow rich) wrote another book, i think it was called The Twelve Riches of Life. The first 11 riches were spiritual riches. The twelth was material success. He put material success last because he came to the conclusion that if you had the first eleven, material success became easy to achieve. Many people think its the other way around. that material success brings peace and happiness.
I guess it depends on your definition of success. "Success" to one can be considered failure by someone else. Its just a concept. Same with "worry".
I'd have to say "Many people think..." is attractive, because if you achieve material success first, then you've prolly immensely enjoyed the challenge to getting wealthy, AND THEN you can concentrate on achieving the other 11 Riches of Life, with no sweat... nor pre-diabetes, most of your natural teeth, not as much gray or white hair, less ex-wives or ex-husbands, your house or pad on "Cribs", a nicer car or truck to ponder the vicissitudes of "dah foos life.." in, and you can actually theorize on the concept of failure, or worry, which you will never achieve or really grasp, (oh no! alas!) anyway. :P
Otherwise you'd have to write a book about the 11 first Riches of Life, to mislead the others while you're overtaking their dumb *sses, enroute to the cookie jar. SHOTGUN!! ;D 8)
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Ive just decided to choose peaceful and happy first. at the very least i get to be a happy dumbass.
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You're not dumb.
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okay, sorry to get you off track, I see I am not going to get a straight response to this......it doesn't invalidate your premiss, just thinking outloud with you like I would if we were sitting and drinking a cold one together and jawing about life....
at the same time, I think it would be best to hide the cookies from Killa
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at the same time, I think it would be best to hide the cookies from Killa
CHOMP CHOMP CHOMMMPPP! KHOOOOUUUKEEEEEEE!
YUM YUM CHOMP!
__________________________________________________________________
LIFE IS A BROKEN COOKIE JAR! WHO IS NOT GUILTY?
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tks ice. Im working on the rest of it
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tuna
I definately believe you can have peace, hapiness and material success. It is human nature to be striving toward a goal. But i have known a lot of people who have achieved some level of material success that were miserable most of the time (i was one). I have known a few who were happy and successful. And it seemed to me that this group of people just attracted more success. It appeared easy for them.
I got my fill of being in the first group, and then decided to learn how the second group worked.
What i learned is that a major part of their definition of success includes being peaceful and happy.
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Materialism, who would you rather be, Brendan or Freddy? Both love the game, one is rich and helps it grow, the other is out of this world skilled and ,thus, helps it grow just by playing. What means more to you?
I tell my boss about my fly fishing trips that I do when we don't have work and he loves to fly fish but can't because he's trying to make more money, who is richer, what is being rich? No I can't fly to any tournament that I want on a given moment yet a road trip someday will be soooo sweet! The anticipation is what makes it so. I hope that those things I hold precious never become commonplace. I think I am peaceful and happy. Someday I want to pull a surprise visit on Bbtuna and he and I go try to impress each other with our 70's throwback games at the expense of anyone whose around to play all the while him showing me how Absinthe has it's own peculiar qualities . That's being rich, peaceful and happy. Life can be really good if you don't ask more than you should and look where you should for the good stuff.
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• I believe the most positive way to live life, every area of life, is to be PHC
• I think the most meaningful result of an individual life is PHC (outside man’s personal relationship with his personal God-I say this in the context of committed Christian but others could read it there own way)
• I believe PHC defines real success for people regardless of what a dictionary or society may say
• I believe in the things Zeek is writing about up to this
• I believe in absolute truth but PHC being a requirement for success (when defined as winning) is not one of them
i wasn't referring to materialism...what I was saying is that in the context of this conversation, "success" is defined as "learning to win" or "learning to control the mental side of the game to get the most out of your game that you can get"
Zeek said, " What i learned was that being peaceful, happy and content with your life is a requirement to being successful."
I assume Zeek meant this about the entire approach he has been talking about regarding controlling the mental part of your game and why some people with like skills win and other don't - if he didn't, it is a "Non Sequitur (""It does not follow"" - This is the simple fallacy of stating, as a conclusion, something that does not strictly follow from the premises.)
I also assume Zeek meant this about "life" overall...but the statement applies to his ideas on why some win and others like skilled don't win
and Zeek says, "being peaceful, happy, and content {PHC} with your life" - PHC with your LIFE...your whole life...that is problem number one
second problem I have is that it is a prerequisite for this theory to work...remember these ideas are what Zeek discovered are the differences between those who win and those who do not win (regularly)
so, Zeek is saying, for people to be successful (in this context meaning win regularly) you have to be PHC
I am saying, this is simply NOT true...it may be true for him and true for some others who can not be 'successful' (win regularly) unless they have PHC but it is NOT a universal truth...meaning, it is not true for all people under all circumstances
While you all ruminate on this, I am going to get Killa’s cookies
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let me start by saying that i do not believe that my information is the only way to look at things. If i have insinuated this at any time, which it seems i may have, i sincerely apologize for that. There are as many ways of percieving life/reality as there are stars in the sky. My stuff is just a way that i have found that works for me, and i have fun sharing it when i get the chance.
So heres some more of my stuff.
My desire now days is to be happy, to enjoy my life. It is my belief that winning foosball matches, making a lot of money or whatever are a by product of being happy, having fun. So, yes, from my point of view peace and hapiness are a requirement for true winning. Until i began to believe this, i was never able to enjoy and appreciate my success". They were not true "winning". And when i did not get a desired result, i was devistated. I rarely got to have fun.(killah might find it interesting that i only have five of my origional teeth, and my hair is snow white).
Since adopting my new way of thinking and acting, i now have fun when i win a match. And i have fun when i lose a match.
For me it was a matter of perception. And i discovered that I can choose the way I percieve my life. You can choose to be happy and successful if you really want to, and are willing to do the work required. My stuff is just one way of doing it.
Side Note: I started playing again recently after 30 years layoff. I am strictly a goaly. I play 3 nights a week at Clicks Billiards in Arlington Texas. I have progressed from total retard to decent. I actually block an occasional freakin rollover. And im learning some shots to clear the ball. My biggest challenge right now is trapping the ball in my area (i was better at that when i had all my teeth). But im getting better and learning every night. Great fun. If your a forward know that some day, im comming for you.
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So...as a goalie who has been playing a lot of forward....are you coming for me too? Just curious, might need to sharpen the tools a bit.
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not yet
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BBT,
What? Nahhhh... no cookie foh youuuuu! >:(
Everyone knows the cookie jars are all indoors, and none at the flyfishing meets! ;)
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Now Ice, respect the spirit of the man. Hey, I'M coming for you, lol. I want to play anyone and everyone who's good and try to sing "my song" when I do. It's what we do, isn't it? We really need a big tournament in the NW so the big names come. I think the NW is being snubbed due to their dominance in the 70's ;D.
And 'Killa, what about flyfishing meets? Someone here a flyfisher too?
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not yet
Give him a couple more weeks. ;)
Iceman, I'm just curious.
Why do you chose to play mostly goal? The times I've watched, you seem to have a really good offensive five row. I realize that the few times I've watched you, it wasn't at a major but you seemed to handle yourself well against most of the DFW players.
John and I started playing during a time when the game wasn't so dominated by forwards. That's not to say we didn't have dominating forwards, but rather a different role for goalies. I don't know about John, but in my case, I chose to play goalie because I could just about pick my forward among those that knew me. That's why I never had any real desire to go to forward. I also feel more natural in goal and rarely feel any pressure there. I know John also played with some of the top forwards back then, so it's probably the same for him.
If it's a mental thing for you, have any of the posts in this thread helped you? My thought is that you just feel more natural there. Am I close?
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And 'Killa, what about flyfishing meets? Someone here a flyfisher too?
After I took all the cookie jars AND cookies, I made sure never to stash any of them at flyfishing meets and locations. Ya'll never find 'em!
Done a lot of fishing both freshwater and saltwater, but never had the pleasure of the classic flyfishing pastime. I have a couple of friends I used to watch make their own lures, though... very colorful, very tricky... too festive for me, though.. got no probs chopping off worms for bait, or gutting baitfish.. nor showing them to my screaming nieces and nephews. :D
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Aw, and here I thought that should we ever get a major tourney here in the NW that I might treat one or more of the foos bros to some fine flyfishing. Of course we always have deep sea fishing and those dumb salmon to catch ;). There are few things better than hiking into a high mountain lake and fishing it ala float tube(an easy chair that floats) with the fly that the fish want. I enjoy that almost as much as reading some posts here and going to my table with a few brews and WHALING ON IT! Well that pretty much side tracks the thread doesn't it.? Basically we/I are waiting for Zeek/John's next jewel of information.
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I dunno, OM,
I kinda liked that part where Gilliland talks about realizing when you're caught up in the moment by watching and waiting for it beforehand, and then taking over from doing whatever comes naturally or as a kneejerk reaction, but instead think it through, stop the unconscious part when it's not being productive or not making sense. At least that's what I took it to mean...
I think that's part of what he was talking about... I tested it first on solitaire, which I play very very quickly and it does really sometimes "jerk" you mentally, when you pause and take over from what you'd normally do. Then I tried it in chess, which I've played for years, ever since I was a kid, especially bughouse and speed chess, then I tried it in a DYP with a not quite hapless rookie netsperson. Really helps in staying calm and continuing to concentrate on the current shot or pass I was trying to make. I would often get caught up in a bad break and ruin the next couple of serves. Works pretty well, but you have to really warn yourself before the match starts.
Speaking about your comfort zone, few brews and a' flyswattin' we will go, it reminds me, weirdly, of several times and places where I can send my mind to during stressful situations... Now I can help myself by remembering several peaceful instances and being ready to force my mind to that quieting memory. Lagniappes (there are NEVER ANY HOT WOMEN in my comfort times, no cable, no cell, never in mid-April, nowhere near a building or a store, and quite often in the rain...).
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killah
in the beginning you may have to "force/warn" yourself to switch to focusing on what you want. but if you stay after it, and use the witness proceedure, it will become habit. The negative images still come to me, but i recognize them almost immediatly and swith to focusing on what i want. Then i can analyize the "negative" stuff unemotionally and learn from it. Its just a different way of percieving "negative" that removes the negative emotional charge and turns it into useful information.
If you are willing to work at it for a while, this way of thinking will become habit and you will be amazed at how much more peaceful you can be. And you will begin to understand how wise "negative" outcomes can make you.
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John,
I grok you, but "negative" outcomes? "No KnCoookie ??!!" That's severe!!!
Have to have the cookies.. OK,,,, maybe later, when all the wise men get the n.. cookies.
Cool exercise, though.... and weird...
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Now there's a blast from the 60's and 70's, " I grok you." Stranger In a Strange Land by Heinlien(sp). A must read along with "Electric Koolaid Acid Test". ;)
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Im working on a few more things and a grand finalie. want to get it right.
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Zeek/John, you certainly don't have to defend yourself as what you are giving has been given freely without any expectation from anyone. Read at your own risk or pleasure, and I want to thank you again for it. I also had a 30 year lay-off and, like you, am getting to a good place in my game. I think that we have enjoyed a meeting of the minds and created a few mutual friends through this thread, life is good!
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A few more things from Napoleon Hill & Bill Harris
The Capacity for Faith
This was the sixth of Hills Twelve Riches of Life. He discovered that all the ultra successful people he interviewed had this trait. This did not necessarily refer to religious faith, but to the fact that they all had an unwaivering belief that their actions would produce the result they were after. The reason they were so successful in the face of adversity was because they believed, deep down in their bones, that what they were doing would eventually produce the result they were after. This faith was what gave them the patience, persistence and peace of mind to endure all obstacles. This was actually the third of his discoveries about successful people. Strong desire, combined with major purpose, backed by faith, made them unstoppable.
According to Bill Harris, keeping your mind focused on what you want creates the faith you need. Faith wanes when you begin to allow your mind to focus automatically, unconsciously, on what you are afraid of..
Going The Extra Mile
This principle is based on the belief that the amount of reward you receive for your efforts is directly related to the amount of effort you give. Hill found that his successful people believed that giving more than was “expected” to any endeavor was like putting money in a savings account. It compounded the return they received later.
The next time you are working on your game and the opportunity to do something else comes along (go out with the guys, watch tv etc.) you must decide what you really want. Do you want to be a top player? Or do you want to have a little fun right now. If you decide to go the extra mile and put in the work now, have faith that you will get to experience the major fun of being a top player. I guarantee you that all the top players understand the principle of going the extra mile.
Note: Going the extra mile creates the state of mind, the satisfaction, of knowing that you are willing to do more than 95% of the rest of the people. This creates confidence and makes “putting in the work” fun.
Another Note: I am not saying that you can not have other fun. If you decide you do not want to go the extra mile, let that be ok. Maybe you are happy with where you are. Just understand the old saying “keep doing what your doing, keep getting what you are getting”.
How can I
A simple little question that can determine how you experience life.
Have you ever missed a shot, pass or whatever and asked yourself “why do I miss that” (usually accompanied by negative actions and emotions). This is a very common way of reacting in todays society. As you know by now this causes you to change your focus to what you do not want, which causes your unconscious mind to figure out how to create more “miss that”. Fun and learning cease.
“How can I” sets up a whole different set of circumstances. This sends instructions to your genie to use all its resources to create what you want. This in turn causes you to seek out the information you need to accomplish the goal. And as a bonus, you don’t get to experience all the negative stuff.
Harris states that once he switched from “why do I” to “how can I” he began to achieve his goals and his company really flourished.
“Why Do I” is just a habit. It can be changed. Use the witness procedure every time you notice yourself asking “why do I”. Immediately switch to “how can I do this. I know there is a way, I just haven’t found it yet”. Sometimes the answer will come quickly, sometimes it may take a little time. Just keep focusing on what you want and asking “how can I”.
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I can relate to each of these and I've always stumbled on "Going the extra mile". I'm an obsessive person and it has gotten in the way of harmony in my marriage more than once. When I first moved to Oregon in 1979, my wife and I rented a small apartment. It was hard to leave her there when I finally found the foos scene in Portland but she didn't want to go there and I was driven. The very first time I went to a tournament somebody tried to break in while she was there alone. She's got fire in her and basically put up a front that few would want to challenge so the intruder retreated but the damage was done. After foos died I got into archery, I was soon in the top 3 in the state but I could only go to the local tournaments due to the expense of the national tournaments while raising kids. I was lucky to have a few national and world tournaments locally and placed high in those but couldn't pursue it any further than that. A friend of mine did go that extra mile and, yes, he was the top pro in world Target, Field and Indoors all in the same year, yet at a price that few if any could afford. He got divorced from his wife and then later, with her life in shambles, she committed suicide where her two daughters found her after school. Sooo, I now assess my life's situation, ask my wife for understanding and consider her needs and try to keep everything on a positive. She actually is a very good player but is not driven to compete. All she wants to do is bring me back to earth once in a while with her brand of reality, you couldn't imagine how humbling this is. I beat a one time women's world champion just a few weeks ago, if she had had my wife as a partner I wouldn't have had a chance.
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uh oh.......can of worms
Meister
Sorry about your friend. His story started me thinking that I may need to do a little more clarifying.
Going the extra mile is meant to be a way of life, applied to all facets of your life. Please dont think I am implying that you must be so dedicated to yur material goal that you neglect the things that are truly important. Personal relationships and family always take precident over material goals, and going the extra mile in these areas is just as rewarding. Remember that I believe that peace and happiness are necessary components of true success. Without this peace, happiness and harmony in your personal life the material success is empty, if it comes at all.
Does this make sense?
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Zeek, certainly it does make sense what you say. The thing about sports that are so focused on fine motor skills and execution is to be honest as to what extent you are able to pursue those skills and what you must give up in order to arrive at the desired targeted outcome. Balancing family and other interests with lofty goals in your chosen sport are not easy. I would have to say that the game of foosball has been my favorite pursuit, as a sport, in my life time. But, like many others, I had it taken away from me when I was at the peak of my skills due to the sport dying out. Today there are so many very good players and the internet let's us see just how good you have to be to have a chance of competing on the top level. Many dream but never can get there as their lives won't allow the time needed to practice. Us boomer might have the time but the cruel truth of the clock may have slowed the eye, the hands, the brain. I just turned 55, I feel I'm a young 55 but still have to accept that that 17 year old that doesn't know 1/4 of what I do still gets the better of me for reasons I can't control. My life is such that I must get up early in the morning to go to work, usually 5Am or earlier. Because of that I shouldn't even try to play in the evenings as once the clock hits 9PM you can stick a fork in me, I'm done. My eyes can't follow the ball and my reflexes won't let me catch it. So I'm limited to daytime tournaments if I want to be competitive and I do really good then. The whole point is that I need to come to terms with what I want out of playing this game and be honest so that the rewards and expectations are realistic. When I was young I wanted to be the best, I was ready to prove it when the rug was pulled out from beneath me. Now I'm not so young and don't know what I'm trying to prove. All I know is I love this game.
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OM,
Perhaps you could become a defender, start taking much more pride in staunchly defending against all these younger forwards, and furnish solid stabilizing support for your forwards.
Defense can be much more consistent than the obvious needs of offensive strike capabilities, speed, pinpoint precision, and lightning reflexes. I've found that learning to really study defense and developing the pro's speed of mental calculation and recognition of the opponent/s' strategies is just as attainable, and perhaps even more so, than that of a forward's need to recognize the D and execute an attack as perfectly as possible.
As one gets older, one should be able give up the youthful urge to just race a shot or kill oneself and burn up too much energy doing a high speed shuffle. Percentage play (from decades of observation) concludes that in any advanced foos over rookie level, there are really only 3-4 lanes where the ball will approach the or go towards the goal. If you collect videos and tapes, check them over the decades and see if any legend or proMaster uses more than those 3-4 lanes. Humans just practice those. Noone really thinks of doing a thousand shots to the first dot, then the first and 1/4 dot, then the first and 1/2 dot, and so on through the other side. If some insane individual does this and perfects an 18lane shooting series, then you have even less hope of blocking or defeating that one than you would a Rico or Spredeman.
Concluding this, then establishing the closest thing to a generically sound D is:
1. Observe if possible the forwards to be defended against. They will most likely have one, two or three, rarely four lanes that they go through. And some defenses, either because it hides these lanes or they just have bad mental memories of shooting on those types of D's, will always bother them while others make them "groove".
2. Develop one or two defenses for different lane threats and once you get this philosophy down, add one or more feints to those same D's, to throw in to distract or at least discomfit the opposing forward.
3. Develop at least two set on-goal shots from the goal, like a square pull set and a spray push set, so you can easily switch to whichever shot set is harder or less familiar to the defenders... at the very least making them work a little more.
4. Add one or two pass or clear solidly practiced option releases away from the goal, and FORCE yourself to employ these every so often, for obvious reasons like keeping the defenders honest and to prevent their getting comfy whenever you have the ball.
None of these require blinding speed, just good careful observation, whenever possible, of your opposing human opponents, to find their shot lanes. And good quick calculation of the percentages as each shot develops. Just like poker. And of course, technique. Many techniques and styles are available, and their speed and reaction time comes from execution, not physical brute force or power. Even if forwards mis-hit shots earlier, and score, they will more likely than not warm up into shooting their normal lanes as the game and match goes along, not continuing the slop or accidental releases. And the madder and less detached they get, the more they will groove into the same lanes.
I would suggest never never again go into any game, pickups for fun, or matches for the money, without some gameplan and the effort to establish it. No matter what. A thinking goalkeeper who practices this should be a lot more dangerous than those who do not. Oh sure, forwards will still score and sometimes drill the goalkeeper, but the trick is to fight to minimize the percentages and to consistently give you and/or your team a chance to win. If a goalkeeper can hold off a dominating forward just enough and consistently enough to either score or have one's forward outscore the opponents, that is definitely a thousand times better than bricking the opposing forward every 7th game or so, but getting rolled and fileted in all the other games.
The other suggestion is to learn to make timeout calls and to start controlling the play, which can be tons of fun. I teach this to young goalkeepers and they get some empowerment immediately. How? If the opponent/s is trying to speed up the game, slow it down, just enough. If they try to slowplay, throw some quicksets, even hacks into the game, lots of things to force the play to speed up. Then forcibly reverse it... decide to shoot or release at 14.5 secs, then 3 secs the next, then 7 secs the next. Play with the timing. Younger or more "feel" players will often get pulled along as if on a string. This also allows one to be a calming influence on one's partner, never shooting when they're not ready or wasting opportunities with brash clears that they don't have a fair chance to catch.
If you love this game, there is a frightening amount of logic, technique, timing, and percentage calculation in it, too. I'm sure that Gumby and Tmac have switched more and more to technique, timing, percentage and overall philosophy to win matches as they've gotten older and farther removed from their first wins 2 decades ago.. What I believe you have to give up is the youthful, invincibility-deluded desire to play like you did when you were just beginning to get good. Smoothness over speed, timing over power, and teamwork over heroic feats. Try to perfect your self-control within your own current limitations. Then extend that control beyond just yourself, with practice and philosophy, to make them play your game. Just like all head-to-head sports, solid tough D is practice-able and can be made consistent, without the need for superstars and super talent, and a lot of offense can be generated from that D.
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Are there two fooskillahs on this board? This cant be the same guy that likes the cookies. Do i know you killah? That last post was goood stuff.
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Are there two fooskillahs on this board? This cant be the same guy that likes the cookies. Do i know you killah? That last post was goood stuff.
Wehlllllluh... Must've been that latest batch of KHOUKEEEES with the green "woodsy" smelling little tidbits in it.... It's like I couldn't stop munchin' and I wiped out all the chips in the cubby board, too!
Started to feel a little pressure in the center of m'noggin, y'know, where the dopamine releases are usually concentrated? Of course I couldn't stop smiling and I felt like I KNEW LEONARDO DAVINCI IN A PAST LIFE! But wait! wait!
I see a small corner of that last Tostito White Corn Flake that flew off, right in the corner of the room.... Gonna have to look for some salsa............................ and see if my Anthrax/Public Enemy and my Pantera songs are still on that ole tape player....
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{Foozkillah's furry Mexican twin, ChinChillah, walks in...}
What? Who the %$#$#%$ ate all my Tostitos, mahnggg !!?? I swear I had seeex beeg bags !!
And who keeps setting my TIVO to VH1ClassicMetal ??
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and see if my Anthrax/Public Enemy and my Pantera songs are still on that ole tape player....
(http://www.mysmilie.de/smilies/frech/2/img/008.gif) (http://www.mysmilie.de/smilies/frech/2/img/008.gif) (http://www.mysmilie.de/smilies/frech/2/img/008.gif) (http://www.mysmilie.de/smilies/frech/2/img/008.gif) (http://www.mysmilie.de/smilies/frech/2/img/008.gif) (http://www.mysmilie.de/smilies/frech/2/img/008.gif) (http://www.mysmilie.de/smilies/frech/2/img/008.gif)
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whoever killah is, I bet hes got a bitchin chick and and some cherry wheels.
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Well, looks like i wont finish this up til after State this weekend.
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Good luck you guys!
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whoever killah is, I bet hes got a bitchin chick and and some cherry wheels.
Chinchillah buttin' in while 'Killah's breaking up some ice cubes..: Perhaps that was troo, beri troo, manggh, a while back... {sound of a Bic lighter, cough! cough! cough! wheeeeeze.. ! whoooh!!} but after one or a dozen too many pretty but psychodramatic strays.... 'Killah ditched the pretty chulitas and sold the slow N flow ride manggh... Or was it "vices" versa??? 8)
He rowls alown now manggh.... to save big bucks for a rainy day ese'.... like when an unknown son or daughter knocks on the door with their own kids, "Hiya Poppi !! Remember mom?".... :o :o :o
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More Stuff
Mastermind Group
Another of Hills discoveries was that all the successful people he interviewed had a group of like minded people that they met with on a regular basis for the purpose of brainstorming, learning and planning. They may be accountants, presidents of companies, engineers, financial experts, or whatever. As long as they all had the same goal (in their case it was making money, but this applies to any goal) and were willing to share information. They all accepted that they did not, could not, know everything about business and understood the principle that two minds are better that one. Ten were even better.
Bill Harris believes that when you combine the power of more than one mind, you multiply the potential power of the total. You tap into what he calls the universal consciousness.
Practicing
Professional golfers have developed their practice routines to encompass every phase of the game. Not only do they work on their physical game (mechanics), they work just as hard on the mental side.
When they are working on something new, or something that is not working properly, they are not as concerned with the results, but with the physical mechanics. But once they have developed the particular skill, they also know that they have to work on applying the skill in competition. Physical mechanics are a matter of repetition, quantity. Developing the mental mechanics are a matter of quality. In mental practice they work hard at creating, in their minds, with their imagination, actual situations that will require the execution of their new skill. They understand that being able to hit a 300 yd drive is useless unless you can do it when it counts.
Lee Trevino was playing in a pro am and one of his partners kept missing makeable putts. Every time he missed he would drop another ball and hit the putt again. He would usually make the second one. Finally Trevino asked him why he kept doing that. The guy said because he wanted to prove he could make it. Trevinos reply was that a cow could make the second one.
Chunking
Chunking is the term Bill Harris uses to describe moving up and down in the hierarchy of ideas. At the upper level is the “big picture”. This is focusing on the over all goal, seeing the final result and feeling all the accomplishment you will have when you reach the goal. Dreaming if you will. As you chunk down you begin to see the details more clearly. You start to see all the things you need to accomplish the goal. At the lower end of chunking you are focusing on the minutest details.
The upper level is where you get your motivation. It is important to keep this “dream” in mind as often as you can. But you must be able to move up and down in the hierarchy of ideas as you take action to accomplish the dream.
Modeling
One of the best ways to learn what you need, to accomplish a goal, is to find out how people, who already have what you want, do it. Duh you say. That’s what we all do.
We all watch the top players and try to copy what we see. If it was that easy, we would all be top players. If you have been reading all my stuff, you should now have a different set of questions to ask..
Next time you are watching a top player, see if you can figure out how they think. What are their beliefs about themselves, about foosball, about life. What are their values. Do they value being a great tournament player over being a flashy show off. Do they value practice over going out with the boys and goofing off. See if you can figure out their beliefs and values in other areas of their life. These are the things that make them top players! Don’t be afraid to ask them.
If you will do this you will eventually know a way of thinking and acting that has created a top player. Then all you must do is be willing, and understand how, to adopt these things into your way of acting and thinking.
Next ill show you a method for using all this stuff.
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In archery there was an Olympic coach, Al Henderson. He said," Shooting good is a puzzle, the big pieces are the easiest and then there are the small pieces. Little by little it comes together."
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There is a process, an action plan, that all successful people use to achieve their goals. Many modern achievers are aware of this process, some have come by it through trial and error, and some were lucky enough to have had mentors who passed it to them. You may have seen or heard it in one form or another.
Six Steps to Getting Anything You Want in Life.
Step One: Know where you are at – Personal evaluation / inventory
Step Two: Know where you want to be. – Goal setting, dreaming
Step Three: Take Action based on your plan
Step Four: Evaluate your action and adjust
Step Five: Take more action based on what you have learned
Step Six: Repeat steps 3,4 &5 until you get what you want.
At first glance this may seem simple. But believe me if it was we would all have everything we wanted! What the successful people (the top 5 percenters) have learned is that there is a way of thinking and acting that allows them to persist thru all the pitfalls and adversities along the journey. All the things I have been talking about are designed to help create this way of thinking.
Im working on explaining the steps in more detail and showing how the stuff I have been talking about applies to each.
Next – Steps One and Two
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Zeek,
In your 'more stuff' reply above you mention the 'universal consciousness' Bill describes. It sounds very similar to the early psychological pioneer Carl Jung, who describes a 'collective unconscious' which basically holds that as more and more information is collected (universally) the more that knowledge translates to the individual level. They took numerous (in the hundreds, I believe) 5th grade classes all over the world and had a teacher (different for each) instruct each class on a specific topic that neither the teacher nor class knew anything about prior to the experiment. The observed result (remembering that each lesson was completely isolated from all others) was that the more that lesson was taught, the easier is was to grasp by successive classes. Because their was no interaction among groups, the conclusion was that the collective unconscious was developing a greater pool of wisdom and that each successive class was benefitting from that pool. The lesson became easier to teach by each teacher and was learned quicker by the students the more it was taught universally. Ten minds are better than one, and twenty are better than 10, etc.
Good 'stuff', agreed!
Tyler
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All this information so far deals with the world of the mind and all its creations. There is another level. The no mind world, enlightment etc. The stuff many people consider "mysticlal", "magical" even "airy fairy". The stuff of the eastern mystical religions. Carl Jung, Alan Watts and many others have studied this level extensivily, And i have studied many of their works. It is absolutly fascinating. Maybe we can get in to it a little after i finish what im doing if anyone is interested.
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So here we go. This method (or some form of it) is how all successful people get anything they want in life. If you will be patient and work through it with me, i think you will understand it and agree. And if you do, you will be unstoppble in your quest to be a top level player.
Step One – Know where you are
If you wanted to go to New York, but you don’t know where you are, how can you know which direction to go. Before you can start on your journey to becoming a top level foosball player, you have to know exactly what level you are at. And it is absolutely imperitive that you be brutally honest with yourself in this matter. (If you are going to New York, and you think you are in Denver but your really in Florida, your gonna end up in the ocean)
One of the biggest deterents to advancing in the learning curve is thinking we are better than we are (Four Phases of Learning). We do this because we have developed beliefs (programs, concepts), thru previous life experiences, that we are never supposed to be wrong. Modern society constantly pounds us with the standard that we are supposed to be perfect (The Gap), and anything less is not acceptable. As a result we develop “defensive” beliefs designed to protect us against the perfection standard. I call these beliefs the “you cant talk to me like that” (ycttmlt) reaction. Sound familiar? This reaction exist in all of us. The most successful people (top 5%) know this and have learned to deal with it in one way or another. Many of my concepts are aimed at this reaction. Anyway, ycttmlt will come into play as you are making your evaluation of where you are at. Be aware of it and try to recognize it when it happens. Use the witness process to neutralize it, and then replace the negative emotions of ycttmlt with the positive emotions of humility. This will help you stay motivated, and you get the added bonus of not having to feel bad.
So lets take some inventory. The following questions will help you get a handle on where you are at. The goal is to place ourselves somewhere in the Four Phases of Learning curve. There are for major categories, but there are many sub phases within those. It is important to determine precisely where you are. Dont let ycttmlt keep you from being brutally honest when answering these questions. I would suggest that you get a pencil and paper and write down the questions and your answers. Please do these exercises one at a time and don’t jump ahead.
Basic questions:
What level player do I want to be.
Do I enjoy playing
Do I want to win, or just have fun with friends
What do I think about practicing
What do I think about competition
What do I think about “mental game”
What do I think about “mechanics”
Am I willing to devote the time needed to reach the level I want to be at
Do I understand what it takes to be a top player
How does my game compare to others that I play with on a regular basis.
How does my game compare to the top level players I have seen
What are my beliefs and values about foosball
Here is a way to determine your beliefs and values about foosball. Remember we are looking for your answers, not what someone else has told you you should think or what you may have read in a book somewhere.
To determine your beliefs about something ask the question; (blank) is……..
Foosball is…….
Winning is…….
Practicing is…….
Competition is…….
The mental game is…….
Mechanics are……….
The top players are…….
My game is…….
To determine you values relating to foosball ask the question; (blank) is important to me because…….
Foosball is important to me because…….
Winning is important to me because…….
Practicing is important to me because…….
Competition is important to me because…….
The mental game is important to me because…….
Mechanics are important to me because…….
Being a top player is important to me because…….
My game is important to me because…….
You may find that some of these things are not important to you. let that be ok and just write that down. This may change as we move along in the process.
Sample Answers:
Beliefs
1) Foosball is a silly game.
2) Foosball is a highly technical game that requires great skill at the top levels.
Values
1) Foosball is important to me because I have fun playing with my friends at the bar.
2) Foosball is important to me because I enjoy competing and want to be the best.
Answering these questions should give considerable insight into where you stand at this moment in your foosball life. As you know by now, I believe that your beliefs and values play a major role in how you experience life. And i believe that thay are the one thing in life that you have total control over. They can be changed! Comparing beliefs to values can reveal if you have any conflicts between them that may keep you from advancing. Use them to get really clear about your starting point as we move to the next step – Knowing where you want to be.
P.S. I hate to keep harping on this, but you have to be brutally honest with yourself in your answers. I know first hand how your ego can interfere. Ycttmlt is very powerful in many of us.
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Thanks for that last post Zeek/John. It's a good exercise. I need to work on the "winning is important". I actually really enjoy practicing to a fault. I used to have a burning desire to win, now I find myself immersed in the playing of the game more than the winning of the game.
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You know, one of the best things I can think of when the going gets tough is I ask myself, "where would I rather be?" This is what I live for. I can do this and want this. That is the thought process that gets me the best results.
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sorry about the delay. Computer went on the fritz
So you have now done a little exploration into your beliefs and values. Not many people have ever stopped to think about them like these questions get you to do. It really opened my eyes about a lot of things the first time I did the exercises. If you want to go a little further in this area, here are a few more areas you can ask the blank is…. and blank is important because……. question about
Life, people, family, money etc.
Just remember to give your heart felt answers, not what someone has told you you should think or what you may have read somewhere.
Step Two – Know where you want to be
You create your reality. And you do this based on how you focus your mind. Your amazing bio computer (genie) is designed to get you anything you want, and you send instructions to this computer based on what you think about and make internal representations of. Hopefully by now you understand that this applies to positive as well as negative results. Focus on positive, your genie creates positive, Focus on negative, you get negative. The catch is that your genie doesn’t distinguish between the two. It just takes what you make representations of and figures out a way to create it. Western society teaches us, from a very young age, that the world is a dangerous place. As a result, we develop the habit of focusing, unconsciously, on what we do not want, with the intention of avoiding it. Since Genie does not understand “avoid”, it takes the representations we make of what we do not want and sets out to create more of it. Understanding this, and knowing a method for dealing with it, is the KEY to becoming a top level foosball player (or anything else).
With this in mind, its time to decide where you want to go with your game. Do you want to be a top level player, a casual player, or somewhere in between? Keep in mind that your level of desire will determine how far you will go. There is a price to pay, work to be done, to reach whatever level you decide on, and your level of desire will determine if you get there or not. Its very important that you do not set the bar higher than you are willing and able to pay the price for. If you find you are not willing, or are unable to give the dedication required to reach the top level, let that be ok. Chances are there is something else in your life that is more important. Apply the six step method to that, and decide to just have fun playing foosball at a lower level (you can always increase your level later if your desire increases).
You have decided what level you want to be. (If you are not sure, go back to step one and work through to here again. Be sure!) Lets make a movie.
Find a place where you can sit quietly and not be disturbed. Try to clear your mind. Close your eyes and do the following:
Make a ten to fifteen second movie in your head. Visualize yourself in a place where you have accomplished your goal. See your self thinking and acting like you have already succeeded. Notice your surroundings. Notice how it feels to be there. See your friends congratulating you for having achieved your level. Feel all the positive emotions of your success. Vividly see yourself as having already succeeded!
This little movie is a key part of the rest of this process! As I mentioned before, your mind cannot tell the difference between an actual happening and one that is vividly imagined. Every time you run your movie in your mind you will be focusing on what you want! I suggest you run it in the morning when you first get up and every night before you go to bed. And as many times during the day as you can. Every time you find yourself feeling unmotivated (focusing on what you do not want) get in the habit of switching to your movie. I guarantee your genie will get the message.
Now you know where you are at, where you want to go, and have a vivid picture of what it will feel like to get there. You are ready to create an action plan and get started.
Step Three – Take Action
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Step Three – Take Action
There are two very important “secrets” to understand about achieving a goal. If you do not accept these two concepts, you will have a hard time staying motivated as you begin to take action.
“Secret” #1 – Top level foosball players did not know anymore about being top level, when they began, than you do! They were not born with their skills and they did not come by them magically. They experienced all the adversities that the rest of us do (and probably more). The difference between them and the 95%rs is that they did not let unwanted outcomes cause them to give up! All my stuff is about a way of thinking that helps promote this!
“Secret” #2 – You do not have to know exactly what you are going to do before you can begin taking action! If you do not have a plan, just take the best action you can think of. Then evaluate the feedback, decide what worked and what didn’t, adjust and take more action based on what you learned. If you do this, you will learn what works, and you will become very wise in the process. Thinking you have to have all the answers before you can take action is one of the major reasons that people give up before they ever get started!
Note: Obviously there are many things you can do to figure out the proper actions to take. Ill get to that next. But the point is that you can not get started to your goal until you take action. Having no plan may mean you will take a little longer to get there, but you will get there. You must take action.
So we are taking action. Lets look at what we have to guide us as we go:
Concepts (all designed to give you a way of thinking that will allow you to deal with adversity)
Let whatever Happens Be OK
Witnessing
Time
The Gap
The Game of Black and White
“You”
Reality
Personal Responsibility
The Safety Issue
Going The Extra Mile
How Can I
The Capacity For Faith
Chunking
If you can understand, accept and adopt these ways of thinking, adversity will loose its power over you.
Useful Information:
Personality Types
Four Stages of Learning
Sources of Information
Books,
CD’s
Modeling
Mastermind Group
Decide what you are going to do to begin, and START TAKING ACTION. Remember that adversity is now your friend. You learn much more from an unwanted outcome than from a successful one. Use all the information above to stay motivated. Have fun, be patient and have faith. You now know a way of thinking that makes you unstoppable. The only way you can fail is to give up.
Step Four – Evaluate your action and adjust
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washedUOB,
Just like any ball game or sport, the critical separation is ball control. As long as you have ball control, and the longer you keep it, the less chance, logically for your opponent to mis-hit or slop the ball. An early thing I learned early is how to fight for, and I mean REALLY SCRAP, to get control of EVERY LOOSE BALL, no matter if it's a tour event, a regional, a local or just pickups. Learn to fetch that loose ball anytime and anywhere, ASAP. This part is where the good singles and all-around players separate from the doubles and specialists players. You may or may not be better than your opponent/s, but you can definitely try to live with the ball, getting the most attempts and minimizing the other's chances.
Verbal gamesmanship? I say internalize it, speaking silently or even aloud to yourself, to keep that sence of urgency about always getting that loose ball. Tell yourself that the opponent/s will get the breaks, perhaps all of them, and when you can convince yourself to accept that, you won't mind or whine or change your demeanor when they do happen, but simply continue on, grabbing control of the majority of possessions. If breaks don't happen, or stop going their way, then your mantra is working even better! This is also great when reinforcing your game through practicing to have smooth passing with 2-3 identical looking options per series. Same goes without saying for shooting, to get a higher percentage and keep pressure on the opponent/s. Keep on talking, to yourself. If you won't listen to you, then noone else, least of all the foosgods, will.
Tempo is another great characteristic of advanced play. Simply playing slower will backfire if the opponent gets even more comfortable with that particular game, and remember they've already got the breaks, prolly pulling even or even pulling ahead with no real effort on their part. Playing slowdown or keepaway after you've surrendered the lead can be really SILLY, sometimes. What works better is what I train those noobs here locally to do, especially when they're playing nets. I call it "Pulling the String." Decide to clear, shoot, or pass a ball quickly, immediately or within 2-3 seconds when the opponent/s seem to be slowplaying. If they're excited, flustered or passing and shooting quickly, THEN grind them down with a slowdown, only clearing, shooting or passing after 14 seconds. And also throw in a few shots/passes at the 7-8 second midpoint of possessions. Most good opponents will be able to "time" you or your partner's rhythm if you simply maintain your normal natural passing and shooting cadence. "Pulling the String" keeps you aware of the game's tempo, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, prevents you and your partner from being sucked up yourselves into certain passes or shots the opponents can anticipate, block and steal.
"Pull the String" a few times, especially with familiar players from your group, and you can do what almost every goalkeeper in a tight competitive match MUST learn to do, unless they can block like Jesus and brick the Devil himself. In doubles, it is easiest for the goalkeeper to control the tempo by "Pulling the String," with the forward more easily following the goalkeeper's cue. This prevents the opponent/s from settling down and grooving into the game, and adds release point timing as another factor to worry about in defense.
There will always be streaks within a game where the ball is moving and changing possessions very quickly, and portions where every touch of the ball is very deliberate. "Pulling the String" and breaking up or at least harrassing the opponents away from getting into a groove or zone should always be part of good advanced play.
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Zeek, "Create your own reality" Now there is a loaded statement and how true! Isn't that the crux of all that you have gone over? Nobody succeeds without it. We all place ourselves where we do. We look out of our own eyes and think our own thoughts. We react with our own limbs and dream our own dreams. What we do is by our own honest execution of our chosen reality. Foosball is a game of finesse and execution, eye hand and the dream. So we 'create our own reality'. Anyone can be the player they want to be if they are honest about it. It is not an easy thing, the path or the honesty.
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Step Four – Evaluate your action and adjust
As you begin taking action, monitor the feedback you get. It is very resourceful to keep a log of your actions. Write down every thing you try. Write down new ideas as you get them. Write questions as they come up. Write down what works, and what doesn’t. Very Important: The secret to using your list is to monitor not only your actions, but also how you are thinking and the emotions you have during the actions. If you pay attention to this you will begin to notice that successful actions are accompanied by positive thoughts and emotions (internal representations), and unsuccessful actions are usually accompanied by negative thoughts and emotions. You will begin to know the difference between the two ways of thinking and you can begin to adopt the ways that get the results you want. If you will keep this log, you will find that you have written instructions on what to do next!
Don’t let ycttmlt prevent you from asking questions. You will find that the top players are almost always willing to help. And don’t be afraid to ask them how they think. They may not have given it a lot of thought themselves, but if they know how to do what you want to do you can be assured that they have a way of thinking that gets it for them.
Begin building your group of like minded people with similar goals. Share your information with them and they will do the same. When I began playing again about 5 months ago, I was basically a rookie. The new game was very different from what I was used to 30 years ago. I decided to play at Clicks in Arlington, Texas because many of the top players in the area played there (many good rollover shooters there). They didn’t know me from adam. But once I began pestering them with questions, they realized I was serious. Spirit, Patric, Darkside, David Vick, Brad Lessom, and the rest of the guys there are my mastermind group. I found that Ice Moore and I had the same personality type (Emerald). He is very knowledgable about the details of the game, and likes to teach. He kinda became my go to guy, but they all were more than willing to share. I am looking forward to the Toronado Worlds in September. And I guarantee I am going to make my best effort to find a way to pick the brains of Loffredo, Colongon, Spredeman and the other top players. They know what I want to know!
Step Five – Take more action based on what you have learned
Act, learn, adjust, act, learn, adjust………. Be passionate, persistant, and patient. Welcome the unwanted outcomes, they are the ONLY way you learn. Play your movie often. Have faith. Have fun! Its how the big boys think! You now know a way of thinking that can make you one of the big boys in anything you do!
Step Six – Repeat steps 3,4 and 5 til you get what you want.
Let Whatever Happens Be OK
Any Questions?
Johnbinc07@gmail.com
P.S. - What i have talked about is only a very brief outline of the stuff Bill Harris teaches. If you want to get deeper into it, go to www.centerpointe.com and look in to his Life Principles Integration Process course. Also check out his meditation program. i use it.
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nearly 8000 views and not one question. Interesting
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OK, I'll ask it. Is what Bill Harris is selling all that it is claimed to be or is it as much hype as it is truth? I look at it as a bit of a hard sell and that scares me off a bit.
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Zeek,
I'm too busy "act, learn, adjusting" to ask any questions! Good stuff, my friend...
Tyler
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Bill Harris' LPIP teaching is everything i have been talking about and much more in much more detail. I origionally found him while researching meditation. His meditation program using sound is what allowed me to begin meditating. I am not promoting his stuff other than it works for me and gave me a way of thinking that changed the way i looked at life.
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A note of thanks to all who have posted on this thread. I have learned, & am learning alot. Long live Foosball:fifty percent mental & the other half is in your head.
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Just wanted to thankyou Zeek. This program works great. The hardest thing is to be honest with yourself. But the more honest i have been to myself the easier it becomes. I have told so many people about this and it has changed there outlook on there life and mine. YCTTMLT (YOU CANT TALK TO ME LIKE THAT) is huge. I never realized how much i thought like that in every area in my life except for foos. That is a big reason to why i think i have excelled so much in foos. So I greatly appreciate these post Zeek and I would love to hear about the mystical no mind world.
Thanks Mario Ariganello
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Only one thing is constant in the universe. And that is that things are constantly changing...day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, moment by moment.......always changing.
The understanding of this, and the realization that you cannot unchange something that has happened, is the key to the next level
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Several people have suggested that i could get paid for my stuff. I certainly did not start telling what i have learned, on this board, with the intention of making money. I spent M's of dollars and several years learning this stuff, and i am having fun sharing it. There are obviously a lot of people who appreciate this information as much as i do. 11,000 hits, who'd a thunk it.
Karin and i are currently involved in a law suit with a company that we own stock in. Our legal bills have pretty much eaten up everything we had saved, and we are getting to the point that we are tapped out. We are looking at every possible way to generate some cash.
So my question is, would it be reasonable to ask for small donations from you guys? I am uncomfortable writing this, but at least i am persuing every avenue i can think of. 5 or 10 bucks from 4 or 5 hundred people could be very helpful to us.
Just a thought. Let me know if i am out of line here.
Anyway, i am working on the "next level" stuff and will probably start on it after the worlds.
Zeek
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not unreasonable as a request but I am guessing you wouldn't get 400 or 500 to respond...with 11k hits, you would think that was a small percentage but I would be surprised if your number of truely unique visitors was higher than 400...I mean, I have been back here at least 25-30 times and probably more
however, if things are tight, if you have 20 people respond or 500, every bit helps
I would say suggest a minimum $10-$20, the price of a book more or less and say if you can give more, you can cover others who can not give while you navigate this tough time
anyway, why don't you post an address where donations can be made and/or a PayPal address and at least give people a chance to donate if they want to or can
I will for sure send you something...things are tight for me but I am supportive and this material has been very helpful for me, I will give details another time
I see you are selling your table, so I know things must be tough - like I said, times are tough for me too, but I will find something to send your way...if I had the resources, I would bail you out completely and work with you to make this the best book ever written for foosball
if I can help in other ways, PM me and I would be glad to help in other ways
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Zeek, sorry to hear of your hardship. I can relate as construction is really slow here in the NW. But can I make a suggestion? You have responded to all questions, in this thread, in the order they came at you. But the rest of us threw in our two cents also so your particular message may have been lost at times. Why don't you write a book about what you know in relation to foosball? Then you can take the reader step by step through the thought process in a way that builds towards those revelations that truly help. Anyone who truly loves this game realizes that the mental game is huge and would love to have this information in a form where it could be digested a little at a time. Thus a book is the best vehicle and would and could give you that income. I would buy it. :) Maybe what you should ask is would anyone be willing to help with publishing fees with a modest return should it sell.
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OM,
A book is a good idea down the road but that takes time, months at the very least and it appears to me that Zeek needs help now...even still, the biggest selling foosball book ever still won't make him much money...only if it crossed over to other sports - which is possible but would probably take an effort unless the thing had all its own magic and just spread like wildfire but that is more like buying tickets to the lottery...it could happen but not good to plan on it
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Thanks guys
Any donations will be truly appreciated, and i promise to go the extra mile to give you your moneys worth in the next segment.
Paypal - johnbinc07@aol.com
John & Karin Gililland
925 Batchler Rd
Red Oak, Texas 75154
Zeek
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Several thousand years ago, a few people got tired of being pissed off and afraid all the time. They began to search for the reason for human suffering. These people became known as seekers. The stuff I have been talking about is the result of those thousands of years of searching.
“Nothing is real, but words make it so”
Our personal reality is determined by our mind, our computer. Based on previous life experiences (programming), we put meaning on every thing that happens. And this meaning, this “reality”, can be completely different from one person to the next. One person might tell you that a gun is a good thing, that it exists so you can have a way to protect your family from evil. The next person may tell you that a gun is an evil instrument and the cause of much suffering and should be eradicated from the earth. So is a gun good or evil? The point is that the meanings we put on things, based on our programming, are completely arbitrary! Until we put our personal meaning on it, a gun is just a hunk of metal, karmic goop. These arbitrary meanings, created by our minds, are the major cause of suffering in the world.
There are three levels to the concept, the way of thinking, that I have studied. The first two levels involve the world of the mind and all its creations. The seekers learned to control the mind, and thus manipulate and create reality in the world of the mind. But they still found that they suffered when things did not go the way they wanted. They realized that there was something more to true peace and happiness. Something was still missing.
The third level is called the no mind world. Here nothing has any meaning. There is only You/Spirit (the witness). The realities created by the mind are viewed as a game, a play. Not the true reality. In this realm there is nothing to fear, nothing to lose, nothing to get, nowhere to go. One name for this is enlightenment. Some seekers achieved enlightenment. It is said that if you meet one of these people, its as if no one is home (mentally). They eat when they get hungry, sleep when they get tired, and spend a lot of time sitting in the lotus position contemplating their navel. They are said to be in the ultimate state of peace and happiness.
Yuk. If that does not sound like any fun, it doesn’t to me either. Don’t despair. I lied. There is actually a fourth level. But understanding the third level, and even experiencing it, is the key to the final level
Next I will review the first and second levels. Then I will get into the third.
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Zeek,
"Nothing is real, but words make it so". I like this, and it reminds me of something I heard long ago (can't remember the source) that 'a word not known is a thought not possessed'. How true!
As for the book suggestion, so much of what you are offering is not specifically related to foosball and if you ever do go that route, I believe it could appeal to a vastly larger audience than just foosers, and should be marketed as such. To anyone, really.
Similarly, I have had a successful experience with 12 step work, for me as it related to alcohol abuse, but the basic foundation of the 12 step process can apply to anyone. It really is an exercise (when applied properly, and this is where I have a problem with AA) in getting down to what's real. The serenity prayer - God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference - is said at the beginning of every AA meeting. But it is not something you simply say and then expect to somehow magically feel better. It is something that must be worked to get the benefit. If something happens that really takes over your emotions, you become depressed or whatever emotional burden messed up your serenity, get a piece of paper and write the problem on the top, the WISDOM part of the exercise. Then start 2 columns, the one on the left THINGS I CAN CHANGE and the one on the right THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE. Then spend some time writing down anything and everything you can think of that applies to the problem/situation in those 2 columns. Once completed (honesty is absolutely crucial here), take a ruler, rip the page in half and throw away the part on the right, because that is the crap an alcoholic will drink over. Now all that's left is the things you can change and with it (again, gotta be honest) you can let go of the rest. Once you do all you can with the left column, you have done what you need to do, I call it getting down to what's real. This process removes extraneous emotions that alcoholics are really practiced at using, and the worry that was initially bothering you is replaced by the pro-active actions/behaviors that you need to do moving forward. Do that consistently as life's problems arise and you will find that things that once seemed to emotionally challenge/hinder you no longer do and you start doing a much better job of manageing your life. And you don't have to be an alcoholic or drug addict to apply this, anyone can benefit from it, and in the process learn the importance of getting down to what's real because THAT is where you will find serenity in life.
My 2 cents..................................................Tyler
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We have been talking about a way of thinking, a concept, that will allow us to be peaceful, happy, and successful (at foosball or anything else). It involves understanding how our mind works. It involves knowing that we create what happens to us based on the programming in our “computer”. It involves believing that we have control of that programming if we understand HOW it works.
The stuff I am teaching has evolved over thousands of years. It began when a few people, who became know as “seekers”, got tired of being unhappy much of the time, and set out to figure out why, and what they could do about it. If you find my stuff interesting, you are a seeker.
Basically, there are three levels of consciousness involved in this concept. I have been talking mostly about the second level, which involves the mechanics of how the mind creates your reality. The third level is about dealing with the results you can create in the second level. There is actually a fourth level which involves knowing and understanding level two and three.
Important: Remember that all this information is just information, words! Until you “experience” it, it has no meaning. I can tell you everything I know about Hawaii, but until you go there, you don’t really know what it is like. It is your emotions and the accompanying physical actions that create your “programming”. Not the words.
Here is a review of level one and two:
Level One – Here your mind is doing everything we are learning about in level two. But it is all going on outside of you awareness. Your mind is doing what minds do. Reacting to outside stimuli based on the programming you have created over a lifetime of experiences. But since you are not aware of this process, the results you are getting are random. Your mind accepts the first program it finds that relates to the situation at hand, and creates the reactions and emotions related to that program. Since YOU have not instructed it otherwise, it thinks that is what you want. As a result, sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you don’t get what you want, and sometimes you get what you don’t want. Being unaware of how it works is the reason people in level one experience a lot of suffering in their lives.
Level Two – This is the level of the world of the mind and all its creations. The mind is doing what it does, creating your experience of life. But you are learning to be aware of what it does and how it does it. All the concepts and principles I have been talking about are designed to help you run your mind instead of letting it run YOU. Over many generations, the seekers discovered how to create much of what they wanted in the material world. They found that they could become very good at this using the principles they had discovered. From a material view point, this was a way to create more “white” than “black” in their lives. But they eventually discovered that no matter how hard they worked at it, there were still always a certain level unwanted outcomes. And when these unwanted outcomes happened, they still suffered negative reactions. They also noticed that there were a very small percentage of materially successful people who seemed to be able to remain happy and peaceful regardless of any outcome. How did they do this? There must be something more. The seekers kept seeking. What they learned is what I have called level three. Level three requires the use of imagination and faith. It uses many metaphors and “mystical” stories to explain its meanings (you will understand why). It is fascinating to me. It is also necessary in the whole scheme of things.
As I get into level three, I will also throw in some more about level two. I have only scratched the surface there
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It sounds like time for "Chapter Two". I'm looking forward to it! :)
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“You Cant Talk to Me Like That!” “You Cant Do That To Me” What happens to us when we get in these states? In a word, we get “offended”. We take offense to something that has happened. Websters defines Offend as “to cause to feel vexation or resentment usually by violation of what is proper or fitting”. The key words being “what is proper and fitting”. Proper and fitting are concepts. Your concept of proper and fitting is based on the programming in your mind, developed from past experiences. Hopefully yall understand by now that my stuff is about believing in, and adopting, a way of thinking that allows you to control this programming and thus create new (or remove unwanted) concepts that help us to be peaceful, happy and successful in the material world. The ultimate definition of “Let Whatever Happens Be OK” is “adopting a way of thinking that allows you to not be offended by anything!”
“Keep doing (thinking) what you are doing, and you will keep getting what you are getting”. If you are happy with every facet of your life, you don’t need to read any more of this stuff. But if there are things that you want to improve and change, you must be willing to adopt a different way of thinking and acting. You simply cannot keep thinking and acting as you are and expect different results!
Over many generations of searching, the seekers began to understand how to run their minds consciously (level 2), and they became very good at creating their reality in the material world. But no matter how good they got at it, they still found that they experienced some level of suffering. Eventually they began to understand why. Two of the main reasons were 1) There were millions of other people out there trying to get what they wanted, and their goals did not always coincide with yours 2) Every thing happens in time. Example: You may be playmate of the month this month, but next month that will be gone.
About this time the seekers also noticed something else. There were a small percentage of people who seemed to be both successful in the material world and peaceful and happy in their lives. It just seemed that no matter what happened, these people dealt with it without suffering. It seemed that they never took offense to what was happening. When the seekers asked these people how they accomplished this, they couldn’t explain.
Im working on a post about what Bill Harris calls “Threshold”. It is a way of understanding what happens when we start getting in the state of “offended”, and how to deal with it.
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Zeek, I'm sorry I didn't respond before now but I'm looking forward to what you have to teach us. It's a real pleasure reading and mulling over the information you give us. I like to reread it before tournaments too. Like I said, good stuff!
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In a recent series of tournaments my experience with these concepts has gone full circle. From applying them better, gaining confidence, getting good results, learning what I needed to improve, to working on those physical improvements, expecting better results, only occasionally getting them, to being frustrated, to realizing that I was no longer applying even the rudimentary ideas at the beginning of this thread, starting to apply them and getting better results again.
I think once again I let my short term success and good results turn into expectations of performance. Instead of applying my brain to envisioning the next pass, shot, or block I was either enjoying a good shot or fussing over missed opportunities. Nothing went as well as it was earlier.
Anyway, I look forward to the next installment from Zeek and hope that it helps me to apply these principles more consistently.
BillV
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Billy,
Remember that all the programming in your "computer" is the result of many years of experiences. Expecting it to change overnight will just set you up for suffering.
with patience and understanding of the techniques and concepts in my stuff, things will begin to change.
Witnessing is the key. When you get unwanted outcomes, if you react in your old way, the old way becomes stronger the next time you experience the same set of circumstances. If you can learn to recognize when the old reactions start, and learn to just step back in your mind and watch, with curriosity, the old reactions will fall away. The next time they will not be as strong. This wont be easy at first. As i have said before, there is some work to be done. But with work, witnessing can become habit
After 6 years of working on this, i still have many situations where the old, negative reactions start to come up. But now, most of the time, i recognize them almost immediatly. and i know how to stop them. This allows me to refocus on the task at hand, and as an added bonus, i dont wind up experiencing the negative actions and emotions.
I dont know if i have mentioned this before, but this is a key, key concept - What happens to you does not come from outside you. It is how you percieve the happening that determiines its reality to you. Ill get more into this later. (key level three concept)
I am working on the next post about "threshold". It should clear up some stuff.
sorry about taking so long. still trying to get my finances in order.
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You know what I really like about your posts Zeek? You always leave us wanting and being promised more, lol.
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Can anyone in the dfw area help me build a small "zeek mullins" web site?
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>:(
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So, over many years, the seekers began to understand how the mind worked to create each individuals reality. They developed a way of thinking, a concept, that allowed them to perceive any happening in a way that was beneficial to them (level 2 stuff). Using this new way of thinking, they became very good at creating success in the material world. A few of them noticed something else.
1) No matter how much material success they accomplished, they still suffered negative emotions and actions when they did not get what they wanted. And the more material success they accumulated, the more the found themselves suffering over trying to keep it.
2) There seemed to be a small percentage of people who achieved material success while remaining peaceful and happy. No matter what the situation was, this small percentage of people were able to remain calm and focused. These were the ultra successful people, and material success seemed to seek them out.
What did these ultra successful people know (keep in mind that they may not have been aware that they knew) that those in #1 above did not. There seemed to be something beyond the world of the mind, a mysterious state. This small group of seekers began to explore this mysterious realm. This small group became known as “mystics”. This was the beginning of level 3.
Threshold:
This Is really level two stuff, but it points directly at the existence of level three.
Have you ever noticed when you start “losing it”?
You are crusing along, playing well and having fun. Nothing seems to bother you. Blocking well, shooting well, passing well. Playing your "normal" game. Then something changes. Something happens that causes you to get out of “normal”. Maybe some slop gets in on you, the other team gets hot on you, someone says something you don’t like….something happens that is not what you wanted to happen. Your focus changes. Next thing you know, your game goes south, you stop having fun, and you probably lose a match you should have won. The point at which this happens is called your threshold.
Keeping in mind all my previous “stuff”, lets take a look at exactly what threshold is, what happens when we approach our threshold, and why it can be so different, for the same situation, from one person to another.
First lets revisit “normal”. Remember Master Chungs “you think you are better than you are”. He was trying to get me to realize what my “normal” was. It is imperitive that you establish and accept what your “normal” is. Then you can begin to improve it and raise it to a higher level through practice and experience. Remember that “thinking you are better than you are” is one of the biggest deterrents to getting better.
What is you threshold
Our threshold is the point at which we cease processing information with our conscious mind. When we reach this point, we switch to “automatic response “ mode. When this happens, our unconscious mind, our “genie”, takes over. At this point, we are reacting automatically to the situation at hand based on the programming in our computer. As we have learned, this programming was “written” based on previous life experiences. There are many possible ways we could have learned to respond. A few of these are – anger, retreat, fighting, arguing, yelling, smoking, crying, sex, aggression, becoming serene, losing focus, focusing better, exercise, drinking, drugs and hundreds more. If we tried one of these responses in a similar situation, and the result was a reduction in suffering, “genie” thinks it is an appropriate response. Remember that “genies” sole purpose is to keep you safe from danger and suffering. Since you have stopped sending conscious instructions, due to going over your threshold, “genie” searches for the strongest response it can find and proceeds to initiate it. Depending on what your programs are for this situation, you may get a positive reaction, and you may get a negative one. The main thing to understand is that once you go over your threshold this all happens outside of your conscious awareness.
Next:
Human beings are what scientist have called “open systems”
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Human beings are what scientist have called “open systems”
A “closed” system is something that does not have the ability to react to its environment. A rock is an example of a closed system. When a rock is exposed to wind, rain, vibration, or any other outside force, it becomes less than it was before. Eventually, over time, the rock ceases to exist in the form of a rock. If you hit a rock with a hammer, it discentagrates into many smaller rocks. It cannot handle the energy of the hammer strike and remain in its present form. Bill Harris describes this as going into chaos, and then reorganizing at a different level. The point is that the rock has no ability to reorganize at a higher level...
An “open system”, on the other hand, has the ability to react to its environment. An open system receives energy from its environment, but is able to absorb this energy because it has the ability to release other energy back to the environment. A tree receives the same energy as the rock, but does not cease to exist because it is able to export energy back in to the environment in the form of heat, carbon monoxide, bending in the wind, growth etc. If you cut a limb off of a tree, it has the ability to grow another. And the new limb is almost always stronger than the one that is lost! (this is important) This new limb has the ability to withstand more from the environment than the one that was lost. It can be said that the new limb has reorganized, “evolved”, at a higher level. The new limb has a higher threshold!
Humans are the ultimate “open system”. We are constantly receiving input, energy, from our environment thru our senses. Sound, light, taste, smell, feel. (these are actually all forms of vibration. And all our senses are actually forms of touch. We “touch” light with our eyes, “touch” sound with our ears etc.) This input is coming at us every second of every day, in massive amounts, from every direction. Our mind (super computer, genie) processes this information based on the programming it has received from previous life experiences. It then sends directions to the body to export energy (called entropy) back in to the environment in the form of heat, waste, emotion, action and many other forms.
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!
Please don’t be afraid to email me questions at johnbinc07@gmail.com. If I use them, I will not put your name on them, and they will help me to better understand how to teach this stuff.
So, the obvious solution to a low threshold is to learn a way to raise our threshold to be able to handle more input from the environment.
Next: Chaos and reorganization
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Try this
The next time you are watching a video of a big match, instead of watching the action on the table, try to see if you can figure out how the top players are thinking. Pay attention to how they react to the eb and flow of the game. Do they let an unwanted outcome carry over to the next ball (do they get down on themselves, or do they use unwanted outcomes to help them refocus)? Do they let distractions affect their game (or do they seem to be able to remain normal in spite of them)? How do they react when they win? If they do lose, pay attention to how they handle that. See if you can become them mentally. Try to put yourself into the situation, into their minds
Try to figure out how "in the moment" (concept of time) and "let whatever happens be ok" fits in to their way of thinking.
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Seems i have fizzled out on this deal. should i continue?
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You haven't fizzled at all and thank you for everything you have shared so far. You know, when I'm getting ready for a bigger tournament I look over the stuff you gave us and find very useful things to keep in mind. Maybe you should set yourself up in an "Ask Zeek" thread. Anyone who has a computer can watch video on how to do shots but that only takes them so far. I think the stuff you know and teach is every bit as important as all of that. You could help a lot of wannabes, who have talent, reach their potential. You have something really important to share, don't stop,,,
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I agree you should continue. It was nice meeting you a couple of weeks ago in Houston. I never stopped playing long enough to have that discussion I asked for. Hope you make it back down in the future.
Anyway, more on subject, I recently decided to try and apply some of this to my own practice sessions. I had previously tried practicing the mind set but that didn't work very well. The difference was this time I was not just trying to imagine what it would be like to let what happens be ok in a match, I tried just letting things be ok with my practice shots. I made more progress in about an hour with my shot (in practice) than I've made in the past year.
Lets see how that translates into competition. ??? ::)
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you and sm did a number on us. arrrrggg. much work to do. we'll have another opportunity, looking forward to talking with you. John
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BillV, So true. I would think " I can do this (pass or shot or whatever), so repeat". Now I think " I can do this, so change it"-& observe. Usually It's nuance (stance, grip, weight shift). Makes practice more productive & fun.
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Seems i have fizzled out on this deal. should i continue?
Y E S
This thread is the main reason I still come on this forum, so yes please go on, and thanks for all you already gave us :-)
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Zeek, no one shoud have to deal with all the slop I sent your way that match. It was like you would catch enough of the ball that it would rocket off the side wall and pinball into the goal. I was real happy with my 5 bar that game though and Sam blocked real well.
Bill
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Master Chung Wisdom:
If not happy with what getting, have two choices. Change what doing -or- change how thinking about what doing.
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Bill
Stuff happens. It evens out over the long run. Definatly puts a test on your LWHBOK though.
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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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More from Joe
Hi,
Thanks a lot for the reply, much apreciated.
"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)"
Don't worry I'm full aware of that, I've already played him several times and I "know how good I am", in singles I know I have no chance, I've got yet to work on several areas in my singles game before pretending even a challenge on him for one set (could say one ball actually ^^) you know. I'm still battling to win an amateur singles event, top players are still too far for me, in singles I'm more working on beating the "low-level" players, as for 3 years I've lost against players that were technically not better at all than me. But now it's changing thanks to you and to the practice time I've put in ;-)
Well turning back to the movie in doubles I think we really have a chance, first 2 or 3 times we played him he owned us like no one did, but last time we took him one set and were one ball from winning a second one and taking him (and billy) to the final set ! So we can do it, but I get your warning and I'll pay attention to that.
Anyway back to this week-end, I did read all your writing during the travel to the tournament area and the effects were really great. What I did most for example when I was defending on the five or in the goalie area was to not pay attention to what I was doing (my defense) but to what I wanted (getting the ball), I would just fix the ball and let my body do what was needed to get that ball, and most of the time it would end up in my hands, sometimes in weird ways but it did !
Same as in offense, most of the time I made the picture in my mind of the shot getting in and letting my body do it for me it would work, sometimes it didn't but almost each time I think I've interfered with my "genie" as you call it, I've not clearly identified what I did wrong but I felt it (and therefore I can fix that), it's like I forced something in the last moment. Hardest part was to use that technique all the time, you know as the weekend goes along tireness comes in and it becomes harder and harder to focus like needed, and sometimes the automatic mode would run in to give some fresh air to the brain.
I also lost a match right after I ate, that happens too often, you have to eat a good meal at some point, but then if you have to play you're kinda down and I've yet to find a way to manage these moments. I asked Rico about that and know what he told me ? --> "That's the match you've got to win !" ^^
I tried also to be the witness when things went wrong and chase the negative emotions away, worked pretty well and felt my threshold never got passed, except maybe that game against that team where I could not stand the person playing as the goalie, you know the one who yells when scoring a slope... But I didn't feel overwhelmed, it's more like I've put my focus in the wrong place you know.
All in all great experiences, came back with lot of stuff to work on (technically and mentally) and plus I've won another doubles (pro-am) with my brother !! :-)
ps: I saw you posted the mails in the forum, I think removing information to stay anonymous is just not possible (as we're only two on that forum that play in germany I think if he reads your post he'll know for sure it's me hehe), so let it be ok and stop that kiddish paranoïa ;-)
Jean
Great stuff!
A few more things.
If you are working, consciously, at witnessing it will eventually become habit. Takes time.
sending instructions to genie, and then getting out of the way and letting genie do what you have asked, trusting, is key! You are beginning to experience that.
I once asked Gary Pfeil why he would stand at the table for hours and hit sometimes 1000 balls in a day. Seemed like overkill to me. He said that he did not believe he really started "learning" until he began to get tired. I understand now that he was practicing focusing under pressure.
I have been working with David Vick on managing his routine just prior to and during a tournament. Here are a few things we are working on: (comes from my golf experience)
1) Dont start "gearing" up for a big tournament to soon. Hank Haney told me that Tiger sticks to his normal daily practice routine until 10 days prior to a tournament. Thats when Hank flies in and they start working on their game plan. I think this has something to do with burn out. This is his way of assuring that his mind is fresh and sharp for the tournament.
2) Try to stay as close to your normal daily routine as possoble during the tournament. Example: If your first match is at 1 pm, and you normally get up at 7am in the morning, it may be unwise to think "i can sleep in til 11am". Same with going to bed. If possible, got to sleep at your normal time. This has to do with maintaining your bodys accustomed routine and rythum
3) I learned this from Master Chung during my Taekwondo days. The night before the tournament try to eat a hearty sized meal consisting of pastas and vegitables. Avoid sugar. Drink a lot of water. On the day of the tournament, eat a normal breakfast at the normal time if possible. Best if you can do this at least1 to 2 hours before first match. During the competition eat a banana or apple whenever you feel hungry. Note: sometimes you do not feel hungry due to the intensity. You should be aware of this, and eat the fruits occasionally even if you do not feel like it. Eat a normal lunch if you can do so at least 1 hour before your next match. Otherwise, eat the fruits. Drink a lot of water!
P.S. - That person you "did not like" is someone that will always be there! In every tournament. Just another of many adversities to deal with. Thinking that someday he will not be there is playing white must win. let it be ok, and learn to deal with him
Zeek
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Zeek, sorry I didn't get to meet you when you were down in Houston. Maybe next time you are here or we are both at a tour event. Something just struck me as really funny while reading some of your last post, I say some because I don't have much time right now, and that's a long post. What's funny is that I was thinking that either you are really good on the keyboard or if you are like me you spend a LONG TIME writing your posts. ;D
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Years ago, during the cold war, there was a three country track meet between USA, Russia and France. France won, USA was second and Russia was third. The headline the next day in a major Russian newspaper read "Russia finishes third, USA finishes next to last"
Its all in how you look at it
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Comeback Kid
when you think as slow as i do, you dont have to be able to type very fast. I would love to talk with you. do i know you? whats your name?
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No you don't know me , but I play in Houston at least once a month at the Birthday Bash. My name is Paul Biquet. Started playing in the early 70's, toured in the 80's and took 10 years off in the 90's. Played about 2 or 3 local tournaments a year from 2000 to 2006. In 2007 I started playing at the B-Bashes then started hitting a few tour stops in 2008. Texas State, The Bart-O, and last year I went to Worlds in Dallas. This year I plan to make it to 3 or 4 tour events. I've been helping Bill V, and Will with their games a little, but mostly working on my game. I fell into the class that got set back from Pro to Semi-Pro since I didn't play for 10 years. Between age and forgetting what I did know before I took off, it has been a slow process to get my game back to a high level. I think I am on the verge of making the break-through and winning some tour events this year. My first goal is to make Pro, then if I have enough time before I get to old, Pro Master. If not that's OK, I'm gonna have fun trying. Hope to meet you soon Zeek!
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Jesus Christ, this thread is still alive? :o :o :P :P
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Yeah Ice, it's still alive. I PMed you on the other board about the Austin foosfest but never got a reply. Got teamed up with Bill Henderson. Look forward to seeing you again. I know you'll be at Texas State.
I have some stuff to add to this thread, but haven't had time to think about how to put it into words yet. Maybe next week after Austin I'll get time to think it out.
Paul
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Yeah, sorry about that, been a little busy as of late. Hell I still have pics to edit from the Hofc in Vegas. Still don't even know if I will be there or not, too many irons in the fire right now. Bill is a good pickup, y'all should do well, good luck.
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The deeper you get into the brackets, the more you get to experience and learn what the big boys know! Pressure is the ultimate teacher. How you deal with this pressure determines the results you get
Two new things to think about.
Concept of Intensity
Many people think of "pressure" as something negative. A few view it as their friend
Another definition of pressure is intensity.When you experience intensity, all your senses are razor sharp. Your body is in its "ready" mode. You are focused and ready to respond. But there are three levels of intensity. Negative intensity, nuetral intensity, and positive intensity.
Negative Intensity - When you are in an intense situation, and you allow your mind to go unconscious and start focusing on what you do not want, the intensity will multiply the negative responses. This just strengthens the dysfunctional responses you have learned.
Neutral Intensity - Here you are excited and ready to go. Like just before a match starts. You dont know what is going to happen, your just pumped and ready. You can go negative or positive from here if you dont know how to control your focus. Either way, the intensity will multiply your response. Learning to recognize negative or nuetral intensity, and use it as a trigger to create positive intensity is the key.
Positive Intensity - You are focusing on what you want, and the intensity is multiplying the positive feelings. Your in the zone and having great fun.
If you can learn to consciously understand and recognize intensity, pressure, it can be used as a trigger to make you increase and multiply your positive focus. Or you can allow it to make you go unconscious and multiply the negative response (if you think about it, you can probably think of many times you have seen this happen). Note: Jack Nicklaus once said that the main reason he played tournament golf was for that feeling of intensity that comes with being in the hunt.
Second
Someone said (may have been Jack Nicklaus) that the difference between winning and second place can be the width of a peice of paper. Most PGA tournaments are usually won by one stroke. One way to look at that is that the winner had 1/4 of a swing less per day (4 rounds) than the second place player.
The point here is that the winners are usually the ones who pay attention to the smallest details. Diet, pre tournament routines, pre match routines, pre shot routines, stance, hand postion, stickyness of the ball you are playing, proper ball position etc. are just some of the little things that can make the difference. Remember Chunking, where you are able to move up and down in the hierarchy of thoughts, from the big picture to the smallest details. I believe that paying attention to the smallest details (something most players do not do) is where you will find that "width of a piece of paper" advantage.
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I learned something this weekend while playing the NW Regional. I had a good front man who was playing well and I was blocking good in back but my shots and clears were not happening and I found myself beating up on myself. My partner deserved better. We were out in 2. That was on Saturday. Sunday morning I was mulling it over knowing I was playing singles. I realized that I was beating myself up because I could see how far I was from perfect and decided to look at it from the other end and look at how much I could do as compared to not knowing anything. That is a nice place to play from because then all my skills were at hand and not forced. My first match was against a pro-master and I found myself up 4-0 by just doing the stuff I do at home, a little bit of an old school twist to today's game. Well he came back to tie it up but then I scored and won game one. Next game we went to 4-4 and he scored after I had a good shot at it, so close! The last game he got me 5-3. He was real gracious and admitted he didn't know what I was going to do next. It felt great! I then went on and won Amateur dubs with another good front man and life is good. Perception, that is what you were talking about wasn't it Zeek? You're right on the money,,,
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I have started writing a book. Working title Peace, Happiness and Championship Foosball. To corny? probably take a while, 3-6 months hopefully.
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Too corny? My friend it will totally sell and I for one will happily buy it. Go for it!
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I'd buy a copy. It would be much easier than paging through the last 16 pages of this thread.
Bill V
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It will be much more comprehinsive than this thread. Thinking about having one or two cds with it covering mechanics and strategy of the the different shots and defenses as well as how to apply my stuff to the actual playing of the game.
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The way you have to look at this is, where can you get this information otherwise? That is, without going through all the life experiences that you have had. Foosball grabs a person due to the nature of the sport. It allows anyone to be a force no matter their stature. It allows one's spirit and will to speak out saying ,"This is who I am!" Many put in the hours of practice needed to develop the physical skills only to fall short when it counts. Your book and CD's will offer them the rest of the equation. That is why you must do it. Even though you might profit some from it, you are also giving back to the sport and that is a good thing. Make it a good read, friend to friend in easy to understand terms. I look forward to see what you come up with.
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Chaos and reorganization
Chaos Theory is an interesting scientific concept which seeks to explain how the universe works. Here is a brief explanation of my limited understanding of it. Please be patient. I promise you will see how this all fits in to my stuff.
When an object is exposed to some sort of energy from its environment, it has no choice but to react. And every object has a point at which the input is greater than its ability to absorb the incoming energy (threshold). When this happens, the object goes in to “chaos”. It ceases to exist in its previous form, and immediately reorganizes into something else.
So what is it that makes us, the ultimate “open” system, different from the rock?
1) Genie. Our amazing super computer. (unconscious mind)
2) Our input device – keyboard (conscious mind)
3) Our machine - body
3) Spirit / soul / the witness (operator)
4) The ability to choose how we program Genie!
For our purposes, we will describe the point at which we begin to go in to chaos, approaching our threshold, as feeling overwhelmed.
So here we go:
From the moment we were born we began programming Genie. All these programs (millions) comprise who we are today. Most of our major programs, the ones that determine our core beliefs, values and many other things, were written before age 11, when we did not know how to control this programming. As a result, our mentors (parents, teachers etc.) determined many of our core beliefs and values. This meant that if our mentors had dysfunctional programs that created suffering in their lives (97% of all people), we had no choice but to learn them. Unless we were lucky enough to have had good mentoring (3% of all people), we have carried these “suffering” programs throughout our lives. Remember that while these programs may have worked to keep us safe in our family environment, many are not functional once we got out in the real world.
Every time something happens that challenges one of these beliefs or values, we begin to experience overwhelm (approach chaos), and we have developed the habit of allowing our genie to control our actions and emotions. Once we switch to “unconscious mode” this all happens out of our awareness!
The net result of all this is that many of us spend much of our lives suffering, emotionally and physically, due to dysfunctional beliefs and values formed when we had no control of them.
So the seekers learned a way of thinking that allowed them to manipulate the world of the mind. They learned that they could manipulate “reality” to create what they desired in the material world. But no matter how much material success they created, they found that much of the time they still did not have peace and happiness in their lives. Yet a few individuals did seem to have material success, peace and happiness. A small group of the seekers, who became known as “mystics”, realized that there had to be something else. Something beyond the world of the mind that allowed the ultra successful people to deal with all the adversity that was present, thus remaining happy and peaceful in spite of whatever may happen. The rest of this information will be about what the "mystics" learned.
Level Three – The Witness / Spirit / Soul
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Cool, we're still going! I got a feeling that this level Three is going to be interesting,,,
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Hey John, Great playing last weekend at the Birthday Bash. Scott and Randy were the only team that beat us. They beat us for 1/2 the winners side and lost to you and David in the winners bracket mach. Then they beat us again for the losers bracket, only for you and David to beat them again. Good job after such a long drive!
Paul
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thanks paul. the old blind hog thing
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I really liked how Ron Artest spoke last night after Game 7 on how he worked with his therapist in controlling his axiety at stressful moments. He was able to describe in recent terms what he was thinking before shooting a key 3 pointer at a very high stress moment.
In foosball...it is 4-4 last game and you are in goalie and have to either clear or shoot. The opposing forward is providing a level of stress with their defense and it looks like all holes are closed. This stress can cause a turnover, a stuff, but if you have the calm approach you execute and relize they are also in stress.
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Screw the results. Relish the process
zeek lives
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OK let's once again explore the side of this sport that sets some apart from others. Why can some just dominate while others with horrendous skills don't? I watch Zeke videos and he is so clean and precise in his executions, so where is he? I mean he just oozes what we all want to be able to do, a total talent, yet we get the same old few on top. What is it? What set's them apart? Some of us make it a life and death matter and, while making it a good reason to forsake all else in the pursuit of our sport, they lose the "relax factor" which allows total free play. Sometimes we seem to forget that this game is fun. I think that that is the answer, make it fun with all the skills you can muster. Just exhibit yourself and your skills and enjoy!
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Big points, big blocks, big decisions, and big execution, all made at big times. What you might not understand is the separation of ranks and what seperates them. Zeke is a " very good " player and was an excellent semi pro, especially in singles. However, now he has entered a new rank, the highest level of play, pro and master. What you must understand now is that he has to learn how to play all over again. Now even the lowest ranked pro might present a problem where the lowest ranked semi pro would be a joke to his game. Also, now that he is a pro, other pros will scout his game and have answers to the problems that his game will present.
So for right now, Zeke is gonna have to retool his game mentally to be successful at this new level and this usually does not happen overnight. Right now he doesn't have the experience at this level against players as good and better than he is. Given his dedication and hunger for the game, I don't doubt he will make a break through.
And at the pro level, you don't play for fun. You play to win because " winning " is fun. This is the difference you must understand.
from the other Zeke :)
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do you have fun because you are winning, or are you winning because you are having fun?
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in my opinion, you play to win, if zeke feels he can perform to a higher level he probably can, just like anybody else,
nobody goes out there to lose or just to have fun, everyone goes out there to Win and enjoy themself winning, exceeding everything behind u to be the best at what you do, winning isnt the reason we play foosball is a small factor, its Being great or nothing,
In everything we do... if u think you cant do it you cant, if you think you can do it, u probably can... but if you dont know what to think about when this pops in your head .... your probably just thinking about it and itll pass you by...
Confidence is everything... U completeled level 1 zeke which is semi or level 2 what ever u call it.. now its level 3 how to take what you learned maximize its eficiency...
now u might not know me... and ive never met you... we will eventualy meet i garantee it... but When you know how to win... the hardest thing in the end is to always win... ;)
Just remember that... and if you dont understand...that answer lies within yourself understand the reason why then u will know why , and how... then it comes to where and when...then comes to who...
everything is in your head but the biggest factor to remember is CONFIDENCE
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So how was it that this small groupe of people seemed to be able to remain happy and peaceful in spite of the unwanted outcomes (adversity) that seemed to be happening constatnly? While the majority seemed to be always suffering over adversity, this small group did not react in the same way. It was almost as if what was happening to them was not, in their minds, real..................
When we go to a movie, we go to be entertained. If we really get in to it we can "become" the actors. And we can choose in our minds the character we want to be. We can be the good guy or the bad. We can "experience" driving a fast car, winning a game, love, fear, death etc. We can have fun doing this because we know that what is happening on the screen is not real. We know that Kevin Costner did not really get killed. If we allowed ourselves to really believe what was happening on the screen, the movie would be a very unpleasant experience! But movies are fun and great entertainment because we know that what we are seeing is really just flickering light on a movie screen. A fun story to entertain us. But it isnt real.
What if you discovered that what you think is your "life", in the world of the mind, was just like the movie. it isnt the true reality, and you can choose the part you play. And if you believed that it wasnt the true reality, you could choose not to suffer over what happens!
So What is the true reality?
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your true reality is what ever u make of it... cause and effect... so regardless of which choice which actor... there will be a cause and effect..
the effect u choose that u chosen is the one u have to over come
that life thats nature... nothing changes only if u change it...
nothing is written in stone only what u believe
so in a sense... we make our reality... if u want it enough u can have it... but if u nit pic everything from the get go... ull get far but far isnt everything...just the beginning to an end...
Keep it on the table...play the game
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JNK
the thought/belief that there is something you "have to overcome" is the main cause of suffering
"nothing is written in stone only what you believe" is a key point
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Thanks to all who've contributed, especially Zeek for all his time and effort and willingness to share his thoughts while he's still working on them. Reading thru the entire thread has really sparked my own thoughts, especially regarding the game of life and how that game should be played. The good news is that I get to do much of that experimentation and homework on a foos table.
I'm an autistic savant and I tend to see things in different ways, especially pertaining to what's going on in the world. I'd just like to make a few comments on the last few posts to delve into this more deeply if it's ok. The comments I'll make are intended to help by offering a different point of view, based on what has helped me to understand my self and the world within and around me.
You might want to read this thread http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=3908.0 (http://www.foosball.com/forum/index.php?topic=3908.0) for a little background info and not so brief introduction since I'm not sure I know anyone here personally.
Anyway, here goes, starting with mental attitude.
Everyone HERE plays to win, but that's actually what's messed up with the world. We convince ourselves that there is only one way to win and that the winner MUST be us at all costs. This is exactly true, it's just misinterpreted due to the point of view that results from the very act of playing the game this way. It's the game, not the players that are to be hated here. This life is a game, a competitive race where being first to the finish line is the only criteria, but in the real world we're soon to become aware of, winning is not based on points, but rather how well you played the game using every imaginable criteria. Nobody sucks at anything because the number one criteria for play is having fun, everyone plays their best game all the time because being a fun opponent and giving a good game is all that's important, nobody ever thinks of "beating" their opponent because they are well aware of who actually receives that beating.
The best players I've seen in this world also tend to play the game for the game itself, they want their opponent to be at the top of their game because then they can be at the top of their own game. No good player wants to win because his opponent sucked - ever. It's way easier said than done because we're taught to win, but I am teaching myself to think this way because frankly - I'm tired of losing.
Do the math, if you equate fun with winning you're only going to be having fun when you do win, which means you have to win all the time (near impossible yet we still expect to = suffering) or you could try basing fun on - maybe having fun? It's a way better way to play, nobody cheats, style and creativity creep back into gameplay, smack talk becomes constructive and positive because you're now trying to coax the very best out of your opponent, winning is now about who has the most fun and all players are trying to perpetuate that.
So that's the new mental attitude I'm working on, and ofc we're not just talking about foos here, the entire universe is waiting for us as our playground when we learn how to play the game correctly, and we haven't even seen 90% of what there is to play with yet.
The next two posts kind of tie in together so I'll comment on them that way.
We make our own reality, not just in a sense but we are in fact in control of every aspect of it at every moment. Without going into the actual mechanics of how it works if you accept that for the moment then the begging next question should be obvious...
Why on earth, when we can create any reality we wish, do we choose to create this one? Not only create it, but stay in it and maintain the highest tolerable level of suffering? This is just more math, but the answer to any intelligent person who knows human nature is that it must be HUGELY worth it.
Suffering (or anything else here) isn't caused BY anything, it's FOR a cause - that "hugely worth it cause". Look at power generation methods, especially electricity. You polarize everything into positive and negative magnetic poles and then force them to interact as opposing forces, generating electricity. Reversing that creates a motor that uses electricity to animate, like little dynamos that work as generators and play as motors. See?
There is still cause and effect, but the cause is always ahead of the effect, not behind as it is when you say something was caused by something else - the latter isn't even possible.
Zeek, I think you're spot on with most of this stuff, what's missing tho is the realization that you have a lot more to focus on and think about when you figure out that you're actually controlling not only what you perceive to be you, but the player across from you, the table itself and even the time/space bubble that it's all happening in. It's all "you" and all of it requires focus to maintain, most of it done unconsciously on autopilot with regard to your primary purpose for being here. In reality we can each say that we're the only person here, not I am the only person here but we are the only person here - see? Yeah, I know how ridiculous that sounds until it makes sense. Like Lennon said "I am, You are, We are - all together.
I hope all that didn't come out too f'd up to understand, it's not the most understandable subject matter to begin with. I'm happy to field any questions, just remember that my responses are just points of view and that my overall world view still hasn't crystallized for me yet. It's actually in a pretty volatile flux state at the moment while I rework a few of the mental models I use to understand things.
Thanks again for making this a thread worth reading :)
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It all seems to boil down to this game is fun and you will play your best if you have fun.
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I have felt fear many times before and during a match which I feel causes the adrenaline rush you should experience in any type of match. If a team or person goes up against another they are expected to beat or they have never heard of, and they don't have an ounce of fear, they are at the disadvantage. Fear in this sense means respect, as in fearing God. It has nothing to do with being afraid of your opponent, it means respecting the fact that any of your opponents, known or unknown, could theoretically beat you. You can never allow yourself to think in your mind that because you have never heard of someone that you will automatically win, or because you have always beat them in the past, you will do so again. You need to fear each and every opponent because there is always the potential that this match will not have the outcome that you are expecting. In other words, fear the unexpected. It's a different kind of fear.
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anybody see the movie 7 Days in Utopia (or read the book)
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Read the book a couple of years ago (Golf's Sacred Journey-seven days at the links of Utopia). Saw the movie on Labor Day. Plan to purchase a few copies on DVD when available Nov. 29. Foosable application?, See,Feel,Trust.
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the secret to golf, foosball, life is what you focus your mind on. Seeing and feeling is the process of focusing. But when it comes time to perform, can you keep the negative images from interfering? That is where the trust comes in.
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Upon rereading this most useful of threads I have decided that I still have a long way to go in the journey and need some more guidance. I'm certainly using witnessing to better effect, almost as a second nature and getting more comfortable with ycttmlt. The last big point John made before we went a little off track was that of threshold and how it pointed to the existence of Level 3. So if conscious control of my mind is Level 2, then what is Level 3 (let alone Level 4)?
The subject of intensity came up as a prelude to talking of Level 3. I have noticed differences in intensity in my own game lately. I had a run where focus was laser like and my intensity contributed greatly to my enjoyment. Later I had a match where the attention of spectators and a headache threw me off a little. I tried to let it be ok and work to make it a learning experience of playing with adversity. Lost the match (it was close) and the learning was there so it really was ok. Looking back on that match I hit, crossed, and came back from the threshold of unconscious play a number of times. So what exactly is level 3 and how does threshold point to it?
John, have you ever finished the book? I'll buy a copy at Texas State if you are making it there, even as a computer file. Look forward to seeing you again and having our discussion.
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Bill
The 2rd level is the understanding that reality is what you percieve it to be, and that you have the ability to make your life anything you want simply by controlling what you think about. All the "stuff" is about how thinking (pictures, visualization) works.
The 3rd level is the realization that the "stuff"is about controlling the material world. You can have all the material stuff in the world and still not be successful, happy. Happy, peaceful, blissful is about the spiritual world. Therefor, all the "stuff" really means nothing.
I have started the book several times and written a lot of stuff. but havent gotten it organizrd for print.
In the mean time i found a dvd that explains every thing i have studied in a way that is easier to understand. I am sure a lot of you have heard of "The Secret" This movie is absolutly amazing. You can learn about it and buy the dvd at WWW.THESECRET.TV I watch it two or three times a week since i discovered it. Then i meditate for 30 minuets (you will understand what to meditate about after you see the video.) I connot stress to highly how important i think "the secret" is!!!!
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Seven Days in Utopia link:
http://sevendaysinutopia.com
Free PDF download:
http://www.linksofutopia.com/assets/Golfs_Sacred_Journey.pdf
I can thank John H. for guiding me to this book. It was not long after reading this short book that I was able to get out of my own way of being my own worst enemy on the table. The SC Open was my first tournament that I studied and applied the thoughts gained through the book. But I was really no longer concerned about performance but more so to the commitment/conviction of our direction and ideals for Bonzini U.S.A. and my own direction.
Foosball can become such an egomaniacal and cynical game that preys on a persons weakness or an avenue to build a culture and foundation for players to have companionship, a sense of service, and a legacy to the game to be proud of.
Great book.
Thank you John for caring enough to share.
Alan
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Alan,
So glad Utopia had/has a positive impact. I'm about due for a re-read because along with its other benefits it has made foosball even more fun.
John
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here is a little piece from the secret.
Ask, Believe, Receive - just three simple steps to create what you want. However, very often the second step, believe, can be the most difficult one. And yet it is the greatest step you will ever take. When you master believing, you have mastered your life.
To master believing, all you have to do is tip the balance of your thoughts, words, and actions, from 'not believing' to believing. The ONLY thing that can ever get in the way of manifesting what you want, is having more thoughts of 'not believing', speaking more words of 'not believing', and taking more actions of 'not believing', than you are of believing. Base the majority of your thoughts, words, and actions in believing, and the law of attraction must obey you.
Believing contains no doubt. Believing does not waiver. Believing is absolute faith. Believing remains steadfast despite what is happening in the outside world.
Im telling you, the "secret" (the law of attraction) is the secret! Is anyone curious?
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I believe I am curious.
Tyler
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b1GKGWJbE8
Tyler - check out this link and then lets discuss it
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whats the secret to our lives when its all said and done?...what happens to our soul?...do we just believe that we will be in a better place what does the secret believe on that??
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Zeek,
I've watched the video a couple of times, your request to discuss will require a bit more time than I've had in the last few days, Tropical Storm Debby has me a bit pre-occupied right now, but I will reply as soon after things stabilize as possible. Didn't want to have you think I was ignoring your post.
Take care....................................Tyler
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No hurry.
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Zeek,
The 20 minute video has me curious as to the details of the process that gets you from wanting to getting. The claims that believing always gets you what you want does make me want to hear more and I have not watched the entire 'the Secret' video, just the clip you posted, so I'm sure a lot of the questions that I am curious about are answered there. I know that no matter how hard a death row inmate may want to believe his way to freedom, it won't happen. Also, a person who wants to become high up in our political structure (Governor, Senator, etc.) can't simply wish his way to that position, he must first have the necessary education, start out at the local level, sharpen his skills of implementing his agenda while developing the personal qualities to attract voters, and work his way to the goal he sets. So, I again am curious to see the way the full video addresses the steps in between the wants and the gets.
The concept that thoughts have frequency and that the universe has properties that allow the law of attraction to exist and influence us is something I can relate to. Carl Jung would have probably been delighted to help explain the law of attraction, and his theories about a collective unconscious and a universal intelligence immediately came to mind while watching the clip. The idea that it has been proven that positive thoughts are 100s of times stronger than negative ones makes me want to hear more. I do get a bit turned off when the word miracle starts getting thrown around because people often stop looking for the 'what really happened' answer and end up calling things miraculous when whatever happened was easily explainable and repeatable.
So I guess my short answer for now is that my curiosity has been raised, while reserving some healthy skepticism.
Tyler
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Tyler
Always keep in mind that all these exercises are basically designed to help you be able to take the proper action(s) necessary to reach the goal. All of my "stuff" has been about the details, the mechanics, of how the thought process influences our reality. The biggest problem i have had with trying to explain these processes is that there is only a small number of people that really care about the details.
When i saw "The Secret" i realized that unless you are just interested in the details, it is not necessary to know them to be able to create what you want. Instead of monitoring your thoughts, you simply have to pay attention to your emotions. They are telling you if your thoughts are in line with what you want. Bad emotions attract more bad emotions, people and situations. Good emotions attract more good emotions, people and situations and tell you you are in line with what you want. When you are "feeling good" you cant wait to get to work on your goal. And the action is effortless because you are having fun. The rest of the movie basically addresses ways to accomplish "feeling good" and eliminate "feeling bad".
As for the prisoner and the politician, if they sit in the corner all day and contemplate their navel, one will be dead and the other will be flipping burgers. If they spend a certain amount of time each day vizualising actually having what they want, and feeling the good emotions that go with having what they want, they will be motivated to take proper action. The politician will probably get elected if he persists, and if there is some way that the prisioner could get out of his predicament, he will be motivated to find it.
Joe Vitale mentions magic and miricles in one segment. I think he is addressing those people who do believe such things. This movie is not about mysticysim or religion. It is meant to address a way of thinking that creates happiness, peace and wealth.
There is so much more than what you saw. If you are really interested in personal growth and selp-improvemant, you gotta get this movie. I have watched it at least 10 times.
www.thesecret.net
Zeek
P.S. - i have no financial interest in promoting the secret
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Zeek,
I certainly appreciate what you are saying. The 20 minute clip was a great sales pitch for the complete story, which I have not watched. The frame of reference that I have to incorporate the Secret's information is my experience in 12 step work, specifically AA. The preface of the AA book describes a position of neutrality that is achievable from working the steps, in my experience because this is when a person is in the best possible position to receive input from the outside world, and this is a foundational necessity towards manageing ones life, the goal of any 12 step program. I must qualify my comments because I don't buy into the disease theory of AA at all, that topic deserving of its own thread someday. But basically going from a feel/act/think pattern as a drinker to a think/act/feel pattern is a big part of the recovery process, and the info found in the 20 minute teaser to the Secret does have me curious for more. The lady standing at the jewelry window, looking at the necklace, then having it magically appear on her neck is an example for me of wanting to hear about the details that got her that necklace - back to my summary comment of the details that bridges the wants and gets. I promise you I'm not trying to belittle anything in the 20 minute clip, it's an effective teaser to watch the whole thing.
Take care.............................................Tyler
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Tyler
Please notice that the necklace did not magically appear, it was given to her by a friend. The point being that her positive focusing some how influenced him to buy it and give it to her (perhaps she even told him she wanted it). When you are experiencing good emotions you are happy. And people want to be around and do good things for happy people. Make sense?
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Zeek,
I don't challenge or dispute the idea that there is power in positive thinking. The 20 min clip makes it sound like only a very rare few know of this secret, listing some well known, influential and powerful names in history. The group that knows this secret is really that small? The necklace example doesn't have much uniqueness to it.
Tyler
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hopin not to have any disputes Tyler. Not my personality. but challenges are what may help both of us understand this. I have watched it several times and still have much to learn. Your quesrions are legitamate and I am not fully qualified to answer some of them. PLEASE invest in the full movie. i have shared it with some of my friends including the infamous David Vick. I actually saw some lights go on.The full movie will answer your quwstion but basically, yes i believe that only 1 = 3 % of the people still fully understand this way of thinking. zeek
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Zeek,
Oh, I'm not looking for disputes either. The short clip gave me more questions than answers, but I was invited to discuss it after watching it, so I did! I'll stop now.
Tyler
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sorry. was it something i said
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Zeek,
The easy thing would be for me to watch the whole video. Instead I decided to follow your instructions and just watch the short clip, then discuss. As the thread developed, you suggested I should see the whole video. So, I'll stop critiquing the teaser until I see the whole video - no emotion in it at all! The whole topic is fascinating to me and I'm glad you've shared the video. Can't say when I'll have an hour and a half +/- to see the whole film, the 20 minute clip took me almost a week (I have the kids and it's summer!) so if it takes a while, nothing personal.
Take care.................................................Tyler
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no hurry
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Zeek,
It's a shame nobody else jumped in, maybe we're part of the 1-3% club!!
Take care...................................Tyler
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Zeek,
Watched the full presentation. Interesting. Anybody else?
Tyler
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When you stop fighting life, life stops being a battle
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"The only people that don't find life difficult are those that acknowledge that life is difficult". Author unknown.
Tyler :)