In all games that we play, mind control is the most important factor between failure and victory.

A chess player looses a winning game because he lost his nerves at one point and was not able to focus on the game anymore, then he suddenly makes a fatal error and the game is over.

A golf player experiences the same thing on the golf course and looses his grip of the game, and the dream swing he was so successfully producing on the range and the first 9 holes is totally gone.

A pool player who is not able to concentrate 100 percent on the situation on the table, but keeps his mind busy thinking about possible defeat, will experience just that.

What can we do about this?

Is there anything we can do about this?

Well, there is no instant remedy or answer, but there is a lot learn from these situations. There is also a lot to learn about human nature generally. Man loves to compete, it is in our human nature to compete, to be better than the rest, win the game, be the champion, take the trophy home and so on and so forth.

It is also in human nature to be nervous in situations like these. This is a tradition that is embedded in the human mass consciousness that we live in and we are part of it. If you look at top athletics in the world championships or important finals, they might appear cool and in control from the outside, but later in the interview, we hear them tell us how nervous they felt, but were eventually able to take control and turn it to victory. Of course there are exceptions, but generally this is the case, the pressure is high.

So first we must focus on the level the nerves are pumping. When we experience pressure, is it so bad our hands or legs start to shake, because if it is, we have another problem facing immediately. That is not let anybody see or find out we feel like this and hide it somehow. Usually embarrassment follows, when situation gets to this level, and we start struggling trying to make impressions like everything is under control, this is a vicious circle and we end up feeling even worse. Needless to say our energy and concentration is then wasted in these efforts and we cant possible perform at all in the game.

If it gets and is this bad, there is a reason to it; the problem is, that we don't want to face these energies inside us, we just want them to go away somehow. The only solution is to be honest with our selves and face these feelings openly. Fear and panic are feelings that many of us experience, but very few of us know them really, because we don't except them, we deny them, and we want them to go away, that is the reason we never learn to feel what they really are and what message they have to us.

It is very hard and takes a lot of courage to face difficult fears. Especially fears that emerge when we are among other people are the hardest. But once we do it, we realize we are still alive and the energy rush is tremendous afterwards. We feel like winners, and that is correct, because we are on the road to victory. The victory of mastering our own emotional system, which is the only road to success in games and in life.

I will concentrate more on this interesting subject later in my next article, so stay tuned and stay cool!

Copyright 2006 Kim Wist