««
Back to issues list
Sep 05, 2004 :: What's Your Excuse
Unacceptable excuses
“I wasn’t ready to play”
Sometimes you are caught up in a tough match that takes longer than usual to finish. The other matches have concluded and your match is holding up the tournament. This happens more often when the players get closer to the semi finals or the final sixteen in a big tournament. When you finish a tough match, don’t let this happen to you. Ask for time to regroup, go the rest room and be selfish about your preparation. Take as much time as you need to release the previous from your mind. There are professional “sweaters” who look to bet against someone who just came off a close match. Take time to prepare so you won’t have that excuse.
“My opponent played to slow.”
Never yield to your opponents’ style of play. Stay with your own game. If your opponent has an awkward style, keep your eyes on something else. I played a female player who chewed gum. It was not a pretty sight. When it was my turn to play, all I could see was the cud going a mile a minute. I should not have watched.
“The table was too fast”.
No comment.
“I was nervous because I was close to the money”.
This is unacceptable
“I was hungry.”
No comment.
“I was full”
Cut it out.
“My opponent got all the rolls.”
Haven’t I signed your book, “May all the rolls go your way?”
“I never could play that guy”. Refer to last weeks’ newsletter.
We need to take the excuses out of our game. We are “I came to win” players so if things don’t go well, we don’t have to explain ourselves. Excuses are for those who cannot deal with reality. If you offer an excuse you do not fully comprehend this game. Rise above it. We win, and we lose. That is the sum total of our experience.
Love one another right now!
In Las Vegas last week, I joined about ten Chinese people on the elevator and headed up to my room. It was late at night; the jingling of the slot machines was still in my mind. The two hours of book signing was still in my thoughts. I was glad it was time for bed. When I turned to get off the elevator at the eleventh floor, I was shocked to see all ten Chinese people smile and wave and say “good night”. I suppose that is what you do when someone is leaving. I had a frozen grin on my face all the way down the corridor.
The next morning, I entered the elevator and there were four Americans heading in the same direction as me. I greeted them with a “good morning”. Only one responded. When we got off, I wished them all a “good day”. This time two responded.
As the song suggest, “Come on people now, smile at your brother”. Very often a stranger’s smile will put a broken heart on the mend.
