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Dec 26, 2004 :: The Monk's Monday Lesson #3
Time To Pay The Fiddler
After the match is over, you should steal away to a quiet place and reflect upon how the contest went. Take a moment to learn from your encounter. Process your thoughts in an orderly fashion and be willing to see the truth this match was trying to teach you. If you are not willing to learn the lessons of the match, then you are destined to repeat it at another time. This is why some players stay at the same level year after year.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Did my opponent completely out shoot me?
Did I have any chances to win this match?
Did I give my opponent a chance to win by missing a shot?
How did my opponent win this set?
Most of you will find that you did have a chance to win. When I first began to compete, my focus was on getting a chance to win. Once I achieved that goal, I then turned my attention to taking advantage of that opportunity. We almost always get a chance to win a match. It is rare when someone runs the set on us. If our opponent was lucky, we put him in a position to be lucky by missing a shot. Find the lesson in the game and learn from it.
I often take comfort by knowing I was not out classed or out gunned in a match. I always tell myself I will do better next time. I am greatly relieved that I did have a chance to win. I was not defeated. I could have moved on to the next level if I had not missed the shot. I lost because I missed a few opportunities that came my way. If I am willing to learn from my mistakes, then I won’t have to repeat them.
I am not hard on myself. In fact, I like myself when my courage is strong enough to face the man in the glass. Sometimes it is just time to pay the fiddler. There is a special evaluation test evaluation test so you can rate your recent losing match. Log on to www.themonk.com to take that test. See what kind of score you get. I will send you a personal letter with my thoughts on your evaluation.
Don’t be the player who cannot differentiate between what you want to learn, and what you do learn.
Take your time going through each lesson. There is knowledge in each one. That knowledge only becomes skill when it is applied. Sometimes you cannot acquire the knowledge until you master the skill. I want you to be the player you are destined to be. Together we can spend some time learning this great game.
