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== Day 179 == | |||
--- Eric version --- | |||
'''Go outside the box''' | |||
Don't ask me how I did what I did, but I've just overcame an obstacle that has long been in my way and probably in most other people's ways: being scared of losing. | |||
Well, shouldn't consciousness be beneficial? Well, let me explain. In contests, when you are scared of losing and scared of the stakes you often go for a safer, more certain, but often slower strategy. But because you're nervous, that "safe" strategy is not the safest anymore - there's always a chance to fail, and that chance is not a slight one. If you do fail, you'll probably opt for an even slower strategy, sending you in a negative feedback loop. However, people who do take risks often have the pleasure of succeeding, which leads them to take more risks and - because of their mental momentum and their relaxed state - they are more likely to succeed, sending them into a positive feedback loop. | |||
Tennis is the same. If you hit slower shots, it gives your opponents an opportunity and you often lose. Then you go even safer, and you lose harder. It's a loop that, as soon as you get inside, it's very difficult to get back outside. The only possible way to stop this downwards spiral is to get rid of your "afraid of losing" mentality. The way I did it is through some not-so-extensive thinking. It's quite obvious that most competitions are just you against another fellow human, and that the rules are made up by other humans. Success and loss are defined by other people. Firstly, why would you care about how others see you as? Second, what does it matter if you lose? What does it even mean to "lose"? Just because you are worse than someone else doesn't mean you're bad in any way, shape or form. This logic can also be carried on to "annual competitions" where the stakes are seemingly "high". What if I define a competition that happens per 100 years and advertise it so everyone knows? Is that high stakes? Essentially, it's just the same as a daily competition. The only possible outcomes are winning and losing, and they don't matter that much. | |||
Hopefully this helps, because as far as I can observe many people seem to struggle with this problem. There are also "competitional-type people" who have an innate confidence in theirselves which stops them from going into that cycle. In conclusion, however, all of this "winning and losing" ramble is just simple logic of whether you care about an outcome defined by others. | |||
*PS: Writing the last sentence I just thought of NAZA's famous sentence for no reason, but again, that's an amazing quote even though it may seem like chicken soup for the soul. | |||
== Day 178 == | == Day 178 == | ||