Greetings fellow inhabitants of the earth and others tuning in. Lately I have been incredibly fortunate to be a part, emotionally, physically and financially, of an event which is beyond once in a lifetime. As many of you know my good friend Greg Merson decided to ship the main event. Being there seeing it all finish brought on a deep calming feeling that came over as soon as he won, one which had been culminating throughout the entirety of the 2 days of play leading up to it, which had been culminating in the months before.
For someone who plays a lot of poker where the notion of pressure is accepted or agreed upon as something that one should feel, it is a unique feeling to be able to watch a friend perform in a scenario where exactly these circumstances are defining it. Knowing the hardships Greg has overcome in the course of his human existence leading him to this point make the victory all that much more satisfying. It honestly was so much more rewarding to have been a part of this than I would have previously thought. During the interviews while I was at the rio I was speechless, taking it all in and enjoying the moment. Watching them at home hours later brought me to tears though.
I think what it was that made this so special for me wasn't the money but the acknowledgement of someone facing difficulty, overcoming it and being rewarded. Assertion and accomplishment are two of the most emotionally rewarding things we as humans have to go by in terms of determining happiness as these are things we can control to an extent.
Beyond poker I have taken an extreme interest in rock climbing. I'm currently mostly bouldering at a local gym but plan to eventually move onto top roping, sport climbs, outdoor boulders etc. I find it to be a fascinating, mentally and physically challenging routine that calls on one to fully immerse themselves in their activity. Typing this reminds me of a book I read recently called 'Mindfullness' by Ellen J. Langer. The essential message of the book, which is backed up by case studies that bring to light surprising results about the human psyche, is to do not many things at once with one mindset but one thing at a time with many mindsets. Additionally the profound effects of thoughts, both negative and positive on the physical body and abilities it can't or can perform. I'm also reminded of an article(http://danhuff.info/creative-visuali...s-performance/) which I came across after a conversation about an identical topic that deals with this realm of mental focus pertaining to free throws in basketball. The gist of this is that in a study conducted at the university of chicago, it was shown that visualizing making free throws and physically practicing them showed an increase of 23% and 24% respectively. The idea that our thoughts are this powerful is humbling to me.
One thing in particular that I like about climbing which differs a lot from poker is the ability to be able to compete without competitors. While climbing, you are only trying to out do yourself and improve upon the previous success you've had. Something about the underlying financial reality to the surface which is simply poker has always felt somewhat weird to me. I don't feel bad when I beat people nor do I want them to feel bad for me, but inevitably winning is more fun than losing. That being said though I feel that losses feel worse than wins feel good. I imagine this has something to do with the fact that most successful poker players expect to win. When I climb I can never feel this sense of loss on the far right of a win-loss continuum. I do however feel a much warmer sense of loss which on the continuum lies somewhere closer towards the middle. This is a feeling which I can easily enjoy as it is a motivator to challenge and improve myself.
I think writing this has allowed me to realize that playing poker for fun makes it easier to succeed than when playing with money as the primary goal. Easier said than done however because of money being the necessary evil for which we are all drawn to the game. In climbing however people are drawn to it because of the allure of accomplishing something which at first seems dauntingly difficult.
I don't mean to say that poker isn't an amazing game, one which I will continue to play and enjoy for the future, I simply intend to point of the subtle differences between two activities which have caught my interest. I think trying to rank things like this is a bit wasteful as well, since it is primarily subjectivity expressed, and furthermore one is not inherently better or worse in any way, they are just different.
Peace, love and respect - namaste friends
For someone who plays a lot of poker where the notion of pressure is accepted or agreed upon as something that one should feel, it is a unique feeling to be able to watch a friend perform in a scenario where exactly these circumstances are defining it. Knowing the hardships Greg has overcome in the course of his human existence leading him to this point make the victory all that much more satisfying. It honestly was so much more rewarding to have been a part of this than I would have previously thought. During the interviews while I was at the rio I was speechless, taking it all in and enjoying the moment. Watching them at home hours later brought me to tears though.
I think what it was that made this so special for me wasn't the money but the acknowledgement of someone facing difficulty, overcoming it and being rewarded. Assertion and accomplishment are two of the most emotionally rewarding things we as humans have to go by in terms of determining happiness as these are things we can control to an extent.
Beyond poker I have taken an extreme interest in rock climbing. I'm currently mostly bouldering at a local gym but plan to eventually move onto top roping, sport climbs, outdoor boulders etc. I find it to be a fascinating, mentally and physically challenging routine that calls on one to fully immerse themselves in their activity. Typing this reminds me of a book I read recently called 'Mindfullness' by Ellen J. Langer. The essential message of the book, which is backed up by case studies that bring to light surprising results about the human psyche, is to do not many things at once with one mindset but one thing at a time with many mindsets. Additionally the profound effects of thoughts, both negative and positive on the physical body and abilities it can't or can perform. I'm also reminded of an article(http://danhuff.info/creative-visuali...s-performance/) which I came across after a conversation about an identical topic that deals with this realm of mental focus pertaining to free throws in basketball. The gist of this is that in a study conducted at the university of chicago, it was shown that visualizing making free throws and physically practicing them showed an increase of 23% and 24% respectively. The idea that our thoughts are this powerful is humbling to me.
One thing in particular that I like about climbing which differs a lot from poker is the ability to be able to compete without competitors. While climbing, you are only trying to out do yourself and improve upon the previous success you've had. Something about the underlying financial reality to the surface which is simply poker has always felt somewhat weird to me. I don't feel bad when I beat people nor do I want them to feel bad for me, but inevitably winning is more fun than losing. That being said though I feel that losses feel worse than wins feel good. I imagine this has something to do with the fact that most successful poker players expect to win. When I climb I can never feel this sense of loss on the far right of a win-loss continuum. I do however feel a much warmer sense of loss which on the continuum lies somewhere closer towards the middle. This is a feeling which I can easily enjoy as it is a motivator to challenge and improve myself.
I think writing this has allowed me to realize that playing poker for fun makes it easier to succeed than when playing with money as the primary goal. Easier said than done however because of money being the necessary evil for which we are all drawn to the game. In climbing however people are drawn to it because of the allure of accomplishing something which at first seems dauntingly difficult.
I don't mean to say that poker isn't an amazing game, one which I will continue to play and enjoy for the future, I simply intend to point of the subtle differences between two activities which have caught my interest. I think trying to rank things like this is a bit wasteful as well, since it is primarily subjectivity expressed, and furthermore one is not inherently better or worse in any way, they are just different.
Peace, love and respect - namaste friends