Improve Your Game In Poker By Strengthening Your Mentality

Stop Getting In Your Own Way

The rational human is used to seeing their own consciousness as something responsible for their success. However, our “actively usable” side of mind is just a small part of brain functionality, where another thing runs the show: our unconsciousness, as Dr. Simpson explains:

“The truth is that our unconscious mind is stronger, larger, faster, and immensely more powerful than our conscious mind.

The problem is that we all live in a deluded world where we feel that our conscious mind is responsible for our success. But it is only when we can let go of this belief, and get out of our own way that we provide the fertile environment to ignite our peak performance. Then we find The Zone.”

His words may seem cryptic, so let’s try to dive into them a little.

When you are focused on using one small but manageable part of your mentality (conscious) and ignore the bigger and less manageable part (unconscious) the latter inevitably starts to interfere with your life. Especially if you have some repressed issues that can be triggered and mess up your mental state.

For example, if your past bothers you, ignoring the unconscious can let this past pop-up unpredictably and distract you from your activities. Or if you tend to worry about the future a lot, these worries can interfere with your judgment and distort it quite badly. 

So, if you want to avoid these problems, you need to connect and make peace with your unconscious — find The Zone — via focusing on your feelings, observations and conclusions at the moment.

You should stop being your own barrier you must overcome because of self-ignorance. Meditate, write a journal, speak to a therapist — try anything healthy to build a safe contact with your unconscious. If you do it right, you find yourself at the same point as Rory Brown did in 2023:

“I was full of life and embraced who I am on a whole new level. I found a level of contentment and joy in the present moment.

I found myself neither rejecting the past or projecting into the future. Whenever I found myself straying from that, I would meditate and bring myself back to the now.”

Build a Sincere Self-Confidence

It can be difficult if you have low self-esteem but you should try to notice every good thing that happens to you and let yourself feel it and pass through your mind and body without quickly fading. Dr. Simpson recommends one simple trick to do so: 

1. Take a paper and a pen
2. Write down: “From this moment forward I will remember every good thing that happens to me”
3. Say this sentence out lot a few times
4. Return to this practice every time you lose track

Without letting yourself acknowledge the good in your life, you don’t have a chance to believe in yourself. But if you do it every day, you will inevitable notice changes in your self-perception, as Doctor says:

“When something good happens to you, swallow in the pleasure for a moment or two before allowing the memory to slip into your unconscious mind. If you do this several times a day for a month, there will be a change in your brain chemistry and outlook on life. You will notice the difference, but those closest to you will notice it more.”

You can make this practice more effective by creating a “physical anchor” — some gesture, movement or phrase — to highlight any good thing when it happens. It doesn’t need to be grandiose or noticeable, but it should be filled with meaning from your side. For example, in Japanese manga and anime series Naruto, characters Might Guy and Rock Lee always use the same gesture to emphasise positive moments from their perspective, even when others think differently.

Doctor Simpson is sure that even a month of practising this on a regular basis will increase the chances that: “you will continue to do so in the future without thinking, thus recalling how lucky you are”.

Make Your Goals Visible

Just setting a goal isn’t enough to cement it in your mind and motivate you to act. You should be able to provide yourself with creative daily reminders about where you are going and why it is important for you. So, Dr. Simpson suggests to “play with the best objectives” meaning:

“Once you have decided on a goal, the more different ways you can remind yourself of it each day, the more successful you are likely to be. Examples include writing the goal on a post-it note and fixing it to the bathroom mirror or using the goal as a screensaver on your computer.

The more places you can think of to display your goal, the more likely you are to achieve it. I advise clients to write their goal on a piece of paper and put it in their pocket so they can always retrieve it. Keep in mind that writing is the doing part of thinking – and this creates a powerful connection to your unconscious mind.”

For example, you can choose a humorous yet effective tactic of Dr. Elliot Reid from the TV series ‘Scrubs’: hid different reminders in non obvious but most likely visited places around you to visually reconnect with your goal even if you forget about this particular reminder. You can even ask friends to help with it if they are supportive enough.

However, try to not overwhelm yourself with reminders because their overflow can blur your eyes and make them insensitive to visual stimulation.