Quote from pro pool player Mika Immonen:<p>It is a thin line between playing great and just playing good. I think there is an irony in the feeling. The thing is, when I feel like I'm playing my best- I focus on really respecting every moment at the table.
Usually the pitfall of "great" into just "good" is when you get overconfident. Watch out. All of a sudden you might take an easy shot for granted. We all know how that feels.
So instead, really focus on visualizing everything beforehand, go through the step by step pre-shot routine and aim. Really get your stroke going. Nice long strokes. Feel your breath. Experience a flash of the positive affirmation that "this is it". Pull trigger.
Process should be the same on every shot. There is no rush. Time loses it's significance. You are in the zone. --Don't ever get too comfortable. Kind of like a suspension rope walk. No matter how good you did, one wrong step could lead to disaster. In pool that would be called unforced error.
Respect all, fear none. That goes for shots too. Just love the challenge it presents.
So go forth, enjoy... But hold those reigns tight. always. Don't let yourself run empty until the last shot.
Remember...Courage is not the absence of fear...It is the conquest of it.