To Love Or Not To Love??

A common trait I have found in a high percentage of athletes and poker players I have worked with over the past 10 years is that through their pursuit to become the best they can be, and at times to be one of the best in the world, they lose their love for what they do.
When we first starting playing golf or poker, we loved the challenge and were just happy to be playing the game, no matter what results we may have been getting. We love the challenge of grinding out a score, or grinding our stack as we know that this is part of the game, and when we play for the love of the game, we understand that this is part of the process of playing these games.
The better we get, the more focused we become on results and find that we very rarely experience the love we once had playing the game that now seems to take up so much of our time, not only in the actual doing of the game, but also mentally.
One of the biggest issues in regards to having this process is it promotes us to be focused on something other than what we are doing RIGHT NOW! Thinking about what might happen, triggers doubt and fear to run rampant inside of us, as we truly have no idea what might happen.
When we first started playing these games, we experienced the love as when we were playing, we were truly in the moment and not worrying about the future results. When we re ignite this love that we have for the game, you will begin to lift the quality of your play like never before and rise to the challenge of the current situation. Too many times these games make us drag forward the past results in a negative manner which triggers all sorts of negative thought patterns about what might happen, as opposed to just enjoying the challenge of the moment.
We know in all games, whether it be Golf, Poker, Football or Life for that matter, things will never be perfect, having this awareness and understanding of what these games and life are truly about, will help you to just enjoy the challenge of the present.
So next time you go to tee it up, or put a few hours on the felt, I want you to go back to how you played the game when you were a kid, or when you first started playing the game that you Love! Focus on the moment, with no past or future to worry about, just enjoying the chance that you have of playing the game that you LOVE!!
And if you find that you no longer have the love for the game, then its time to search for something new to fall in love with!!