7 Life Lessons I Learned From Playing Pool

I’ve been playing pool for a few years now and absolutely love it. Fortunately, my dad was able to pick up a cheap table so we can play whenever we want. I usually  shoot some pool when I’m feeling anxious or stressed and find it wonderfully therapeutic. While playing, I am oftentimes struck with a post idea or two, this being one of them.

7 Life Lessons I Learned From Playing Pool.

Enjoy The Game: Whether you like it or not you are a participant in the game of life.  Are you having fun? No? Why not? Too often we get caught up in all the things that are going wrong instead of being thankful for all that is going right.

Our life journey is an incredible experience that is meant to be enjoyed.

Quit looking for excuses to be miserable and instead embrace the wonderful journey life is. Make a conscious effort into enjoying each day, and you’ll be surprised at how much fun the game of life can be.

Focus: Life is all about focus. Your ability to focus on the here and now is essential in achieving happiness. I realize I am not the first person to suggest living in the now, but I have personally found that when I consciously focus on the present, life becomes much more pleasant. When you truly tune into the moment, life becomes an amazing source of energy.

Your ability to tune into this power comes from your ability to focus. If you lack focus you will often make more mistakes than needed as well as fail to feel the feeling of being truly present. Quit multi-tasking and fully experience this moment.

Really focus on your next meal. Really listen. Really love. Give your undivided attention to the task at hand.

Take The Time To Aim: In pool, as is in life, it is especially important to aim. You can hit the ball wildly and maybe knock a ball in, but this method is highly inefficient. Are you wandering around life aimlessly, not knowing what to expect? Take some time to determine what you really want.

What is your ideal life? What are your goals?   What steps can you take to make your ideal life a reality?

Simply taking the time to plan can greatly accelerate the pace in which you reach your goals. It is essential that you take some time and aim. Don’t rush. Take some time to think about where you want to go. Line up your values and make a conscious effort to succeed.

Slop Is A Part of Life: Things are not always going to be pretty. There will be times when you just want to quit. Realize however that “slop” is simply a part of life. Without experiencing the low’s we would not be able to experience the highs. How you react to the low’s in your life is what defines your character.

Are you one to quit when times get rough? Or are you known to persevere ?

Learning to accept the “slop” in your life with a positive attitude  will tremendously benefit you and dramatically decrease the time in which you spend in the rough.

Be Humble: Being humble is an incredibly important quality trait to possess. Being good at something doesn’t require that you be an arrogant ass (OK I admit I have my days.) An occasional celebration is acceptable; taking it too far is not.

It’s OK to be proud of yourself. Just remember no one enjoys being around someone who constantly gloats. Stay humble. Stay true.

Don’t Worry About Your Mistakes: You are going to make mistakes (a lot of them.) You are going to say things you know you shouldn’t have said (I know I do.) You are going to do things you may regret. The only real mistake is failing to learn from your past experiences. Realize that making mistakes is part of being human. No matter how bad you may feel remember you have permission to make mistakes.

Make a mistake? Apologize. Forgive yourself, learn from it, and move on. Don’t let a simple mistake dictate the future you.

All You Need Is Practice: When I first began playing pool I barely could hold the stick correctly, let alone hit a colored ball into a tiny pocket. Put simply, I was atrocious. Over time however, my skills finally began to improve. Unless you are amazingly talented, is it very likely you will struggle when learning a new skill. Do not let this bother you.

Enjoy the processing of learning the skill and realize everyone has to begin somewhere. No matter how bad you may be all that matters is that you continue to strive for improvement. It’s OK to be really bad as long as you are continually improving. Don’t let the fear of embarrassment keep you from learning a new skill, all you need is practice.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Related posts:

1. 7 Lessons I’ve Learned From My First Semester In College Having just about wrapped up my first semester at college,...
2. 5 Powerful Lessons I Learned From A Facebook Fast Some time ago I decided to go cold turkey and...
3. Interview with Ivan of Ivancampuzano.com Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you an...
4. Are You A Professional Ass? We all know who they are. Those people you just...