Re: Do I have issues?
 

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I think the better question is:
Where would I be if I realized my goals but ran away from all those close to me to get there?

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This brings up kind of an interesting point. I know goal setting is a necessary part of life, and is key in acclerating personal growth. Goals work by creating a disconnect between the present state and the future desired state when that goal is accomplished. This disconnect creates a healthy tension which drives your actions and efforts toward making these two pictures match up (i.e. accomplishing the goal).

Anyway, let's say I set goals that are healthy for my life and situation. However, when I'm striving for my goals and don't achieve them, I get frustrated. So the whole process of accomplishing the goal is one of frustration. I see where I want to be, and if I'm not there, even though I'm doing everything I need to be doing to get there, it bothers me.

For example, I have a "B" rating in beach volleyball. The next higher rating is an "A", so naturally that's my next goal. However, if I don't see myself improving or get my butt kicked everytime I enter an "A" tournament, I get frustrated and pissy. So until I accomplish this goal, I'm very restless (and not really in a healthy way that stimulates personal growth).

Any thoughts on how to handle this and treat goals as a healthy part of my life?

Re: Goals, tilt, issues, etc.
 

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let's say I set goals that are healthy for my life and situation. However, when I'm striving for my goals and don't achieve them, I get frustrated. . . . Any thoughts on how to handle this and treat goals as a healthy part of my life?

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On goals, it's a good year for me if I hit 2/3 of my goals. The idea is to make the goals ambitious enough that a few of them will be out of reach, but at least you'll make decent progress. If you're hitting all of them, the goals are too easy. If you're missing most of them, they're too hard.

Think of it like pots won at showdown.

Going back to Indiana's original post, I'd be extra careful if TILT is already a problem. The best long-term cure for tilt is having a balanced life where some guy hitting a runner-runner flush for a big pot is not going to ruin your whole day/month/life. . . . Get the rest of your life stable, and you'll be able to play through such situations just fine. Get your whole identity wrapped up in poker, and one bad hand can cause you to obliterate your bankroll in an angry series of outbursts.

Given Indiana's candid self-assessment at the beginning, I'd recommend looking for a job where competition is intense and excellence is immediately and clearly rewarded. High-end sales would come to mind. Medical equipment. Investments. Commercial real estate. You can make $100k and even $500k/year in those lines if you're doing well. You'll aim for President's Club, the free trip to Hawaii (or Vegas!) etc. It will give you a lot of what you're looking for from poker, and a much better shot at a big income without the risk of ruin. It may even make your wife smile!

Then you can peel off $10k every year and play the WSOP main event. If you cash big some year, that's a thrill. If you bust out on Day 1 because some donk hits a 3-outer on the river, you're strong enough to regroup, go make some more money, and see if next year works out better.

Re: Do I have issues?
 

wait a minute, if you are saying that you would place a win at the WSOP or even a final table over a good relationship with close freinds, then you might not have thought about it properly.


he is a very lucky person as well for haveing so many opportunities, just like me.