Been there, done that. Got awfully tired of it. Then one day, I don't remember when/how/why, I started thinking of how this "stinkin' thinkin'" was screwing up my play. It wasn't an epiphany, it took a few days of mulling.

I thought about all the times, in business especially, I'd come up against this, that and the other and gotten my butt kicked. Sale not made, proposal not accepted, etc. And those things I always took as "a part of doin' bidnezz."

I started thinking, when in a traffic jam, about to miss a plane, etc., "OK, this isn't the first time, and it's sure as hell not going to be the last."

I know this is probably sounding sophmoric (and a few other descriptions), but it worked, for me. I take this attitude with me to the table. I know some jerk's going to draw out on me, I know I'm going to be on the dirty end of a bad beat. It's part of the game. Period. It's in every book you've ever read, or will read.

I smile, tell the guy, with all the sincerity and humility I can muster, "Nice hand." And then I start concentrating on the next hand. That other one's finished.

If you let the crap get to you, you're handing the keys to the car over to the crap. It's your car, dammit. YOU do the driving. YOU decide where to turn or not.

Good luck to you. Hang in there.

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