What Are You "Trying" To Do?

Doesn't matter really, you most likely won't succeed.

Why is that? By using the word "try", we give ourselves a subconscious out, allowing ourselves to fail while still having the excuse, "well I tried".

Think about it; How many times have you heard somebody say that they were going to "try" to quit smoking? And what were they doing the next time you saw them? Smoking! And their excuse? "Yeah, I "tried" to quit but then I had a bad day at work, had too many beers, got in a fight with my GF/BF, etc."

The simple fact is that if they wanted to quit smoking, they would quit smoking. Not "try" to quit. The use of the word "try" allows them to fail while still saving face, which was the subconscious reason for the use of the word "try" all along. Their conscious, rational mind, knows that they should quit, and all of the reasons for doing so, but their subconscious, emotional mind, enjoys smoking and doesn't want to.

Another example; Let's say that you are having a party or meeting friends for happy hour etc., and one of your friends says that they will "try" to make it. Guess what? They're not coming! But what happens if your friend actually does show up? You feel surprised! Internally, you knew what their use of the word "try" meant, and didn't really expect to see them!

Now, take a moment to think about times in your life when you have used the word "try" to get out of doing something, or as a way to save face in case you failed.

How does this relate to poker? Think about how often you use "try" statements in relation to your game.

• "Well, I'm going to go "try" to win some money."

• "I'm going to "try" to win, or at least cash in this tournament.

• "I'm going to "try" and make a living playing poker."

You get the idea. Now, what should we do instead? Simple, remove the word "try" when we are making a statement about our personal goals.

Say these two statements out loud;

1. "I am going to go play poker now and "try" to make some money."
2. "I am going to go play poker now and make some money."

Notice the difference in how the two statements feel internally. In the first one, you can actually feel the doubt about accomplishing your goal, while the second feels much stronger and more positive. In the future, keep an ear or eye out for your "try" statements and then make the same statement removing the word "try". Make a mental note of the differences in feeling, and think about what the implications of actually succeeding would be.

Good luck at the tables and I'll see you soon!

-QAsRevenge