Be like Ronnie… Fail Forward

• YOU want to Increase your confidence..
• To be the Best YOU can be.
• YOU want to Win!

The key word in all 3 of the above statements is YOU. Improvement and change always starts and ends with you. You choose whether you can or you can’t, whether you will or you won’t or whether you do or you don’t! I’ve had many clients that have had one-to-one Pool Coaching improve dramatically within short periods of time and they all have ONE thing in common:

• They all put their egos aside and showed the courage to admit that they weren’t perfect and that they could improve their pool games.

No doubt you’re reading this thinking I’m stating the obvious, and you’re right.

The problem is; that it’s not always easy to admit that you have faults.  When was the last time someone praised you for doing something “wrong“? 🤷

We are all conditioned from an early age that you need to do things right in order to be rewarded.  It’s GOOD to do things right and BAD to do things wrong. When you were a kid, did you get a new toy for failing your latest maths test? ✏

Of course you didn’t.

The irony of this is that one of any parent’s proudest moments is when their child learns to walk for the very first time…

Persistent Determination

Let’s Picture The Scene:

Young baby Ronnie (10 months old) is quietly sitting on the floor watching CBeebies in the living room. He gets up off the floor and stands on his own two feet without any help from either his mum or dad. They are sitting on the sofa filming his every move. Ronnie then proceeds to take his very first steps ever, he walks across the living room, through the kitchen and out of the open door into the back garden. Ronnie completes a brief 30 second walk around the garden then he heads back inside to the living room. His every step followed by his beaming parents who have captured every proud second of this monumental achievement on their smartphones.

I know what you’re thinking! IMPOSSIBLE! A Toddler usually takes their very first steps between 9-12 months and consequently often masters the art of walking unaided at the age of around 14-15 months. Congratulations you’re right! ✅

Real-Life Wins!

Here’s what really happened:

On that occasion Ronnie stood up; which he’d been practicing previously. Then he managed his first ever 2 steps.. before falling back down onto his bottom! Despite this tumble Ronnie didn’t stay on his backside again for long.. a few days later he did the same again; 2 steps followed by another flailing tumble. Ronnie kept on trying and kept on failing. Until a few months later, at the age of 13 months he failed on 6 steps before tripping over and bruising his knee! 14 weeks later, which feels like about 5 years in the life of a toddler – Ronnie had another breakthrough and is now finally able to walk around the house with only the odd tumble. 🤕

Failure Is Necessary. Take More Shots!

Failures are inevitable so embrace them. He who fails should be praised for being brave enough to take the risk. Ronnie risked falling over every time he took his next steps but he didn’t let it stop him from mastering a new skill. His first steps were as much of a breakthrough as the unaided walking of 3 and a half months later. His parents were encouraging in each step of Ronnie’s journey. He wasn’t discouraged or held back following a few tumbles. The end result is just that – the end… of all the steps that enabled him to reach his goal. 

I’ve witnessed clients getting frustrated that they can’t play the shot I’m presenting them with. Their frustration exists because we are all conditioned to get things right every time. Attempting the same shot over and over, getting it wrong 20 times until all of a sudden they realise they’re getting closer to pulling it off. Then they start executing the shot perfectly once in every 6 shots. Then eventually they become able to deliver the shot more and more consistently. It’s all a part of process.

Winners are Persistent.

To master any skill, you must first fail many many times – the courage is in the failure. If you want to get better, achieve and win, you must be prepared to get things wrong. Most importantly of all, you have to be prepared to keep on going – just like Ronnie!

One of The Greatest Basketball Players of all time’s take on Failure.

Fail Forward.

TIP: FAILURES ARE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW AND SUCCEED! ✅

Hope this helps you Raise Your Game. 

THE POOL COACH 🎱