Re: Hows does your brain work
One question I've asked more than once but never received an answer to is what do the Professionals do when they're "not in the mood" to actually perform???
I'm not a "professional" at pretty much anything, least of all playing guitar! But, I know the question, because I've had to answer that one for myself in order to survive. Example: Years ago there was two guys working in the same area, and one of them was me. I felt sorry for the other guy, because he was nice, but this world had run him over, and he was timid, and a bit of a sad sack. We were talking to some other employees, and he told a story about some harsh circumstances that he now was facing. It didn't sound good.
Someone asked how he's able to deal with this one. He said, "Well, anytime I start getting down on myself, I just say, 'At least I'm not Gransen!'"
So yeah, then there's that.
Anyhow, one thing that I found that helped me was golf, which has it's own unique struggles (golf is not a sport, it's a disease). At the time, I thought that the cure for the disease was to learn about sports psychology, which was fairly new at the time (just before Tiger Woods said, "Hello world"). The first thing that I learned was that it's HUGELY important to send yourself positive messages. NEVER EVER give in. EVERY. If it looks like you're staring bogey in the face, then you need to stop right there...PLAY THE GAME ONE SHOT AT A TIME!!! Don't PLAN on getting birdie on the next hole because bogey seems inevitable on this hole...because it ain't "bogey" until the shot for par doesn't land in the cup. PERIOD.
What if you're 100 yards off the green with a wedge in your hand, and THAT'S your shot for par...??? Take dead aim...take dead aim.
The second thing that I learned is that "sports psychology" is really just a specialized form of "performance psychology," and that these lessons apply to virtually everything in your life.
That being said, I've been practicing "performance psychology" for the last 20 years or so. If I personally was in a band, and we survived our first trip to the recording studio, and actually sold enough albums to go out on tour, and then it started sucking, this is what I'd probably do to make the suckiness more bearable...
(1) Send myself positive messages...including avoiding thoughts of what I plan on doing when the tour ends. "Stay in the moment."
(2) Find stuff to do between shows. I'd probably want to get away from the other band members from time to time.
(3) In order to stay in my own zone, I'd ensure that the other band members understand that THEY are able to establish their own boundaries with me. "Empower those around you, and you can earn their trust." Things like admitting fault when mistakes are made, and not getting down on others when they make mistakes.
(4) "Some people see a rose, and notice that there are thorns. I see thorns, and look for the rose." Sometimes it's not just enough to send yourself positive messages ("I can do this, so I will"). Sometimes you actually have to actively look for something positive...something TANGIBLE...something that you can hang your hat on and call it your own.
(5) I'd recall the three best pieces of advice I've ever received in my life, and I'd figure out how they apply to this situation...
#1: "Just act like whatever it is you're doing is what you're supposed to be doing; and if anyone questions you, just make 'em feel stupid for asking." (I watched a Private First Class pretty much spin a Staff Sergeant on his heels and walk out of the room during a quick inspection of the barracks before formation. I asked how he does that stuff. That's what he said.)
#2: "Finish the race...even when you know that you've lost. And DO NOT stop running BEFORE the finish line, you can stop running when you're TWO STEPS past the finish line." (I got that from a gym teacher in high school, and then from my drill sergeant a few years later. That WAS the best advice I'd EVER received...until that one day mentioned above.)
#3: "Gransen, there's something you have to remember: these people are stupid." (Yeah, I always forget that.)
That's MY take on the question. And since I'm still alive to be able to tell it - despite being close to death several times, including that one time when I died and woke up in the hospital the next day with a tube down my throat - I'm going to say that I'm doing a pretty good job.
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