CONTENTS
FOREWORD TO THE NEW EDITION ix
INTRODUCTION xi
1. MOTIVATION:THE
PLEASURES OF SMALL MOTIONS I
The Instinct for Play 3
The Value of Proper Motivation 5
Pleasure and Other Motivations 7
2. BODY IN MIND:
WHATTHE MENTAL
GAME IS ABOUT II
The Bodily Mind 12
The Conceptual Mind 14
Can Mental Skills Really Be Learned? 16
Acquiring a Sound Mental Game 17
3. A SENSE OFTHE GAME:
CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS CONTROLS
Division of Labor, Part One 20
Developing Unconscious Controls 22
Division of Labor, Part Two 26
Relaxing Conscious Controls 29
4. CONCENTRATION:
THEWELL-ORDERED MIND 31
Concentration in a Nutshell 32
Filling in the Picture 34
Focus 38
Distraction 40
Concentration as Choreography 44
5. RHYTHM:
PUT SOME MUSIC IN YOUR MOVES 47
Why Rhythm Matters 47
Understanding Rhythm 50
Becoming Rhythmic 52
Tempo 57
Play as Dance 58
INTERLUDE
Dead Stroke: All Together Now 61
6. EMOTIONS:
THE SOURCE OF PLAYING A ALL 65
Emotions and Performance 66
The "Right Amount" of Emotion 68
Modulating Your Emotions 68
Shaping Your Emotional Climate 69
Controlling Your "Current Weather Conditions" 71
The Moral of the Story 76
7. CONFIDENCE:
THE SECURITY OF ACCURATE EXPECTATIONS
Confidence and Self-image 78
Effective Confidence 80
The Pool Journal 83
Confidence, Probability, and Your Current Skills 85
The Banality of Confidence 87
8. MOTIVATION REVISITED:
MOVED BY DESIRE 89
Essential Traits and Idiosyncratic Meanings 91
Motivation and the Place of Pool in our Life 95
The Disaster of Single-Mindedness 97
Optimizing Motivation 98
9. COMPETITION:
FINDING OUTWHO'S WHO 101
What Makes Competition Different? 102
The Fundamental Challenge of Competition 104
The Basic Solution 107
Confidence and Respect 109
10. THE OPPONENT:
WHY COMPETING S COMPETING 113
The Inevitability of Noticing I 14
How the Opponent Matters 101 115
The Opponent and Your Game Plan I I 7
Competitive Styles: Dominants and Egalitarians I 18
The Point of Competing, Again 121
I I. ALMOST NEUROTIC:
COMPETITIVE PROBLEMS OF PECULIAR SORTS 123
Fear of Harsh Judgment 124
Fear of Winning 126
Solace from Neurotic Experience 129
12. COMPETITION AND PLEASURE
Panic and Pleasure The Best Indicator The Romance of the Game
FOR FURTHER READING 141
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 143
ABOUTTHE AUTHOR 145
