Sunday I finally cashed the $500 super stack on Lock poker, taking down 3rd for a nice 5 digit score, which is quite rare for US poker players. It was also much sweeter because I won a $100 satellite sit n go to qualify for the tournament, super free roll.
From a psychology stand point, having set goals is very important. I know for myself when I have goals I stay on track. When I try to make at least $10k in a month playing poker, I am way less likely to degen on sports or table games, unless I am way above my goal.
About 2 months ago I stopped going to the gym simply because I had no reason to. I had nothing to look forward to after going for almost a year straight. Yes it is standard to plateau at that point and that dissuades a lot of people from continuously going. The beginning of lifting weights is so much fun because you get to see how your body changes and how quickly you can raise your strength. The end is much harder but that is what separates freakish athletes from people who are just in shape. It took me a month off to realize all I needed to do was look past what I currently was lifting, and look forward to the next level.
You can draw parallels to almost any job. Its highly doubtful someone who has been stuck at the same position within their company is as value added as someone who wants to rise through the ranks. Its also highly doubtful someone who has been idle is going to want and be happy to go to work every day.
Motivation comes in many different forms. Wealth, looks, knowledge, power of position, land, and any other noun deemed valuable by society. Brides want to be skinny, poker players want to be rich, scholars want to be smart, and college grads want to be CEOs.
Every form of motivation is incredibly easy to start. You see what you want to be and you go do it until you hit numerous road blocks. The secondary pushes are much harder and much rarer, but ultimately are more important. For a lot of poker players having goals to reach, $10k, $25k, $50k, $100k are great to stay on track.
Stay happy, set goals and improve, what else can you do?
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