Apathy or unquenched desire?

[RandALLin]

I played baseball most of my life up until I started playing poker when I was 16. Playing a competitive sport where failing 70% of the time on offense was standard for good players helped me develop my "apathetic desire" for poker tournaments. It's probably different with most people who are used to excelling at a high level when being associated in regards to being "successful". It's not so much apathy or unquenched desire, but more both.

[Todd Terry]

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I played baseball most of my life up until I started playing poker when I was 16. Playing a competitive sport where failing 70% of the time on offense was standard for good players helped me develop my "apathetic desire" for poker tournaments. It's probably different with most people who are used to excelling at a high level when being associated in regards to being "successful". It's not so much apathy or unquenched desire, but more both.

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At risk of getting flamed, I'll point out that Chad Brown wrote an article in Bluff last month where he discussed how his former career as an actor, where you go to dozens of auditions for every 1 gig you get, prepared him mentally for the virtually constant losing interspersed with very occasional successes you experience on the live tournament circuit. My former profession, criminal defense attorney, is one of virtually constant defeats, albeit unlike with acting or poker you still get paid when you lose (in fact, it's illegal to have a success-based fee structure in a criminal case).

[THAY3R]

If you succeed only 30% of the time in baseball you better be a damn good shortstop.

[Superfluous Man]

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If you succeed only 30% of the time in baseball you better be a damn good shortstop.

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Or be short, white, "scrappy" and full of "heart."

fwiw I played baseball for 13 years and it took me at least a few of those years to stop getting super angry at myself if i made an out. Maybe I just don't handle failure well.

[WarDekar]

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If you succeed only 30% of the time in baseball you better be a damn good shortstop.

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Or be short, white, "scrappy" and full of "heart."

fwiw I played baseball for 13 years and it took me at least a few of those years to stop getting super angry at myself if i made an out. Maybe I just don't handle failure well.

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Same here. I always thought I sucked, but the last year I played the coach of our big rival came up to me and said something about how they always "worried" about me - Newsflash to me since I was never happy with myself.

I mean golf is the same way if you think about it.

[TheNewf]

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[ QUOTE ]
If you succeed only 30% of the time in baseball you better be a damn good shortstop.

[/ QUOTE ]
Or be short, white, "scrappy" and full of "heart."

fwiw I played baseball for 13 years and it took me at least a few of those years to stop getting super angry at myself if i made an out. Maybe I just don't handle failure well.

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I got mad at myself for like the first 13 years I played. I think team sports are much worse because you're letting the whole team down not just yourself. At some point I realized this was just making me play worse and there was no need for it so I just stopped caring as much. And that's how I became the apathetic [censored] I am today. But I'm still incredibly driven to succeed.