When we make a mistake that costs us something or an unexpected event sets us back, it throws us off our game.
In poker it’s called being tilted. Due to a frustrating event, you compensate and begin playing recklessly and aggressively. It rarely works.
This reaction extends far beyond the borders of games. In virtually every area of life, people let small things anger them, and that anger influences the rest of their decisions moving forward.
And like in poker, it rarely works.
Staying upset about something gives you no benefit, but can certainly hinder whatever else you might be doing.
So what should we do instead?
Smile, laugh, shrug… anything that doesn’t give the event power over you.
Much like boxers who will smile when getting punched in the face, you can trick your mind into believing the severity of the event is less impactful than it is (which in reality, IS less serious than we initially perceive it to be).
The moment you get punched is the split-second you have to decide how you will react. Will it cause you to start swinging haymakers, in hopes of clocking the other fighter with the same force they hit you? Or will you smile, shrug off the blow, and get back to your game plan.
The most effective way of implementing this is to make it binary. You have two choices: keep doing what you’re doing, or drop everything all together. No in-between.
That choice could very well make or break your day. Be ready for it.