Focus and Discipline Key to Winning at
Chess
In all the games we play, mind
control is the most important determinant of failure and victory.
A chess player will lose a winning game if he loses his focus. He
will make a fatal mistake and the game is over. What can he do about
this?
There is no instant remedy, but there is much to learn from this
situation and about human nature in general. Man loves to compete.
It is in his nature to win the game, be better than the rest, be the
champion, and take the trophy home. It is also natural to be nervous
in a competitive situation. This is embedded in the human mass
consciousness that we are a part of. From the outside, top athletes
competing in world championships might appear cool and in control,
but later when interviewed, they talk about how nervous they felt
but how they were eventually able to take control of themselves and
achieve victory. While there are exceptions, this is generally the
case when the pressure is high.
To take control, we must first focus on the level where the nerves
are pumping. When we are under pressure, it can get so bad our hands
or legs begin shaking, and we become embarrassed and try to suppress
it. We don’t want anybody to know how afraid we are! We struggle to
hide it and give the impression that everything is under control,
which starts a vicious cycle that ends up making us feel even worse.
All our energy and concentration is wasted in these efforts to
suppress our nervousness and we can’t do our best in the game, if we
can perform at all in the game.
When it gets this bad, there is a reason for it. The problem arises
when we refuse to face our fears and just want them to go away. The
solution is to be honest with ourselves and face our feelings
openly. Suppressing them only makes them stronger; the energy builds
up and overwhelms us. Many of us experience fear and panic, but few
of us really know them because we don't accept them. In denying them
and just wanting them to go away, we never learn to understand them
or hear the message they have for us. When we accept them and
acknowledge them, they are free to move through us unblocked. You
can also choose to experience fear as excitement and use the energy
it gives you in competition.
It can take a lot of courage to face our fears. Those fears that
emerge when we are among other people are especially hard to face.
But once we do it, we find we are still alive and kicking, and the
energy rush is tremendous. We feel like a winner, and we are,
because we are on the path to victory. Mastering our own emotions is
essential to success in life as well as in games.
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