Mind, Body and Spirit

Before you read this I suggest making yourself a cup of hot chocolate, wiggling into your seat and settling down for a long read. I would hope it takes you as long to read it as it has for me to write it and I imagine it will be a condemning account of my latest poker antics and indeed my life for the past three months or so. Interesting experience this whole blogging thing..

I guess there's positives and negatives to take from every experience, and a slightly erratic sleeping pattern allows for scope to think, reflect, analyse and criticize. I would say food for thought is appropriate, but considering I'm writing this when I should probably be enjoying a cup of homebrew from Blackheath and one of their finest pastries; it's not quite.

So why mind, body and spirit? Simple really. I think it's a fairly common belief that in order to be entirely satisfied with yourself, you must fulfill all three equally; and that's precisely what I've failed to do as of late. I'll start with 'mind', ultimately, where and why this blog began in the first place.


Mind - The most crucial aspect of any poker player's game..


To those involved in poker, you're likely aware that your mental state of mind will be a direct reflection upon your playing ability at any given time. If you're not entirely focused on the game you're a part of; there's almost no doubt that it will have a negative influence on your results, and ultimately, how much money you will potentially stand to gain, or indeed lose in the long run. To those that don't play; you know when you're 'down', and I'm sure you've equally experienced the spiral of defeat in which a situation becomes progressively worse over time.

To quote a man in a similar situation; "I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle. Now if you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to get in touch with and forgive: meself."

For those of you that can look past the literal perception of Fat Bastard, there's a cunning undertone to be applied to the above; probably scarily relevant to many, although there aren't as many that would be willing to admit to it.

I imagine those that know me best would describe me as a strong character, at least I'd like to think so. Everyone handles situations differently, and my biggest challenge this year has been a test of my mental resilience. I've attended four funerals this year; quite frankly an experience I wouldn't wish upon anyone, especially at the age of 22. Of all the life lessons I've learnt, or begun to understand; the concept of losing someone that's had a significant influence on your own life journey is still a mystery to me, and likely something I'll never fully comprehend. There's probably an ocean of thought I could delve into, but I'll save it for another blog at another time. I think it's safe to say that those that know me as a strong character also appreciate I somewhat specialise in deterring from my point to explore several avenues and tangents before getting to it.

Let me take this back to poker..

Like any recreational player, I've had my fair share of successes and equally, first hand experience of significant losses. Bankroll management would've probably helped and it's a lesson I'm still yet to force myself to learn; but on the flipside, had I not played outside of my limits; I wouldn't have experienced the same level of success that I've tasted. Believe me, a $1k score tastes pretty sweet.

I've been incredibly lucky to have been staked for my last three sessions at The Empire casino, playing £1/2 at £300 a time. The agreement behind it meant that my backer would take a 30% profit share, but at the risk of a 100% loss. Naturally, when the pressure isn't on me personally, I generally take my game to a new level and reap the rewards, as I did on two occasions. On the latest however, 'variance' caught up with me, and after a string of 2-outers, I was quite quickly £500 in the red. Whilst this didn't effectively cost me anything, the overwhelming guilt of delivering the news to my backer, and indeed my friend, was a burden that money couldn't justify. Although this was probably the best answer to playing above my limits; I'm not sure it's a venture I would actively seek out in future; and if offered, I'd have to give it some serious consideration, rather than snapping their hand off as I had previously. My advice to anyone in a similar situation, is to carefully contemplate every reason that you're looking to get into the agreement in the first place; and what affect it would have on you in the worst scenario. Conversely, say you spun up £1,000 in a night - can you hand back your £300 stake as well as £210 on top? It's a free £490; but had the money you'd been playing with been your own; it's a significant difference in profit.. At the end of the day, precisely why aren't you in a position to be playing those stakes with your own money, comfortably? That's likely the issue you need to deal with, and the securest means of avoiding an unnecessary guilt trip further down the line. Bitter pill to swallow? It is, isn't it..

So this is all poker talk, what's your point?


I often translate my poker experiences to real life scenarios. Weird concept that, considering poker is a real life activity.. regardless..

What goes on within the sanctity of your own mind is yours and yours alone. Considering most (if not all) of your physical actions are driven by a previous thought process; you're entirely responsible for yourself. If you're 'down', you have two choices. The first, is to let it consume you. Negativity can fill your mind and become the ball and chain that you pray to be freed from, because you believe that the only solution is to find solace in someone, or something else. Truth is? You're wrong. The longer you rely on someone else, the longer you punish yourself undeservedly.

The alternative, is to conquer your demons. Undoubtedly more difficult, challenging and demanding, yet the only real means of seeking reward for your efforts. If you've ever had the pleasure of a session with a psychologist, counsellor or anything of the sort; think back to it. Did they really give you the answers? Or did they just ask probing questions to try and analyse your responses and make you think on an alternative level? I would suggest it was more the latter. You have the answers; you just need to find them.

Body - Physical tells and the belief of your own being


If I was to make up a statistic, it would be this; 92% of the people that have viewed this blog (including yours truly) have had a point in their lives in which they haven't been satisfied with the way they look. 73% of this 92% moan about it on a semi-regular basis. 64% of that 73% have done absolutely nothing in an effort to 'rectify' the matter. Now, I'm not intent on preaching how to sculpt yourself like Adonis (wouldn't that be hypocritical?), however, this does relate to my previous point regarding mental choices. If you fall into the 64% that have done nothing in an attempt to become more 'desirable' (my common assumption of your own physical ambitions), then you shouldn't be one to consistently complain. In the long run, you only become more aware of your own dissatisfaction, demotivating yourself further and exaggerating your 'problem'.

Adversely, your perception of your physical features may be your underlying issue. I'm rather consistent in rolling my eyes at my 36" waistline, a little above the 34" average, which, admittedly, I'm not entirely happy with. However; your perception of yourself is not necessarily what others see, or indeed think of you. Confidence plays a pivotal role in your appearance, as you express yourself through what you wear and how you wear it. I could probably go into incredible detail about that too, but alas, it's another tangent. The one thing I recommend you always wear, no matter who you are? A smile. It will define your world.

Spirit - The most difficult element to define, understand and explain..


I actually took the liberty of looking up the definition of 'spirit' as to exploit the best means of explaining my theories in this part.. My return was as follows;

"the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul"


Still pretty difficult to understand? I thought so too. The last four words connected for me though, as my interpretation would lead me to believe it is the culmination of your physical being and your mental state of mind; portraying your character and defining who you are.

To satisfy your soul (or spirit, one and the same for the purpose of this blog), your mental state of being and physical persona should be in tune with one another; and your life balanced. Concentrating too much on one thing undoubtedly means you'll be focusing less on something else. There's also the risk of spreading yourself too thinly in order to cover everything but failing to fully achieve any of your goals. Learn, appreciate and play to your limits if you want to be successful.



If you made it this far and read all the way through, I can only thank you. Hopefully you took something from it, as much as I did in writing it. Funny what blogs can do for you..