MINDSET MYTHS:

WHAT MINDSET IS AND ISN’T

There’s been a lot of talk amongst players and coaches down the years regarding the subject of mindset-

It has almost become some kind of cool buzzword. But most players don’t really seem to know or understand what it really is. Some think it’s important, while others believe it doesn’t matter.

So, what really is this thing called mindset? Well— a good place to start is knowing what it is — but also what it isn’t…

Mindset encompasses many different aspects, from our past experiences to how we see ourselves vs others.

What mindset isn’t?

Most players think their mindset is more of a feeling— and pretty much uncontrollable- sometimes they feel good, sometimes not. If they feel good, they play well. Otherwise, it’s a lottery. Just hope for the best. ‘Think positive,’ However, these types of approaches rarely lead to more predictable and consistent results.

Mindset is also a choice- and it can form over years based on decisions we make about ourselves related to our experiences, which we then use to inform us how we should respond, act, or feel next time. It shapes our character, our attitude, and our mood. Every single decision we make stacks the rocks on either the positive or negative side of the scales.

For those in cue sports, if we are struggling, we might be tempted to look for blame or judgment of ourselves: the system or even another player. If not dealt with, they can cause massive damage to the person and player, especially their character. And in so doing, they are lowering their own personal standards.

It can also affect the mindset in the next tournament and give the player a negative outlook and attitude. Effectively a form of selfsabotage most players don’t have a way to reverse.

Self-limiting beliefs can form over time, along with fear of performance failure and imposter syndrome, especially if a player isn’t seeing results in big tournaments vs top players. Its important to remember the mind only gets away with what YOU allow it to… therefore a player’s mindset is largely governed by habit. Your choices develop habits. Habits become strongholds. So, knowing how to reverse them is key. Even what you choose to believe or talk about, or think after a match, can which tool they should have used before that error and then follow the correct procedure in the AMT PostMatch method that then enables them to self-correct for future match situations next time out. That means they dramatically reduce the chances of making similar errors under pressure next time. It’s like an advanced type of rapid self-learning- I call AMT machine learning. It is designed to first break and fix that particular mental weakness and response pattern. have a massive influence on future games. You may forget about it, but the subconscious won’t… so essentially, we are often sabotaging ourselves without even realising it and then justifying our actions or attitudes to ourselves, but it can be a slippery slope.

Following a specific process whereby players are now able to know exactly what they need to do mentally (mental processes) and exactly what to practice (practice process) after losses but also wins… whilst also learning how to recreate match pressure situations in the practice environment professionally.

Players on the AMT program can expect to be able to fix those mental weaknesses rapidly and work out what’s happening from week to week. Whereas in the past, players were often taking months or even years to figure out why they were making specific errors at certain times of matches and also had no consistent way to fix it other than work on specific shots in solo, which in my experience, isn’t a reliable method.

Then there’s the player mindset, like knowing how to prepare your mind professionally before a match, then in-match, being able to control and manage the mindset and mental game with a professional toolkit specifically engineered for the job, especially at those crunch moments or after an unexpected error.

Then, after the match, it’s important for players to know how to correctly process, analyse, and review wins and losses, even down to the key turning points and why they missed a particular shot the way they did and why they failed or lost the match.

Shot selection and technique are part of the course…

But to find the root problem, the player needs to know what happened mentally before that error- then know how to reprogram the mind to react and respond next time in a similar situation.

This is where the AMT In-Match toolkit comes in, allowing the player to identify

So, it’s super important to get this right and have it integrated into your game. Most players work hard to master their game and technique but little time on their mental game. That seems illogical and irrational to me, particularly as the mental game is likely up to 90% of the game once you reach a high level.

Players now have the opportunity to master their mental game in weeks rather than years, which gives them far richer and more accurate data insights into why they’re in poor form or why they lost, even down to why they missed a specific shot at a particular key stage of a match…

This helps accelerate the learning curve and overall progress, performance, and results. Once you have the right mental framework, it’s then easier to identify weaknesses and strengths so performance can then become predictable and sustainable using a tried and tested scientific learning process.

Being without this system is not an option if you want to make faster progress… and without it, it’s highly likely you’re missing key steps in your own methodology.