08 May 2024 mindset mental game motivation Interest in an activity is a crucial component that increases the chances of success, especially in such a capricious game of poker. And everything would be great, but there are factors that can "kill" interest, despite its importance. Let's explore the five main reasons that can undermine interest in your work, hobbie or any activity in your life. 1. Monotony and Routine Following the same pattern, performing the same actions repeatedly, can significantly decrease interest due to the lack of novelty. Routine deprives activities of freshness and sharpness, which can lead to a decline in motivation. Turning poker into a routine can be detrimental as it may lead to a lack of creativity and adaptability in your strategy. 2. Unclear Goals Lack of clear goals can be a real obstacle in your growth as a professional poker player. It's always essential to understand clearly why we engage in a particular activity, especially in such a long-term strategic game like poker. Lack of clear goals can lead to a loss of direction and dwindling interest. 3. Negative Experience and Associations Negative experiences or associations with certain activities can create blocking barriers to interest. For example, a person who has faced failures or problems in the past may have difficulties in maintaining interest in similar types of activities. Imagine a player who had a particularly rough start in his poker session. Perhaps he lost a significant amount of money due to bad beats or coolers. These negative tilt experiences could create a mental barrier for them, making it challenging to maintain interest in playing poker in the future. The fear of repeating past failures or the anxiety associated with potential losses might deter them from fully engaging with poker again. 4. Dissatisfaction with Results Dissatisfaction with results is a common challenge in poker. When efforts don't lead to desired outcomes, interest can wane for many individuals, especially when they perceive their skills to be above average. Poker is a marathon, not a sprint! Therefore, be prepared to experience constant dissatisfaction with your short-term results, due to the high variance of the game. 5. Lack of Challenges Tasks that do not present sufficient challenge or difficulty for a person may not be stimulating enough. If tasks are perceived as too easy or lacking in complexity, they fail to stimulate sufficient interest in the strategic aspects of the game. To maintain and strengthen interest in activities, it is important to recognize these factors and actively apply methods and strategies aimed at overcoming them. Creating variety, setting clear goals, overcoming negative experiences, evaluating and acknowledging achieved results, as well as setting oneself challenges and tasks of increased difficulty – all of these can help to preserve and even increase interest in poker for the long run.