Choose to Live Joyfully

Poker has taught me many life lessons that I was too muddle-headed to comprehend in the first place. For example, I learned early in my poker career not to let anything from the past negatively affect my future. Sounds simple enough, but why did I find it so difficult to put into practice? I would take several bad beats at the tables and the untroubled faces of week-end gamblers would suddenly transform into demons of mythic proportions. This emotional reaction to losing wasn't healthy or profitable. The fact that these negative images of harmless people occurred to me was bad enough, but to let it carry over into my life and future decision making was absurd.

Losing had a snowball effect. When I lost I got ulcers and I didn't have the desire to talk to friends or do things I enjoyed. I'm not proud to say there was no better loser than me. But I was at least smart enough to realize this wasn't the best way to live my life. I chose to have a positive outlook no matter what happened simply because the alternative was worse. I'm not saying all my days are now blissfully serene skips through the park, but I do have a new resolve and make better decisions than I did in the past. Even my bad days now aren't really bad.

I was talking with an old acquaintance the other day and she told me she had been divorced and some of her other recent problems. She had severe shoulder pain and went to the doctor and he told her much of it had to do with her tense attitude. She said to the doctor, "You try dealing with the shit I've been through in the last 6 months!" It reminded me of what I used to do. She was choosing to hold on to her bitterness even though her body was screaming for her to let it go.

The world is a mess. The world is perfect. Choose your life and make it what you want.