Push Forward And Find The Open Window

It is not a secret to many of my clients that I am an avid, and in my opinion really good poker player. I use concepts from the game mostly with regards to make decisions and evaluating stats and odds as a way to truly assess our environments and make the right decision. One of my favorite quote of all by by Doyle Brunson, one of the greatest players ever, “When , luck closes the door you need to come in through the window. That’s where the skill comes in.” In the current world we are living in living, now is the perfect time to live this lesson, so we can use it in again and again in the future.

Normally I don’t believe in luck, but every now and then we can make an exception. However, I often interpret luck as the statistics working out negatively, as it is bound to happen in life at some point despite putting yourself in the right position. Right now for many people the door has been shut. Students are having to learn mostly remote or hybrid with less time in school. Athletes have limited games and practices, and even in some sports rule changes that change the whole game. College students and prospective ones are adjusting every day to evolving expectations. Even general clients scrambling each day to get by. With everything it is easy see the door has been shut.

When the door shuts for many people they freeze and just stand there knocking waiting for it to open. What if it doesn’t? Does it makes sense to just sit there and complain? Eventually it is going to rain or you will get hungry and they sill just make things worse for you. You have to get in the house, so push through find the window and get in.

Of course the window is often high up there, or jammed shut. Many of the previous blogs have referenced the skills for you to open it. We have discussed adapting, resiliency, positivity, emotion control, and many other skills to improve confidence, manage our mental health, and grow as a person. It is one thing to know these skills, now is the time apply them. No matter whether it is the pandemic impacting you, or any number of an infinite number of stressors, open the damn window and get in the house.

So as Doyle would say: “You gotta have the courage to bluff. Courage doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of fear, but you gotta swallow that pride, and throw your hand away when you know you are beat. But when you are really on your game you can look your opponent in the eye and know if you got him or you know he’s got you. It doesn’t matter how good you are, everything can change when those cards are in the air. We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.”