The Fighter's Mind: Inside the Mental Game

Depth over breadth, man. I believe in diving deeply into a small pool of information.

Basically, his opponent made a beginner's blunder; he gave Josh a piece on an error. The error that was so weirdly obvious, so big, that it was almost impossible for Josh to see. When you read the game now, it's simply mystifying. They were both embroiled in computations of this deep position, getti…

— Sam Sheridan, amazon.com

Heh Perception The Fighter's Mind

The way to win a game like that involves maintaining and increasing the tension. The person who makes the first break, who releases the tension, it's going to go against them, partly because they've broken the tension and now the other guy has the first move to exploit the new play dynamic.

— Josh Waitzkin, amazon.com

Facts strategy The Fighter's Mind

If I have a slightly better position, and I'm improving my position, then all the tactics are hovering like potential energy.

— Josh Waitzkin, amazon.com

Self-improvement strategy The Figher's Mind

Greg has an interesting way, unique to New Mexico, of recharging his batteries. He grew up with a strong sense of local history, and one of his favorite hobbies is 'ghost towning,' where you get maps and track down old ghost towns in the New Mexican wilderness. 'It's incredible, these abandoned town…

— Sam Sheridan, amazon.com

Ideas Notes to self The Figher's Mind

[Amazing athletes] are at peace with failure or success; as [Peter] Schjeldahl wrote, they take 'an impersonal joy' in what they do. They see themselves from the outside, as impersonal constructs, which may lead to the oft-ridiculed referencing themselves in the third person.

— Sam Sheridan, amazon.com

Hm Perception Reality The Figher's Mind

'Only an animal does useful things,' he said at last, after a long silence. 'An animal gets food, finds a place to sleep, tries to keep comfortable. But I wanted to do something that was not useful, not like an animal at all. Something only a human being would do.'

— Gerard d'Aboville, amazon.com

Heh Hm Insights The Figher's Mind

We choose things that are against our own best interests because the freedom to make that choice is more important than those interests.

— Sam Sheridan, amazon.com

Facts Hm Insights The Figher's Mind

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