> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kelly, Katie [mailto:kkelly@spss.com]
> Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 10:50 AM
> To: ba-autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: I THINK ITS BACKWARDS
>
> So, aside from looking ahead, I'd like to know how others
> handle good days and bad days. Surely, not ALL of your events
> meet your expectations.
Well, I have a lot of experience being bad at things. More than I do at
being *good* at things, that's for sure. I'm one of those people who
has to try everything (except seafood), and between work and play I
probably practice a huge number of disciplines in an average week.
Knowing that, I really don't expect to be particularly good at any of
them.
At an autocross, or on a track, I try to look at driving the way I look
at, well, driving. During a run/session, I have a rule that I will not
think about the past. If I run over 6 cones, DNF in the slalom, and run
over two course workers, I am absolutely not going to notice or care
about it until the finish line. At that point, I'll try to figure out
what went wrong and fix it.
When I have a disappointing, odds are it's because I didn't follow that
simple rule: I got sideways before the start lights, and couldn't let go
of it through the entire run. And then, on my second run, I was
focusing on doing better than the first one, rather than just driving.
After bad runs, I couldn't drive on the third because I was too
conscious of how badly the first two runs went.
My mom, I'm a bit embarrassed to say, is one of those crystal-wielding
astrology new-age fluffy types. I pretty much discount all of that, but
I am constantly reminded of something she once told me: "whatever you
focus on, increases." She sees it as a principle that the universe
operates on; I see it as a principle of psychology. Either way, though,
I think it's an absolute truth (it's a generalization of the "don't look
where you don't want to drive" law).
I think that same principle applies to driving: if you say to yourself
"goddam it, I took an early apex in that last corner," or, worse "this
is a terrible run," well, it's not going to turn out well, is it?
I disagree with the drug analogy. If you have a fantastic day and
trounce your class and the PAX index, absolutely, congratulate yourself
and feel euphoric. But if you have a terrible day and DNF every single
run, you still have every reason to feel euphoric: it's the experience,
not the results, that matter. And I, at least, really only do well when
I feel that way.
Sorry if this is a somewhat rambling note; I guess what I'm trying to
say is that there is *no such thing* as a bad autocross day, unless you
want to have one.
Becca, however, feels differently:
"Feel free to forward a message from me that says how
much I recommend pouting and being a general pain in
the ass for a few hours after having a bad autocross
day... you could go on to explain that, as my companion,
you find it not only really effective in getting me through
my post-autocross emotions, but that you also find it
wonderfully appealing and enjoyable to be around me on
such occasions!"
Cheers
-b
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