I haven't found a bulletproof one that's for sure. But my old method went something like: 1) I know logically and intellectually that tsumego helps me get stronger, so I know I need to do it 2) But when I practice I get a lot of problems wrong which is an emotional downer (the same could be said about losing games) 3) So, I stop doing tsumego as much as I should because I don't get as much feel-good candy.

The problem is skipping tsumego does not lead to the long term enjoyment of becoming stronger at go and therefore being able to enjoy new levels of awareness when playing. We often get to feeling stagnate and thus our love of the game can actually diminish.

So, to give the emotional side the due, I focus on what it means to study go. 1) I remind myself that a serious student of go wants to improve. And I want to be a serious student even though my time is limited. 2) I focus on the reward of feeling like a serious student if I study regularly, no matter the percentage of problems worked correctly. 3) In fact, I focus on the thought that doing hard things, including mastering the finer parts of this worthy game, is hard. I can have a sense of hard work and pride in simply studying. (I find this works for exercise too. I now let myself feel good about just being at the gym not by how many pound s I lift or reps I do or miles I jog.) 4) My emotional candy has become more subtle. I focus on building the identity of who I want to be as a go player (not a pro in may case LOL but rather someone who has found a discipline worth investing time in and that is also very enjoyable.

By devoting myself to it and making progress, I feel good about my efforts. In short, I've made progress by relaxing and not taking myself as seriously hehehehehe. That is a long standing problem with me . . . too serious.

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RazorBrain


- Another One Bites the Dust
- BOOK REVIEW: How Not To Play Go
- Finally, a DGS Client for the iPhone

Your comments in red above are spot on with what the authors of the books say. Essentially, the logical, long term part is equated with a rider and the short-term, emotional part is equated with an elephant. The rider can control the elephant, sometimes. But if the elephant wants something bad enough there is nothing the rider can do but hang on.

So, rider and elephant must work together. The rider can control things, but if he tries to control too much he tires and the elephant gets away with murder. Balance seems to be the key. We must acknowledge and even feed our emotional sides while remaining in limited control for our long-term benefit.

This actually sounds like go in that we are encouraged to "play loose" when attacking. DDK's often get in trouble by constantly attacking through contact play. This could be like trying to control everything with the rider or logic. In the end that player creates too many weaknesses and his or her game crumbles. But for a player that attacks and plays contact only when necessary, a balanced partnership between rider and elephant is achieved that is much stronger.

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RazorBrain


- Another One Bites the Dust
- BOOK REVIEW: How Not To Play Go
- Finally, a DGS Client for the iPhone

Excellent post! I particularly like the part above. I love the analogy.

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be immersed

I tend to go with the thought that just starting something out for the day is more than half the effort. My dad always says he should go to the gym and he knows that no matter how much he doesn't want to go, he's going to be glad he went during and afterwards. So one important principle to willpower is simply telling yourself to start something and knowing consciously that it is almost always better once you get started. To avoid procrastination, you have to build the habit of that starting daily.

Of course, all the willpower in the world is meaningless if you do not have purpose to back it up.

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