As usual, when the first of the year comes around, my best friend and I
go to lunch and discuss our wishes and goals for the upcoming year. We
review the previous year's goals and discuss how we did on them. Then
after discussing why we want to do these certain things for this year,
we each quietly write down our " new goals."
We have a standing agreement that our first meeting, after the first of
the year, will be our goal setting time. We have been having these
lunches for a dozen or so years and our late afternoon lunches usually
last a couple of hours. When it's time to leave, we usually have pumped
each other up and it feels like a good old-fashioned sales meeting.
My friend is also a poker player so, as you might have guessed, there
are usually several poker goals. Now the interesting thing is, as the last
12 or 13 years have passed and we both have gotten older, our goals
have taken on a different look.
I remember when we first started our lists, we would each have10 or so
goals, of which 7 or 8 of them had to do with poker. Of the remaining
two or three, usually there was one that was connected to health. It
was always to try to eat better and lose some weight.
Over the last four or five years, there seems to have been a shift in our
goals. Instead of the 7 or 8 poker goals, they have decreased to 3 or 4.
The health goals, on the other hand, have increased from 1 or 2, to
more like 5 or 6.
If you have gathered that what I'm trying to say is that poker is going to
become less important as you start getting a little older, and your health
is going to start getting a lot more important--you're right!
If you play poker for a living, or you are just one of the those people
who really enjoy just playing and play a lot of hours, be aware that it is
a sedentary way of life. It will catch up to you, probably sooner than
later.
So all you guys and gals in the 35 to 45 age group, take note. A word to
the wise should be sufficient. Start paying more attention to your health.
You are going to be surprised how important it will become, as the years
start passing by. It is like anything else. You shouldn't wait till you body
starts to run down, before you start paying attention to it.
I remember as a younger man, I would sometimes play many, many
hours of poker, sitting in a smoke filled room, breathing not-so fresh air,
and eating mostly the wrong foods. Then I would go home, get some
sleep, and come right back and do the same thing again the next day.
That's just, simply put, not good for you.
I don't want all the Casinos and Card Clubs to get mad at me for
suggesting that we poker players should cut down on our playing hours.
I would suggest to them that in the long run they would benefit. Instead
of us playing longer hours for a shorter number of years, we (if we start
paying more attention to taking care of ourselves) will be able to play
shorter hours, for a much longer number of years.
Of course, I'm not talking to you guys that are still young--let's say
under 35 years old. You guys are indestructible. Your body rejuvenates
itself quickly, you have a lot of different needs that have to be filled, so
taking good care of yourself, isn't really that important--yet!
But for the rest of you, as you make your goals for this new year, you'll
live a lot more productive, longer life, if you start taking better care of
yourself NOW, before things become irreversible.
And here's the best part of all. Once you start eating better, exercising
more, getting enough fresh air and rest, and doing all the other things
you know you should do, your mind will start functioning better. You'll
start feeling a lot better about yourself, and I'll bet you'll get a lot better
results at the poker table.
Besides, I've grown to like a lot of you "middle aged" people out there. I
don't want to lose any of you, too soon.
For what it's worth …
go to lunch and discuss our wishes and goals for the upcoming year. We
review the previous year's goals and discuss how we did on them. Then
after discussing why we want to do these certain things for this year,
we each quietly write down our " new goals."
We have a standing agreement that our first meeting, after the first of
the year, will be our goal setting time. We have been having these
lunches for a dozen or so years and our late afternoon lunches usually
last a couple of hours. When it's time to leave, we usually have pumped
each other up and it feels like a good old-fashioned sales meeting.
My friend is also a poker player so, as you might have guessed, there
are usually several poker goals. Now the interesting thing is, as the last
12 or 13 years have passed and we both have gotten older, our goals
have taken on a different look.
I remember when we first started our lists, we would each have10 or so
goals, of which 7 or 8 of them had to do with poker. Of the remaining
two or three, usually there was one that was connected to health. It
was always to try to eat better and lose some weight.
Over the last four or five years, there seems to have been a shift in our
goals. Instead of the 7 or 8 poker goals, they have decreased to 3 or 4.
The health goals, on the other hand, have increased from 1 or 2, to
more like 5 or 6.
If you have gathered that what I'm trying to say is that poker is going to
become less important as you start getting a little older, and your health
is going to start getting a lot more important--you're right!
If you play poker for a living, or you are just one of the those people
who really enjoy just playing and play a lot of hours, be aware that it is
a sedentary way of life. It will catch up to you, probably sooner than
later.
So all you guys and gals in the 35 to 45 age group, take note. A word to
the wise should be sufficient. Start paying more attention to your health.
You are going to be surprised how important it will become, as the years
start passing by. It is like anything else. You shouldn't wait till you body
starts to run down, before you start paying attention to it.
I remember as a younger man, I would sometimes play many, many
hours of poker, sitting in a smoke filled room, breathing not-so fresh air,
and eating mostly the wrong foods. Then I would go home, get some
sleep, and come right back and do the same thing again the next day.
That's just, simply put, not good for you.
I don't want all the Casinos and Card Clubs to get mad at me for
suggesting that we poker players should cut down on our playing hours.
I would suggest to them that in the long run they would benefit. Instead
of us playing longer hours for a shorter number of years, we (if we start
paying more attention to taking care of ourselves) will be able to play
shorter hours, for a much longer number of years.
Of course, I'm not talking to you guys that are still young--let's say
under 35 years old. You guys are indestructible. Your body rejuvenates
itself quickly, you have a lot of different needs that have to be filled, so
taking good care of yourself, isn't really that important--yet!
But for the rest of you, as you make your goals for this new year, you'll
live a lot more productive, longer life, if you start taking better care of
yourself NOW, before things become irreversible.
And here's the best part of all. Once you start eating better, exercising
more, getting enough fresh air and rest, and doing all the other things
you know you should do, your mind will start functioning better. You'll
start feeling a lot better about yourself, and I'll bet you'll get a lot better
results at the poker table.
Besides, I've grown to like a lot of you "middle aged" people out there. I
don't want to lose any of you, too soon.
For what it's worth …
Be Good to Yourself
By Vince Burgio
By Vince Burgio
