Confident or Arrogant? What’s the winning attitude?

I’m always overcome with a feeling of warmth and excitement when the Minnesota cool fall weather appears.  Pool season is taking off.

This time of year also signals the start of the Snooker season and whenever I can, I hunker down in front of my computer to watch streaming snooker matches.  This week, I’m watching The World Open from Glasgow.  Monday, Ronnie O’Sullivan made an outrageous maximum break of 147.  The nine minute clip below starts on a strange note with Ronnie asking Jan what the bonus is for a maximum break. Since Steve Davis did it on the telly for the first time in the 80’s, it has been a common practice for tournaments to pay a bonus to a player who makes a 147. Sometimes the prize is 147,000 pounds sterling.

The mere fact that Ronnie considers the prize money before he begins to pot balls brings up an interesting question:  Does his enquiry display confidence or arrogance?

Note about the video:  The Beeb has a habit(and right) to take down snooker videos from YouTube. If this clip is gone, just do a search for “Ronnie O’Sullivan 147 World Open 2010” and you’ll probably hunt down a copy of this amazing break.

My history of successes while competing nearly always mirrors my self-confidence.  I believe that when I’m comfortable with my game, executing shots well, and playing smart my confidence grows. Feeling sure about pocketing balls and achieving good position helps me attain those results.  It is a cycle that feeds itself. Getting into the zone is an amazing feeling. I hope every player gets a taste of it.

How does one balance the feeling of invincibility with being grounded and humble? I suppose a person should choose his words carefully and let his actions speak louder that his words.