How Random Are Random Events

I could really connect with this because you can’t always be focused on the outcome of the game or match. Instead, you should focus on the process, or the “journey” that it takes to get to that point, and you should enjoy it and give it everything you have. As the book states it, during the journey “the true joy and challenge lies in pursuing ongoing personal growth, loving the pursuit, and living the various textures of your life.” So what can we take from this quote? What I took from it was that the real enjoyment of the journey comes from seeing yourself improve and grow as an athlete and a person, and also to be balanced, and have fun in other areas of your life as well. I can relate to this because in the past I used to get so caught up in the potential outcome of the future, and my thoughts would become negative because I would worry so much. I would get so caught up that I would totally ignore just how much I had been improving over that period of time, which would kill my performance. But that’s why it’s the past, right? For the past 3 years I have been keeping a daily log of all my goals, outcome, performance, and process, and I’ve also been keeping a daily journal of what has been on my mind, and how my day went. It allows me to literally see how much I’ve grown as an

In Amy Tans “Rules of the Game” a first generation adolescent becomes fascinated with the game of chess and uses its rules as a strategy for life while growing up and away from her Chinese culture. This short story illustrates the struggle of growing up is especially difficult when in a culture different from ones parents.

7. Upload your “Concept map” to the Dropbox by the due date provided on the course calendar.

“One day, just after cleaning the landing area in the middle of the stairwell, the sun was shining through the window so brightly,” she recalls that from where she stood, at the foot of the stairs she could see the, “dust motes floating in the air.” These little tiny things floating in the rays of sunshine fascinated her.

Waverly plays is the board game chess, where she must think ahead and plan out every possible move to win. She must put herself in her opponent's shoes and try to predict their strategy. “I discovered that for the whole game one must gather invisible strengths and see the endgame before the game begins.” (Tan 8) By understanding Waverly’s thought process throughout a game, we are able to learn more about her as a person. She is aware of how different she is compared to the other players, and uses it to her advantage. “...I would clasp my hands under my chin, the delicate points of my elbows poised lightly on the table in the manner my mother had shown me for posing for the press. I would swing my patent leather shoes back and forth like an impatient child riding on a school bus. Then I would pause, suck in my lips, twirl my chosen piece in midair as if undecided, and then firmly plant it in its new threatening place with a triumphant smile thrown back at my opponent for good measure.” (Tan 12) These situations show how

Life, like war, compares to the game of chess. There are two sides, and they take turn moving their pieces in play. There is always a strategy for the final goal, victory, or the game could end in a stalemate. An endless possibility of moves exists for each player, keeping in mind the possible future actions of the opponent. This makes the game complex and difficult because each player does not know the intent, or exact move of the opponent. Each player must rely on instinct and judgment of their opponent to estimate the next action of the opponent. One must also account for the losses of pieces and the sacrifices needed in order to achieve victory. A game of chess between the United States and Japan started in July

Lastly, being a chess player involves being strategic. While Waverly is versing an American man, she says, “ ‘Blow from the South’, it murmured. ‘The wind leaves no trail’. I saw a clear path…lean away from the wind so he is easier to knock down’ ” (Tan 4). Waverly is using methods taught by Lau Po to knock down her opponents knight. She imagines that the wind is blowing, knocking down the knight. This relates to the title because Lau Po is teaching Waverly his rules of winning a chess tournament. Therefore, chess is a game that involves many rules and strategies to be successful.

Reflecting daily upon these values will increase my ability to articulate a holistic coaching philosophy. A personal coaching philosophy can be used as a tool itself, enabling a coach to question their practices and develop their own understanding and knowledge (Nash, et al., 2008). Already being interested in Sports Psychology, the reflective learning practice was already something I was aware of and keen to know more about.

In the game of chess, the king and the queen pieces are the most important pieces to keep protected if one wants to win. But at the end of the deteriorating-mind game, all the pieces go back into the same box no matter what position the piece held during the game. In the end, the difference in the king and pawn piece no longer matters, they are now the same value in the game of chess.

Searching for Bobby Fischer is a docudrama film about a seven year old, chess prodigy named Josh Waitzkin. At first, Josh taught himself how to play chess, and then received help from a park dealer, Vinnie, and renowned chess coach, Bruce Pandolfini. Throughout the movie, different techniques are used to create Josh a better player. These methods are different types of operant conditioning, which is a type of learning characterized by the relationship between voluntary actions and the consequences that follow. Types of operant conditioning displayed are positive and negative punishment and positive reinforcement. Variable ratio schedules are also present in the film, and modeling is shown by Josh.

You can think of it this way, we learned from our mistakes and now we can carry our new knowledge into the next game we play. This is written out perfectly by American Business man John Paul DeJoria he said, “Be prepared for a lot of rejection. This way you don’t give up.” This gives us the message that you can’t give up, you have to keep going because once you win, looking back at your journey will be the real success. One final but strong attribute you can gain while playing competitive sports is time management.(Mango)

Along with many other sports, much skill is necessary to compete. Gragan Starrm a writer for the Christian Science Monitor explains how people in gaming consider video games require equal amounts of strategy, teamwork, training, and reflexiveness as real sports (Starr). Major sports like soccer and football require tremendous amount of skill, and gaming is no exception. Alejandro Viramontes, a reporter, strongly relates chess to video games, and how similar they are, “...you have to practice and you have to understand the rules of each game-and how each game works” (Can Video Gaming Be Considered an Actual Sport? ). As a result, each sport and video game require training, as there are steep learning curves for each sport and game. Along with individual skill, teamwork is especially needed for both video games and sports. As Aileen Cerrudo describes it perfectly, athletes are alike gamers including the level of teamwork (Should “eSports” Be Considered As a Sport?). Most video games require teamwork to help win; they can’t win by just one person. This is exactly like most of the sports world wide are like, for example hockey and

The section Coincidences: Life’s Secret Door to Wonder was the part of the book that made me feel the happiest. So many times, I have felt the wonder that coincidences inspire in us if we allow it to. I call it divine intervention, and those are the moments that transcend all else and give us a glimpse into the beauty of what is beyond our understanding. I am sure there are many skeptics that can argue the rationality of coincidence, but if you have experienced it there is nothing more real or enlightening than those moments. Huffington (2014) appropriately describes coincidences as life’s reminders to stay in the present and take each moment in. I believe those moments are a gift from God, or whatever force one believes in, that keep

An Analysis of “The Rules of the Game” “Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character” (Hosea Ballou). This universal truth regarding the influence mothers have on their children is further emphasized in Amy Tan’s short story “The Rules of the Game” as Waverly’s mother equips her daughter not only with the skills to succeed at chess but also in life. The more Waverly is recognized as an exceptional chess player, the more she feels suffocated by her mother’s misplaced pride and her desire to been viewed independent from her mother grows. The mother’s controlling nature in this story marks her as an unexpected antagonist. Nevertheless, there is no denying that Waverly’s success is due, in part, to the application of her mother’s lessons to the rules of chess.

Over the summer, I played tennis with my dad and younger brother pretty often. I always had this preconceived notion before we went to play that I was a better player than my brother, even though he is amazing, especially for his age. One day, I played awfully; I felt like I hadn’t played that poorly in years. Instinctively, I came up with every possible excuse to reason why I played so badly. It was too hot; I couldn’t see the ball; I was distracted by the dogs barking nearby. I went on and on with excuses, external factors, but I never attributed my failure to any internal factors. I didn’t understand why I didn’t play well, so there must have been some other reason. I grudgingly accepted my defeat and told myself that there is always another day for me to play better. I realized that I wasn’t being honest with myself about the game after I went home and started replaying it in my head. It slowly dawned on me that I was at fault for not playing well, not the weather or other noises. I didn’t bend my knees enough, I didn’t follow through with my racquet, and I was too lazy when I had to sprint towards the ball. It was because of me that I lost the game, not because of something else. This showed me that just because something doesn’t go my way doesn’t mean I get to blame it on some external factor; I have to take some time to think about what happened to see if the reason the event occurred was due to what I did. On the other hand, when I found out that I performed really well on any test, I didn’t attribute it to the weather or to any other external factor; I never thought “The test was just really easy that time” or “The teacher graded it leniently this time”. I gave credit to myself for putting so much time and effort into studying, and I