Is It Wrong...

to feed off others angst's?

I am mentally strong about distractions, especially if they affect my opponents.

On the few occasions where my opponent is visibly bothered by our surroundings during a match, I have noticed I feed on it. How you might ask? Well, they may start to complain about the bathroom door, people walking by, the players practicing "loudly" next to us, etc. During these times, I excel at recognizing they are being affected by outside influences and I take the opportunity to let the distractions bother them while I focus on pool!

I recall one memorable time in 1999 when I was playing in a tournament and the TD said the only open table was next to the women's bathroom. I jumped at the chance - "put me on that table, I don't mind at all," I exclaimed. My opponent was bothered to no end and I won.

I notice opponents use the distractions as excuses all the time (it happened just yesterday during one of my matches - "the people next to us never showed us the same respect."). But I pounce on the opportunity to test my mental toughness.

I guess if I have a good frame of mind going on, I am consciously aware to try and not lot things bother me that I cannot control. It's a waste of mental energy that you could instead be using to win the match in front of you.