The Glass is Half Full - Racking

Is the glass half empty or half full? The purpose of the question is to demonstrate that the situation may be seen in different ways depending on one's point of view and that there may be opportunity in the situation as well as trouble.
I pride myself in thinking positive about situations and seeing the best in things. But, I fully admit I have inner demons like everyone else and sometimes seeing things as the Glass Half Full takes work on my part. And, to be honest, thinking optimistic doesn't always come naturally for me.

I have come across a few enlightening moments in pool that have been "a-ha" moments for me - and they have helped remind me that I am looking pessimistic at things. I love realizing that I could have looked at a situation in a positive way because I love learning! Therefore, I decided to start a section in my blog about this. This will be the first contribution to this blog section: "The Glass is Half Full"

Racking:

I was sitting at the Mosconi Cup next to a very good friend of mine in the front row and it was the first day. At the Mosconi Cup, each match had a dedicated ref. Sounds pretty cool, huh? (it was!) :) They would rack for the player, they would ensure extensions were incorporated, and they would ensure no balls were touched (it was an all-ball foul tourney).


As I sat there, I noticed that some of the players would check the racks. What?! I was shocked. I mean, these are pro players who have played in a million tournaments and they should know that the refs would not give them a bad rack! The refs were seasoned, well-known refs, too! I was perturbed every time one of the players checked the rack.

I finally said something to my friend sitting next to me and she replied so non-chalantly and non-judgmentally: "they are probably checking the rack to figure out which side to break from."

I sat there, embarrassed. "What? OMG. Good point."

It then donned on me I forgot that some players check racks for little gaps so they can figure out which side to break from to have a better chance to make balls. So, the players weren't checking the rack for a bad rack. It made so much more sense, lol!

I love enlightening moments!