PiGStarcraft Profile Blog Joined December 2010 Australia 945 Posts Last Edited: 2015-02-02 22:37:40 #1





Focus and Mindset



When we don't perform to our expectations things can get quite frustrating. Part of this is mindset and focus. Remember to analyse your replays. Preferably at the end of a day or half a day of practice you can sit there and watch most of your losses with a notepad writing down the key turning points in the game, things you can improve in your macro and so on. Basically looking for ways to improve. You need to do this at least once every 2-3 days or you will get in the mode of just massing games. Don’t become a player that plays 10x as much as anyone else and yet their results never improve.



Staying Positive - Keeping Your Ego in Check



Also make sure you're in a positive mindset. Depending on your lifestyle and how serious you are with Starcraft there are a lot of things that can benefit your life as a whole that will also help you be faster and smarter at starcraft. Make sure you're exercising regularly, it doesn't need to be much just a long walk or a light jog a few times a week will do wonders for your average gamer-nerd.



Force yourself to gg every game, and be very critical and aware of your own mindset. Ego is the enemy. We always need to keep a careful eye on this. With each level you climb you will hit new obstacles that will reveal your weaknesses. Remember that if you ever let your ego feed on your achievements and grow bloated and fat, it will be twice as shocking when you run into a new barrier. And your ego will prefer you take breaks, run away, or even if you keep playing, it will make you irrational and blame games on all-ins, cheese, random shit, luck, accidents and your opponent being "so dumb that he didnt react to what I did". You will stop learning from your losses and go on tilt much faster. This negative focus will make Starcraft a very sour experience for you. Work on avoiding it at all costs.



Distractions



Also when you play. Please do yourself a favour and don't have any second monitor turned on, any streams in the background, or anything like that. AND do not browse the web in between games. It is SO important for you to process how you're playing, why you're losing/winning in between games and to keep your focus. Do not distract yourself with all this other stuff.



P.S. If you want to play in a more relaxed way, hop onto a different server, unranked or a different account and play funner, cheesier or more relaxed strategies if you're going to have distractions present.



Not as easy as it sounds - putting in the extra effort



Of course things sound simple written like I have above. But this is a complex game where there are many, many factors surrounding every win and loss. If you want to get the most out of coaching/ladder/progress I want you to re-write out your entire builds e.g. vs ZvP 3-base blink or wherever your problems may lie, pointing out what you react to, where you choose to do what and transition how.



If you write all this out in detail you might solve some of the problems yourself before you even get into game. Application of focus and effort is not easy, but it is rewarding.



Gl hf,













Recently several players have approached me asking about issues with them raging at the game, playing worse than usual, going on tilt for long periods and in general having trouble progressing and finding where to improve. I myself had a horrible ladder session yesterday on stream where I went through some of these same symptoms. I thought I'd grab a few of my responses to my students and throw them together into a mini article. Hopefully this will help some of you with your progression as a Starcraft player.When we don't perform to our expectations things can get quite frustrating. Part of this is mindset and focus. Remember to analyse your replays. Preferably at the end of a day or half a day of practice you can sit there and watch most of your losses with a notepad writing down the key turning points in the game, things you can improve in your macro and so on. Basically looking for ways to improve. You need to do this at least once every 2-3 days or you will get in the mode of just massing games. Don’t become a player that plays 10x as much as anyone else and yet their results never improve.Also make sure you're in a positive mindset. Depending on your lifestyle and how serious you are with Starcraft there are a lot of things that can benefit your life as a whole that will also help you be faster and smarter at starcraft. Make sure you're exercising regularly, it doesn't need to be much just a long walk or a light jog a few times a week will do wonders for your average gamer-nerd.Force yourself to gg every game, and be very critical and aware of your own mindset. Ego is the enemy. We always need to keep a careful eye on this. With each level you climb you will hit new obstacles that will reveal your weaknesses. Remember that if you ever let your ego feed on your achievements and grow bloated and fat, it will be twice as shocking when you run into a new barrier. And your ego will prefer you take breaks, run away, or even if you keep playing, it will make you irrational and blame games on all-ins, cheese, random shit, luck, accidents and your opponent being "so dumb that he didnt react to what I did". You will stop learning from your losses and go on tilt much faster. This negative focus will make Starcraft a very sour experience for you. Work on avoiding it at all costs.Also when you play. Please do yourself a favour and don't have any second monitor turned on, any streams in the background, or anything like that. AND do not browse the web in between games. It is SO important for you to process how you're playing, why you're losing/winning in between games and to keep your focus. Do not distract yourself with all this other stuff.P.S. If you want to play in a more relaxed way, hop onto a different server, unranked or a different account and play funner, cheesier or more relaxed strategies if you're going to have distractions present.Of course things sound simple written like I have above. But this is a complex game where there are many, many factors surrounding every win and loss. If you want to get the most out of coaching/ladder/progress I want you to re-write out your entire builds e.g. vs ZvP 3-base blink or wherever your problems may lie, pointing out what you react to, where you choose to do what and transition how.If you write all this out in detail you might solve some of the problems yourself before you even get into game. Application of focus and effort is not easy, but it is rewarding.Gl hf, Progamer www.twitch.tv/x5_pig | pigrandom88@gmail.com | @x5_PiG | www.facebook.com/pigSC2

gade1123 Profile Blog Joined December 2013 United States 144 Posts #2 never leave a man behind. GOOGLE: I FUCKING HATE HATE METH (im feelin lucky)

SetGuitarsToKill Profile Blog Joined December 2013 Canada 28391 Posts #3 So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot Community News "As long as you have a warp prism you can't be bad at harassment" - Maru | @SetGuitars2Kill

TelecoM Profile Blog Joined January 2010 United States 10250 Posts #4 On January 31 2015 14:26 SetGuitarsToKill wrote:

So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot



Staying Positive and maybe in a situation like yours you actually need a little ego, or confidence at the very least... Staying Positive and maybe in a situation like yours you actually need a little ego, or confidence at the very least... AKA: TelecoM[WHITE] Protoss fighting

CursOr Profile Blog Joined January 2009 United States 6320 Posts #5 Ego being the enemy is so true. Every time I see someone rage they are talking about how overpowered the other races are. How this or that is bullshit. It's very rarely self-critical rage.



Every game I'm constantly going over all the crap I do wrong. Getting supply blocked. Late on my lair or not scouting enough ... Oh i didnt see that coming ... thats all MY fault. Just remember to do better next time.



Stay focused on your mistakes and what you need to improve on and all the things you need to keep in mind at various stages of the game. If you're really honest with yourself, you will find that you're not angry when you lose- but surprised when you win.



I really enjoy your stream PiG ... if you and Moonglade streamed enough, I'm not even sure I would play the game. :p CJ forever (-_-(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)-_-)

ManiacUA Profile Joined August 2013 Ukraine 29 Posts #6 thank you dude!

Defenestrator Profile Joined October 2011 400 Posts #7



On January 31 2015 14:26 SetGuitarsToKill wrote:

So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot



Be patient with yourself. Whatever you're working on, you don't need to master it today, or tomorrow, or even next week. Give yourself time, pace yourself, and you will see progress.



As an example, I have been working on integrating camera hotkeys into my game for the past month or so. I still have a lot of room for optimization, but I went from clicking on the minimap after assigning the hotkeys to using them to build buildings in my bases. Still need to use them to deal with harassment, etc. however. Nice article PiG =)Be patient with yourself. Whatever you're working on, you don't need to master it today, or tomorrow, or even next week. Give yourself time, pace yourself, and you will see progress.As an example, I have been working on integrating camera hotkeys into my game for the past month or so. I still have a lot of room for optimization, but I went from clicking on the minimap after assigning the hotkeys to using them to build buildings in my bases. Still need to use them to deal with harassment, etc. however. Ultras and banelings go together like peas and carrots

mnck Profile Joined April 2010 Denmark 826 Posts #8 On January 31 2015 11:13 PiGStarcraft wrote:

With each level you climb you will hit new obstacles that will reveal your weaknesses.





What a strong reminder!



Nice blog, applies to more than just Starcraft I think. What a strong reminder!Nice blog, applies to more than just Starcraft I think. @Munck // Proud Member of Bunny's Cheer Squad

Hadronsbecrazy Profile Joined September 2013 United Kingdom 549 Posts #9 On January 31 2015 14:26 SetGuitarsToKill wrote:

So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot





yea me too, I put myself down more than the other guy usually yea me too, I put myself down more than the other guy usually No need Build Orders, Only Micro,Favourite Players: Maru, Zest, soOjwa , CJherO

Spektorius Profile Joined December 2013 Albania 4 Posts #10



User was warned for this post So smart on forums but cant even get to ro32 in dreamhacks x)) ripperino Jaedong

whitefenix Profile Blog Joined February 2011 Sweden 40 Posts #11 This is exactly the stuff I've been having trouble with in the past, so this was an excellent addition to our lesson ^^ Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence

TelecoM Profile Blog Joined January 2010 United States 10250 Posts #12 On January 31 2015 20:57 Spektorius wrote:

So smart on forums but cant even get to ro32 in dreamhacks x)) ripperino



User was warned for this post



Pretty rude and uncalled for man Pretty rude and uncalled for man AKA: TelecoM[WHITE] Protoss fighting

Yurie Profile Blog Joined August 2010 2749 Posts Last Edited: 2015-02-01 00:11:05 #13 And your ego will prefer you take breaks, run away.



I don't see that as a problem. Instead of playing with a bad mindset and not having fun. Take a short break, stand up and start the next game 10 minutes (or an anime episode) later solves most rage problems. The only reason to need to work through it is if one wants to play in competitions where that delay isn't possible. I don't see that as a problem. Instead of playing with a bad mindset and not having fun. Take a short break, stand up and start the next game 10 minutes (or an anime episode) later solves most rage problems. The only reason to need to work through it is if one wants to play in competitions where that delay isn't possible.

PiGStarcraft Profile Blog Joined December 2010 Australia 945 Posts #14 On January 31 2015 14:26 SetGuitarsToKill wrote:

So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot



I think this might come down to ego and maybe some lifestyle/mindset outside of the game things. If you're angry at yourself rather than just critical of your play, maybe you're ego is telling you that you're an amazing player. It might not be this though, it might actually be that your ego and confidence isn't strong enough, and you've somehow become comfortable in a pattern of self-flagellation. Remind yourself that you enjoy playing the game and improving is just another part of that and try to focus on the satisfaction of solving the problem that is Starcraft. Every time you find an error in your play this isn't about you being bad, it's about you being smart enough to find something you can refine and improve. There are hundreds of mistakes in every Starcraft match, even at the highest levels, if we get in a negative mindset and punish ourself too much for these we lose out.



Finding things to focus on in our improvement is just as much about giving us direction and helping our confidence as it is about actually working on that specific issue. If we are in a strong state of mind many other parts of our game will fall into place without conscious effort. I think this might come down to ego and maybe some lifestyle/mindset outside of the game things. If you're angry at yourself rather than just critical of your play, maybe you're ego is telling you that you're an amazing player. It might not be this though, it might actually be that your ego and confidence isn't strong enough, and you've somehow become comfortable in a pattern of self-flagellation. Remind yourself that you enjoy playing the game and improving is just another part of that and try to focus on the satisfaction of solving the problem that is Starcraft. Every time you find an error in your play this isn't about you being bad, it's about you being smart enough to find something you can refine and improve. There are hundreds of mistakes in every Starcraft match, even at the highest levels, if we get in a negative mindset and punish ourself too much for these we lose out.Finding things to focus on in our improvement is just as much about giving us direction and helping our confidence as it is about actually working on that specific issue. If we are in a strong state of mind many other parts of our game will fall into place without conscious effort. Progamer www.twitch.tv/x5_pig | pigrandom88@gmail.com | @x5_PiG | www.facebook.com/pigSC2

PiGStarcraft Profile Blog Joined December 2010 Australia 945 Posts #15 On February 01 2015 09:10 Yurie wrote:

Show nested quote +

And your ego will prefer you take breaks, run away.



I don't see that as a problem. Instead of playing with a bad mindset and not having fun. Take a short break, stand up and start the next game 10 minutes (or an anime episode) later solves most rage problems. The only reason to need to work through it is if one wants to play in competitions where that delay isn't possible. I don't see that as a problem. Instead of playing with a bad mindset and not having fun. Take a short break, stand up and start the next game 10 minutes (or an anime episode) later solves most rage problems. The only reason to need to work through it is if one wants to play in competitions where that delay isn't possible.



I agree that some short breaks are ok, but generally it is a negative thing for your progression as a player to have to push away from the game regularly due to anger/upset/tilt. Preferably we'd focus on the underlying issues rather than distract ourselves from the issue at hand. Of course, for most players not wanting to be a professional it's only natural this will happen sometimes, but we should try not to let it get out of hand. Definitely taking a break is the better option to continuing to play with a huge burden of anger/tilt. I agree that some short breaks are ok, but generally it is a negative thing for your progression as a player to have to push away from the game regularly due to anger/upset/tilt. Preferably we'd focus on the underlying issues rather than distract ourselves from the issue at hand. Of course, for most players not wanting to be a professional it's only natural this will happen sometimes, but we should try not to let it get out of hand. Definitely taking a break is the better option to continuing to play with a huge burden of anger/tilt. Progamer www.twitch.tv/x5_pig | pigrandom88@gmail.com | @x5_PiG | www.facebook.com/pigSC2

PiGStarcraft Profile Blog Joined December 2010 Australia 945 Posts #16 On January 31 2015 16:05 CursOr wrote:

Ego being the enemy is so true. Every time I see someone rage they are talking about how overpowered the other races are. How this or that is bullshit. It's very rarely self-critical rage.



Every game I'm constantly going over all the crap I do wrong. Getting supply blocked. Late on my lair or not scouting enough ... Oh i didnt see that coming ... thats all MY fault. Just remember to do better next time.



Stay focused on your mistakes and what you need to improve on and all the things you need to keep in mind at various stages of the game. If you're really honest with yourself, you will find that you're not angry when you lose- but surprised when you win.



I really enjoy your stream PiG ... if you and Moonglade streamed enough, I'm not even sure I would play the game. :p



Spot on mate, that hunger for, and satisfaction from self improvement is such a great thing to stay focused on.



Thanks for watching our Aussie zerg streams!

Spot on mate, that hunger for, and satisfaction from self improvement is such a great thing to stay focused on.Thanks for watching our Aussie zerg streams! Progamer www.twitch.tv/x5_pig | pigrandom88@gmail.com | @x5_PiG | www.facebook.com/pigSC2

NeuroSwarm Profile Joined March 2014 United States 19 Posts #17



When the expected conduct of gamers includes keyboard-smashing rage and cancer-cursing bm, learning to make peace with the nature of Starcraft and our human opponents is a powerful edge to seize in both the immediate and longer term.



Mentality Workshop 4 on the Path of the Strategist:

Audio for all 4 workshops: Every few weeks I do a lecture-style segment focused on thinking outside the game: layers of metacognition (thinking about thinking) where we consider the way human minds operate in a competitive gamespace. In contrast to most of eSports, poker has a broad body of literature on the mental aspect of advancing upon the path of mastery and frustrations along the way. A major improvement we can collectively bring to Starcraft is an awareness of how situations influence our mood and focus, how to adequately prepare for stressful situations and become more successful managing our emotions over time.When the expected conduct of gamers includes keyboard-smashing rage and cancer-cursing bm, learning to make peace with the nature of Starcraft and our human opponents is a powerful edge to seize in both the immediate and longer term.Mentality Workshop 4 on the Path of the Strategist: http://www.twitch.tv/neurostarcraft/c/5688020 Audio for all 4 workshops: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6aypo6zngzkf4wl/AAAa9a61jUmmKoxxYQV0Hyb2a All exist some distance from perfection

Subversive Profile Joined October 2009 Australia 2227 Posts #18 Such a beautiful piece of writing. Always good stuff to remember. 5/5 #1 Great fan ~ // Khan // FlaSh // JangBi // EffOrt //

SetGuitarsToKill Profile Blog Joined December 2013 Canada 28391 Posts #19 On February 01 2015 09:13 PiGStarcraft wrote:

Show nested quote +

On January 31 2015 14:26 SetGuitarsToKill wrote:

So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot So what to do if I have a negetive mindset, but towards myself not the game or the other player? I self-BM a lot



I think this might come down to ego and maybe some lifestyle/mindset outside of the game things. If you're angry at yourself rather than just critical of your play, maybe you're ego is telling you that you're an amazing player. It might not be this though, it might actually be that your ego and confidence isn't strong enough, and you've somehow become comfortable in a pattern of self-flagellation. Remind yourself that you enjoy playing the game and improving is just another part of that and try to focus on the satisfaction of solving the problem that is Starcraft. Every time you find an error in your play this isn't about you being bad, it's about you being smart enough to find something you can refine and improve. There are hundreds of mistakes in every Starcraft match, even at the highest levels, if we get in a negative mindset and punish ourself too much for these we lose out.



Finding things to focus on in our improvement is just as much about giving us direction and helping our confidence as it is about actually working on that specific issue. If we are in a strong state of mind many other parts of our game will fall into place without conscious effort. I think this might come down to ego and maybe some lifestyle/mindset outside of the game things. If you're angry at yourself rather than just critical of your play, maybe you're ego is telling you that you're an amazing player. It might not be this though, it might actually be that your ego and confidence isn't strong enough, and you've somehow become comfortable in a pattern of self-flagellation. Remind yourself that you enjoy playing the game and improving is just another part of that and try to focus on the satisfaction of solving the problem that is Starcraft. Every time you find an error in your play this isn't about you being bad, it's about you being smart enough to find something you can refine and improve. There are hundreds of mistakes in every Starcraft match, even at the highest levels, if we get in a negative mindset and punish ourself too much for these we lose out.Finding things to focus on in our improvement is just as much about giving us direction and helping our confidence as it is about actually working on that specific issue. If we are in a strong state of mind many other parts of our game will fall into place without conscious effort.

I think it's very much more the 2nd part, about low confidence and pattern of self-hatred. I often feel the need to tell my oppnents how bad i am after i lose and stuff. I guess I just want to improve too much. I've been stuck in gold league for 6 months now with basically no improvement and it's getting frustrating. Thanks I think it's very much more the 2nd part, about low confidence and pattern of self-hatred. I often feel the need to tell my oppnents how bad i am after i lose and stuff. I guess I just want to improve too much. I've been stuck in gold league for 6 months now with basically no improvement and it's getting frustrating. Thanks Community News "As long as you have a warp prism you can't be bad at harassment" - Maru | @SetGuitars2Kill

Subversive Profile Joined October 2009 Australia 2227 Posts Last Edited: 2015-02-01 12:18:16 #20 I like what you said NeuroSwarm.



Often times when I'm not taking the game too seriously, I can laugh at my awful mistakes or failures to hold all-ins and then concentrate on improving myself rather than getting emotional and hating my opponents play. #1 Great fan ~ // Khan // FlaSh // JangBi // EffOrt //

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