Mind over Matter: Conquering the Anxiety

Mind over matter is an idiom that is commonly used to describe feats of strength or acts that seem beyond the human capacity. When we use this idiom in TCG’s we are often speaking of the mental fortitude necessary to pull off incredible clutch plays or find an out that a weaker player might have missed. There is even more to this phrase when we look at it from within the realm of TCG competition.

While we as players can focus on targeted practice, drills and game-states we will eventually plateau if we do not address the elephant in the room: Competitive State Anxiety. An article [1] posted to The National Library of Medicine divides this state into three dimensions: cognitive state anxiety, physical state anxiety, and state confidence.

Cognitive state anxiety is the state in which outcome, potential failures and inadequacies are the focus of the worry. This can affect us in TCG’s in ways that are not totally self-evident and often cost us games before we even sit down at the table to play. This can come to the surface when sitting across from a player that is seen as much more proficient or experienced in the game. Often, we predict the outcome before the match ever starts. This sets us up to play from behind, sometimes without even being fully cognizant of this. This is cognitive state anxiety rearing its ugly head.

Physical state anxiety is the hardware responding to the condition outlined above. It is the heart racing, unfocused mind and shakiness that we experience when the mind is unsettled before our performance. This is oftentimes referred to as the fight or flight mechanism. This state can negatively affect the outcome of the match by hindering our attention spans and concentration. This leads to making uncharacteristic mistakes regardless of comfort with the deck or time playing. When you are too tense, mistakes will be made.

The third and final dimension is state confidence. State confidence is the correlation between confidence in one’s own abilities and their performance. Fostering this in your own psychology is the way to combat the aforementioned states. Believing in oneself before sitting down to play can trick the brain into ignoring the other variables.

Now that we have explained what we experience, let’s focus on how exactly we conquer this. If we tackle the cognitive aspects, the physical aspects will follow and will lead to a more confident space.

Making Failures your Friend:

Fear is the main component of anxiety, or should we say the fear of failure is the BFF to anxiety. Failures are inevitable, that’s just the fact of life, but if we frame this as a learning tool it can be an integral part of our journey. Failing can often show us weaknesses to be shored up or limitations of the decks we play. If we do not embrace the failures, we stunt our personal growth in our cardboard journeys. There is an old phrase that has been attributed to the game Go: “Lose your first 100 games as quickly as possible.” This adage is used to express that the first games are going to often be losses, but you will get through them and learn more from those first 100 if you take them as lessons.

Goal Setting:

Winning games and even making it to the pro-level are great goals, but you cannot win all the games all the time. If we set goals that focus on personal growth instead of just winning, we will come out ahead and be stronger players for it. Setting goals that focus on singular elements of gameplay will be more rewarding and more attainable. Doing so will strengthen your skill set and boost your confidence when you sit down at the table.

Classic Anxiety Relief:

There is something to be said about taking a moment to center yourself before stressing the brain. Finding a quiet space to just breathe can do wonders for the anxiety felt before performance. Focusing on something else like breath control can often help alleviate the symptoms of the situation. It is important that you calm the mind so that your concentration returns. Also, practicing a bit of pep talk can boost the confidence. Confidence is key to achieving results at the table.

Competitive State Anxiety does not have to be an insurmountable hurtle. Once you identify the factors such as fear of performance, inadequacies or outcome, you can work on tackling the physical response. There are tools at your disposal that can lead to a stronger self-efficacy and confidence, with these in hand we can achieve results at the table. Conquering your fears, realistic goal setting and classic techniques in relieving anxiety can be just what is needed to safely say you have achieved Mind over Matter.