Among many other things, my Dad is a successful and professional poker player.
This in itself is a cool and inspiring story.
A poker player sits for 12-14 hours a day at a poker table with a few breaks along the way.
Like any other high level game, keeping your brain sharp is one of the hardest parts. At the level he plays, all of the nuances matter.
My mom checks in on him by text occasionally when he plays in big tournaments. When he has folded and isn’t in the play he is free to text her back.
Last year she noticed that when he reports to her that he isn’t getting the cards and he is slowly running out of chips, she would text him back to tell him he needs to get more chips.
It is her innocent and simple way of being supportive without knowing what was happening.
But it works almost every time!
Within minutes he would text back that he had just doubled up.
At first we laughed about it but Mom has had this magical talent for well over a year.
I could stop here and leave it as an inspiring love story, because it is.
Even when they are apart for weeks, she selflessly supports his journey, gives positive and simple advice, and helps him succeed.
None of that should not be discounted.
But I think the power of suggestion is massive in this story.
When Dad sits at those tables for hours and hours and folds and folds, his brain has to shut down a little bit… it’s being programmed to think fold, fold, fold, and can put him in a mental rut.
When mom pops in for a second and tells him to get more chips, (so obvious of a solution from her shoes, but remember her brain has not been watching the folding for hours) it wakes up an avenue in his sub conscious that looks for an opportunity to chip up.
It momentarily interrupts the story of “I’m not getting the cards”, and starts looking for an opportunity to get more chips.
When his subconscious starts looking for opportunity, it picks up on subtle cues it was shutting out when it thought he wasn’t getting the cards.
Our brains are so powerful.
So are ruts.
There are two life lessons we can take away from this.
First, never discount the power of loving support. When you have someone who genuinely wants the best for you, and is in your corner, you can move mountains.
Second, don’t let the mundane and struggles of life, where you fold and fold because the cards aren’t in your favour, leave you thinking folding is the only option.
Always believe opportunity is there, you just need to keep that avenue active, open and firing in your brain to see it.