We're all told that the secret to increasing your rating is just practice, but sometimes it isn't enough. You practice and practice, yet your name doesn't undergo the magical color metamorphosis you were promised. This week I cover the common mental roadblocks that prevent people from performing well in contests and what I did to conquer them.
https://kauntaofficial.github.io/2020/04/12/the-journey-continues.html
Congratulations! Can't wait to see the name Kaunta in purple.
Thanks , that was a nice blog. I've realised that the reason for my poor performance in my past 3 contests is not being mentally strong. I was doing everything you mentioned not to do. Gonna stop that and hope you reach 2000!
the reason for my poor performance in my past 3 contests is not being mentally strong
I realized that my poor performance in my exams was that I didn't sleep well the previous day ... oops. I forgot that I didn't study for my exams because I was sleeping all the way until the night before the exam (to do last minute study).
But I shall still blame my poor performance entirely on sleep because lack of sleep can make even an intelligent person fare badly in exams. Yes, I finally found the scapegoat for my poor performance. Now I can finally ace my exams without even studying.
What do you know about me? If lack of practice was a reason for my poor performance, my graph would not have any upward slopes. Here's why I feel like I'm not mentally strong(atm) compared to others.
1)If I can't solve A in a contest, I just can't bring myself to solve other questions. There have been many times when the contest ended and I realised that a problem was easy, but I didn't even read it because I was busy solving previous problem and didn't even skip it for a while. Sometimes I would actually skip the problem, but in a tensed state where I would miss simple details. This happened in my last round.
2) Kept fearing about my rating dropping down even more.
3) Would keep on checking standings when I wasn't able to solve problems and would feel pressured after seeing others solve it.
A mentally strong person wouldn't give a damn about the standings, or even if he/she does, it wouldnt faze him. They'll focus on solving the problems and not focus on any ratings and stuff. Wouldn't get demotivated after successive failures.
I was going to make a blog on this topic, but I figured I'd just get downvoted by smart people here.
If lack of practice was a reason for my poor performance, my graph would not have any upward slopes.
Wrong. The problems in every contest vary (slightly) in difficulty even if they have the same scoring (there might be outliers, but your average performance over a long period of time accounts for this). For this reason, no decent competitor would struggle at div 2 problem A and B most of the time. Just perform a statistical analysis on your contest performance and you will understand what I mean.
Would keep on checking standings when I wasn't able to solve problems and would feel pressured after seeing others solve it.
That's because you lack skill. That's why you spend your time looking at the scoreboard instead of focusing on solving problems. If you know how to solve the problems given to you. You would be confident about yourself.
What do you know about me?
I may not know you. But the things you say speaks volumes about your personality and ability. I don't see competent coders writing such stuff.
I know one other joker that thinks like you. He made a blog post here. It has been nearly a year. But until now, he still trying to beat depression to death (and flogging its dead body) for his poor contest performance. At the end of the day, has he reached his "real" potential yet? Lmao...
I may not know you. But the things you say speaks volumes about your personality and ability. I don't see competent coders writing such stuff.
Lmao. Of course I'm not a competent coder lol, if I was I wouldn't be a newbie. I disagree with your comment from that blog that you just need skill to be at top. What use is your skill if you can't keep calm and focus in the contests? Do you think there can never be a person who performs well while practicing or in virtuals, but not in contests? It's just a matter of time, not everyone progresses fast. Don't think that everybody is like you. You are free to think that I'm just making excuses, I don't care tbh.
I agree with this comment made by a red coder here
"__I think your performance is inversely proportional to how much you give a fuck.__"
If you already have a mindset like that, you'll improve fast and will also practice hard. But if you don't, then it'll take time until you develop that mindset. And you'll not even realise that your skill improved.
Also who's the real joker here lol? Atleast he's trying, why does he need to reach his real potential in just a year? Atleast he's not hiding behind a fake identity.
What use is your skill if you can't keep calm and focus in the contests?
... I am struck speechless...or rather I am baffled by your ability to divert your emphasis to non-significant stuff. I am tired of trying to put my point across because you aren't getting it. But consider this: raise your skill level first then come back and think about focus — you will realize that the former is worth 99% and the latter only 1%. Talking about focus when you are a newbie is simply pointless.
Atleast he's trying, why does he need to reach his real potential in just a year?
Again. You didn't get it. Be it 1 year, 2 years or even 10 years. If he doesn't focus on the important stuff (like yourself), he will never become a competent coder.
I am not in competition with anyone but myself. My goal is to improve myself continuously. -Bill Gates
When you are rich and successful, even your shit smells nice to others. Please don't throw meaningless quotes around, no one ain't gonna gain nothin' from them.
Just curious. How did you get those histograms ? Is there any website that keeps count of your virtual contests ?
discord cp community server.