I've got it all figured out

Have you ever thought that you had it (pool is my it, yours is: golf, sewing, poker, skipping rocks, etc.) all figured out and then come across more information that makes you feel as if you know absolutely nothing about the game? I knew I didn't have it ALL figured out but thought that I was really getting somewhere with my recent work on my preshot routine and mental game work. I'm reading a book on the mental side of pool and I'm only a couple chapters into it but I realize I've got, well, nothing figured out. There is some serious shit in this book and I feel like I need a psychology degree to understand some of the stuff he speaks of. I was also reading on a billiard forum about stroking straight, which seems easy and obvious enough but it got very deep and someone actually put a picture of a skeleton and the hands. Now I also need a damn biology degree! I'm not terribly fascinated with learning about how my mind works nor what my mind does that makes me fail when I practice. I'm doing this because I love to play the game and want to be as good as I possibly can. I guess where I'm going with this rambling is am I prepared to get neck high in a barrel of shit? Am I willing to look down every avenue, read books on all topics concerning pool, and take the time and effort to import them into my game? These are the things I don't enjoy and I'm not sure if I want to make this sacrifice. I'm not satisfied with where my game is though, but I don't know if this is even possible for me. I'm not happy unless I make every shot and get every position. This "goal" is unattainable because it's impossible for any human to do that. Looking back to just 2 years ago, my game has dramatically improved.

I think one of my problems is I need some sort of goal. This goal is usually preparing for the annual tournament in Vegas but I'm not able to go this year. I think I need to attend more tournaments and set a goal for what I would like my results to be in those. I'm also going to play more straight pool and my goal in that is to run 50 balls. I'm playing in a big tournament this weekend (should have 64 people) with lots of strong players so I'll post my results on Monday for that. I played in it last year and lost my first two matches. I'll be interested in seeing how my results stack up against last year. It won't be apples to apples as both the guys I played last year were pretty good, but people I expect to beat. I'm very excited for this tournament.