How to Guess World Cup Results and Succeed Without AI

It can change any moment, of course. Last night I reached first place, and this morning I woke up in second place in the competition.
And yet, until a week ago I had no connection to football. It seemed like an uninteresting game to me and I didn't understand how anyone could watch 90-plus minutes of a ball running across a pitch. It never interested me.

Until about a week ago, when a World Cup prediction tournament arrived at our workplace.
When I saw Guy's second request in the group to join, I felt a simple, primal urge and signed up for the competition. I wanted to be part of the shared experience, the hallway conversations, that collective excitement. So I signed up.

And then something happened that completely surprised me. I discovered I'm pretty good at this. Wow, my guesses are quite accurate.
I've hit it spot on several times (7 exact predictions so far).
At first it seemed random to me, but day after day I improved and solidly held my place high among the top competitors.

The coaching side of me — the part that tries to identify what's happening (beyond just luck) — kicked in naturally. I noticed two main things about myself:

1) The first is that commitment leads to movement. 
This is a classic management principle: when you want an employee to be committed, you let them be a partner in setting goals. And wow, it works just as well as a personal commitment to oneself. The moment I committed and entered my predictions into the system, I felt I actually wanted to succeed. That commitment drove me to act: I find myself reading, analysing data, and even — who would have believed it — sitting and watching matches with great interest.
I'm also a very competitive person by nature. I know that about myself very well, so a competitive environment combined with goal-setting brings out my best. 

2) The second — the advantage of operating without emotional attachment. 
I noticed something interesting about the way I operate there: while football fans — for example my partner Ran, who watches alongside me — make their guesses from the heart, from an emotional connection to a particular team, fear of disappointment, or hope, my predictions come from a place completely free of emotional attachment. I don't identify with any team, I don't "need" anyone to win, and therefore my mind is free to see the dry data and reality exactly as it is, without the noise created by emotional involvement.

So I thought about how this is exactly the same in other areas of life. Sometimes, precisely when you arrive on a brand new playing field, with no prior history or attachment, it's easier to see things in the clearest possible way.

My drive right now is to keep staying at the top (ideally first place, and if not, then in the top three).

And my real challenge at the moment is not to let that drive turn into emotional attachment to the outcome, so that my mind stays clear. 
So we'll see where this leads — keep your fingers crossed for me, one woman against 15 guys who know a little more about football than I do, and some of whom (at least) are using AI.