The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

Product Information

See “nonjudgmentally”—that is, to see what is happening rather than merely noticing how well or how badly it is happening. Tennis matches involve second-by-second positive or negative judgments: frowns after poor shots, satisfaction after good ones, sometimes literally yelling at oneself.

Often when we are rallying we trust our bodies and let it happen because the ego-mind tells itself that it doesn’t really count.Whenever I talk about the importance of training your attention to stay focused on one object and to gently return it to that object when you’ve become distracted, I invariably get the following response: Yeah, yeah, sounds great. But how do I actually do it?

But of course the instant I try to make myself relax, true relaxation vanishes, and in its place is a strange phenomenon called “trying to relax.” Relaxation happens only when allowed, not as a result of “trying” or “making.” I really like how he talks about how competition fits into this framework. I've equated competition with comparison for a long time and the "Meaning of Competition" chapter changed my mind. Basically, he argues that the "egoless desire to win" exists and that competition creates meaningful wins. It's funny because in that case your opponent is both crucial and irrelevant to the outcome. You could find and replace tennis with research and it all makes sense lolol. This chapter by itself is what made me really like it!! Focus is not achieved by staring hard at something. It is not trying to force focus, nor does it mean thinking hard about something. Natural focus occurs when the mind is interested. When this occurs, the mind is drawn irresistibly toward the object (or subject) of interest. It is effortless and relaxed, not tense and overly controlled. When watching the tennis ball, allow yourself to fall into focus. If your eyes are squinting or straining, you are trying too hard. If you find yourself chastising yourself for losing focus, then you may be overcontrolling. Let the ball attract your mind, and both it and your muscles will stay appropriately relaxed.the emphasis on overcoming the greatest obstacle to achieve the greatest awareness of your abilities We can think of “trying hard” as Self 1 castigating Self 2, while “effort” is the physical exertion it takes to do well. The ability to focus the mind is the ability to not let it run away with you. It does not mean not to think—but to be the one who directs your own thinking.” Think about hitting a forehand: Hit a bunch of forehands without worrying about where they’re going and without chastising yourself. Instead, observe your own body closely and notice how you are hitting. This should produce an immediate change in your stroke. Having provided yourself with an image and a feeling, you are ready to hit some balls. Now focus your eyes and mind on the seams of the ball and let it happen. Then observe what happened. Once again, don’t analyze; simply see how close Self 2 came to doing what you wanted it to.

Of course, easier said than done. When we’re in the mental habit of judgmental self-talk, it can feel more like something that happens to us rather than something we have control over. Now that we’ve discussed getting rid of self-judgment and quieting Self 1, we’ll move to finding self-confidence. This will allow you to give yourself over fully to Self 2.I’m easily getting distracted… want too many things happened too fast. Thanks for reminding me on focusing As an old professor of mine used to say: Falling off the wagon isn’t the problem; it’s the wallowing around in the mud that kills you.Cultivate awareness of your own self-talk so you can nip it in the bud. On Bad Habits However, and despite the author telling the reader that the book won't be too focused on the mechanics of tennis - quite a lot of tennis mechanics are discussed... The longer I live, the greater my appreciation of the gift that life itself is. This gift is much greater than I could have imagined, and therefore time spent living it in a state of stress means I am missing a lot — on or off the court.

Strive to be both tactician and general, technician and CEO, psychologist, and philosopher. On Excellence urn:oclc:216771547 Republisher_date 20130821082336 Republisher_operator [email protected] Scandate 20130820111708 Scanner scribe4.shenzhen.archive.org Scanningcenter shenzhen Source

A corollary of this is that it’s surprisingly easy to break bad habits and establish positive ones when you have a meaningful, rewarding, clearly defined vision for an alternative habit that meets the same needs as the old one in a healthier, more productive way.