Thread by @VermillionPW

It's US Open time! I revisited @the_innergame book "The Inner Game of Tennis."

Here are eight powerful lessons from the book used by Coach @PeteCarroll, @TomBrady, and other top performers to achieve focus, relaxed concentration, and peak performance.

amazon.com/Inner-Game-Ten…

1) Images are better than words:

Watching my daughter learn to walk was the most fascinating things I’ve seen. From helpless baby, barely able to move, to running around like a banshee in a few short years, she learned the complicated mechanics of upright walking on her own.

Imagine if she had never seen anyone walk and was forced to learn through verbal instruction. Sure, perhaps eventually, she could have put it all together (she’d have had to learn the language first), but her development would’ve been years behind schedule.

2) Foster inner trust:

I’ve had inner conversations on the court that would make even the most experienced sea dogs blush. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I’ve called myself every derogatory name in the book and invented some new ones.

Gallwey proposes a simple exercise:

Imagine that self-1 (the name-calling critic) and self-2 (the person playing tennis) were two people, a coach and a player. He suggests asking, “how would you characterize their relationship after witnessing a conversation between them?”

In my case, toxic wouldn’t begin to describe this relationship, and I’d suggest the player find a new coach. Gallwey summarizes the struggle as a lack of trust between self-1 and 2.

Even though self-2 is capable, self-1 assumes control causing too much thinking and tension.

But how can we quiet that loud, boisterous ego-maniac that is self-1?

The first step is to let go of “the human inclination to judge ourselves and our performance as either good or bad.” This doesn’t sound easy, and it isn’t at first, but it creates extraordinary results.

I recently hit quite a few forehands long.

My typical response would be to utter something like, “my forehand is terrible today,” but instead, I said, “I’m hitting a lot of forehands long right now.” This less judgemental version prevents the judging mind from extending itself.

It may start with “my forehand is terrible today” and progress to “I have a terrible stroke” after several more mishits. Within minutes the extension evolves to “I suck at tennis.”

By removing the judgments and seeing things for what they are self-1 will better trust self-2.

3) Program for results:

While the need to quiet self-1 is evident, Gallwey explains that he has a “valid role in learning and playing tennis.” When doing something complex, like hitting a tennis ball, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the minutiae and forget about the results.

When it’s game time, it’s too late to fiddle with a new grip — but you can use mental imagery to improve your game.

Gallwey suggests you “hold in your mind the image of where you want the ball to go and then allow the body to do what is necessary to hit it there.”

4) Program by identity:

If self-1 has you convinced you’re not tennis player material, it might be time for some role-playing. Gallwey tries this with students who have an especially vexing self-1.

He tells his students to pretend that he is “the director of a television series” and asks them to play the role of a top tennis player.

Gallwey found that role-playing allowed his students to get outside themselves; when they did, they experienced marked improvements.

5) Replace bad habits:

“Habits are statements about the past, and the past is gone.” Recognizing a bad habit is not enough; you need to change it. And changing a habit is much easier when you replace it.

6) Park the mind:

Concentration is one of those tricky concepts to describe, so it’s easier to start with what it’s not.

Concentration is NOT “staring hard at something…trying to concentrate…(or) thinking hard about something.

Concentration IS a “fascination of mind.” Trying to concentrate is oxymoronic and counter-productive; thus, it leads to stiffness of the mind and body.

But we can practice relaxed concentration. In tennis, Gallwey recommends focusing less on the game and more on the ball.

One who can focus is one who can appreciate. Gallwey touched on this, saying:

“The value of concentration becomes clear as we grow to understand that nothing can be enjoyed or appreciated if it cannot be known.

7) Be here, now:

“It’s perplexing why we ever leave the here and now. Here and now are the only place and time when one ever enjoys himself or accomplishes anything.”

Gallwey, while a great tennis coach, was also a tremendous philosopher and teacher of the art of learning. Having worked with thousands of students, he learned that the greatest interrupters of focus are the past and the future.

It’s especially easy to start creating a future. “If I lose this point, I’ll be down 1–3,” but this imagining creates a lapse in concentration.

Gallwey warns, “the conscious energy you need to perform at your peak in the now has been leaking into an imagined future.”

The key, Gallwey says, is practice — "A meditation practice can enhance alertness, which Gallwey describes as “a measure of how many nows you are aware of in any given period.” Through meditation, your brain can learn to slow down, be present, and become alert to more nows .

8) Be Unfreakable:

People freak out all the time —  in traffic, when the market plunges, or when their boss passes over them for promotion.

This freaking-out mind loses it’s ability to reason, to see clearly the events that are unfolding, and to take the appropriate actions.

Gallwey identifies three types of freakouts:

1. Regret about past events
2. Fear or uncertainty about the future
3. Dislike of a present event or situation

In each case, Gallwey argues the event and the mind’s reaction or two separate things.

Learning to keep the mind in the present eliminates the first two freakout types, leaving “dislike of a present event or situation” as the lone remaining source.

There are two ways to deal with unpleasant circumstances: change the circumstance or change your mind.

Giving up a sense of control is not easy, but letting go allows us to accept life for what it is and focus on those few things we can control, which helps us remain unfreakable even when things seem to be falling apart.

Is it possible that one of the best books for life is about improving your tennis game?

Yes, I think so. Life is a pattern of the same things happening over and over again, just with different flavors, colors, and sounds.

I hope you've found this thread helpful.

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