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

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For decades, Timothy Gallwey has been teaching tennis in a way that can change his pupils’ games on the court and lives off of it. His method revolves around the concept of the “Inner Game” that players play with themselves. He introduces the idea of “Self 1,” which governs our ego-mind—the part of our brain that is chastising ourselves for mistakes and praising us for successes—and “Self 2,” which relies on base instincts to do everything from continuing to breathe to hitting a tennis ball.

But who said that I am to be measured by how well I do things? In fact, who said that I should be measured at all? Who indeed? What is required to disengage oneself from this trap is a clear knowledge that the value of a human being cannot be measured by performance—or by any other arbitrary measurement.”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.” When you ask most executives “Which of the three work results gains the greatest support and encouragement in your work environment?” their response is overwhelmingly “Performance.” And then when you ask them “How much more priority is performance given over learning and enjoyment?” the response generally has the level way beyond the triangle so that it is only about outer performance and nothing else. 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!! Whether on or off the court, I know of no better way to begin to deal with anxiety than to place the mind on one's breathing process. Anxiety is fear about what may happen in the future, and it occurs only when the mind is imagining what the future may bring. But when your attention is on the here and now, the actions that need to be done in the present have their best chance of being successfully accomplished, and as a result the future will become the best possible present.”

A fantastic read that's far less about tennis and far more about how to learn any skill or ability. It is remarkably well written; concise and straight to the point, without the filler material you find in most business books; and a useful read for just about everyone. Winning is overcoming obstacles to reach a goal, but the value in winning is only as great as the value of the goal reached. Reaching the goal itself may not be as valuable as the experience that can come in making a supreme effort to overcome the obstacles involved. The process can be more rewarding than the victory itself.” This book pretends to be about tennis, but is in reality about something else entirely. This book is about connecting with your unconscious (referred to as self two in this particular book,Tennis matches involve second-by-second positive or negative judgments: frowns after poor shots, satisfaction after good ones, sometimes literally yelling at oneself. In The Inner Game of Tennis, tennis pro and educator Timothy Gallwey explores the mind games that exist both in tennis and the rest of our lives. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2012-08-20 16:34:45 Bookplateleaf 0006 Boxid IA1101318 Boxid_2 CH118201 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Donor

We are all consistently playing games with different goals. Your goals in your tennis match may not be the same as your opponent’s. To achieve your goals, you have to figure them out and then conquer the obstacles to success, external and internal, in front of you. 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. This misapplication of effort is fundamentally a problem of control. To reach the highest echelons of achievement, we must be willing to release control and trust ourselves. On Focus Your body performs all kinds of effort unconsciously—talking, reading, doing the necessary things to survive. All of this is completely removed from Self 1—you don’t have to actively tell yourself to do any of these functions.When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed.” This doesn’t mean that the mind can’t be quiet—true focus includes having the quiet mind described earlier to find relaxed concentration. He argues that we aren’t practicing and learning correctly and suggests a new method that is based on the concepts of playing an inner and an outer game, governed by two selves, one that relies on instinct and the other that governs the thinking mind. I saved some of my favorite quotes from the book. It's very, very well written, so it was a challenge not to copy down half the book :)