The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallway

***********
Main Lessons
***********
- 

*************
Notable Quotes
*************

…It is the initial act of judgment which provokes a thinking process. First the player’s mind judges one of his shots as bad or good. If he judges it as bad, he begins thinking about what was wrong with it. Then he tells himself how to correct it. Then he tries hard, giving himself instructions as he does so. Finally he evaluates again. Obviously the mind is anything but still and the body is tight with trying. If the shot is evaluated as good, Self 1 starts wondering how he hit such a good shot; then tries to get his body to repeat the process by giving self-instructions, trying hard, and so on. Both mental processes end in further evaluation, which perpetuates the process of thinking and self-conscious performance. As a consequence, the player’s muscles tighten when they need to be loose, strokes become awkward and less fluid, and the negative evaluations are likely to continue with growing intensity.
. . . . . After Self 1 has evaluated several shots, HE IS LIKELY TO START GENERALIZING. Instead of judging a single event as “another bad backhand,” he starts thinking, “You have a terrible backhand.” Instead of saying, “You were nervous on that point,” he generalizes, “You’re the worst choke artist in the club.” Other common judgmental generalizations are, “I’m having a bad day,” “I always miss the easy ones,” “I’m slow,” etc.
. . . . . It is interesting to see how THE JUDGMENTAL MIND EXTENDS ITSELF. It may begin by complaining, “What a lousy serve,” then extend to “I’m serving badly today.” After a few more “bad” serves, the judgment may become further extended to “I have a terrible serve.” Then, “I’m a lousy tennis player,” and finally, “I’m no good.” First the mind judges the event, then groups events, then identifies with the combined event, and finally judges itself.
. . . . . As a result, what usually happens is that THESE SELF-JUDGMENTS BECOME SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECIES. That is, they are communications from Self 1 about Self 2 which, after being repeated often enough, are believed by Self 2. Then Self 2, acting like the computer he is, begins to live up to these expectations. If you tell yourself often enough that you are a poor server, a kind of hypnotic process takes place. It’s as if Self 2 is being given a role to play—the role of a bad server—and he plays it to the hilt, suppressing for the time being his true capabilities. Once the judgmental mind establishes a self-identity based on its negative judgments, the role-playing continues to hide the true potential of Self 2 until the hypnotic spell is broken. Most players would do well to heed the wisdom of ancient yoga philosophy: “YOU BECOME WHAT YOU THINK.”
[…]
. . . . . Read this simple analogy and see if an alternative to the judging process doesn’t begin to emerge. 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. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.
. . . . . Similarly, THE ERRORS WE MAKE CAN BE SEEN AS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE DEVELOPING PROCESS. In its process of developing, our tennis game learns a great deal from errors. Even slumps are part of the process. They are not bad events, but they seem to endure endlessly as long as we call them bad and identify with them. Like a good gardener who knows when the soil needs alkaline and when acid, the competent tennis pro should be able to help the development of your game. Usually the first thing that needs to be done is to deal with the negative concepts inhibiting the innate developmental process. Both the pro and the player stimulate this process as they begin to see and to accept the strokes as they are at that moment.
. . . . . THE FIRST STEP IS TO SEE YOUR STROKES AS THEY ARE. They must be perceived clearly. This can be done only when personal judgment is absent. As soon as a stroke is seen clearly and accepted as it is, a natural and speedy process of change begins.