Message #139 Tennis is a Microcosm of Life

Today’s message is dedicated to the great Roger Federer.

Much of what I talk about on my blog comes from my experience teaching and playing tennis. Tennis is a metaphor and these principles apply to all areas of life.

Some of the principles you will and have seen are:

ENERGY
FOCUS
PERFORMING UNDER PRESSURE
GOAL SETTING
INSPIRATION AND MEANING
POSITIVE MINDSET
MINDFULNESS (PROCESS VS PRODUCT)
GRATITUDE
EFFICACY (BELIEF IN SELF)
PASSION

Let’s choose one of the above topics and give a tennis example and a real-life example.

ENERGY

Imagine you are playing tennis and you are in the third set of a match and you and your opponent are both exhausted. It is in the heat of summer and you’ve been out in the sun and humidity for over 2 1/2 hours. Your mind and body are telling you that you have nothing left.

Your opponent looks like he is feeling the same way. You both feel the same way, but one person will end up winning and one person will end up losing. What is the determining factor? ENERGY. If you can INCREASE your energy when you feel like it least and need it most, you will be victorious. Why? Because most people act according to how they feel. That means when they are tired, they ACT tired. But then you decide to INCREASE your energy and end up winning the match. You are excited as your coach congratulates you.

Now, let’s change the scenario a bit…

You are a waitress and didn’t get much sleep last night. Not to mention, you didn’t have breakfast and rushed out of the house. You didn’t even have time to take a shower. Talk about starting the day off on the wrong foot. So you’re sluggish and frazzled and working for tips. At your first couple tables, you wear your heart on your sleeve and when they ask you how you are doing, you tell them the truth. You’re even walking slowly and smiling minimally. You wonder why you are receiving such small tips.

Then, you get a call from your best friend and she has tickets for a Broadway show for the next night. It’s a show you’ve been wanting to see, but it’s been sold out. You’re psyched! Your energy level increases and start walking faster, smiling and you start getting “into” your job. You’re whistling. For the rest of the day, you get many compliments and amazing tips. At the end of the day, your boss even tells you that you did such a great job. You go home in a great mood.

You don’t need Broadway tickets to help you increase your energy. You can do it on your own; it’s a choice. Most people think that they either they CAN’T have energy when they are not feeling “into it” or they choose not to. And that’s the whole thing: it’s a CHOICE.

So this means that you can INSTANTLY be better at what you do…all you have to do is increase your ENERGY, whether you feel like it, or not.

For every blog message I write, see how it applies to your sport, job, health, finances, academics, nutrition, spirituality, relationships, etc. It’s all the same.

Thanks for reading.

PLEASE HELP…

This coming Thursday, I will be participating in “Shelter from the Streets” in New York City. We will be going to homeless shelters all throughout the city. We begin on Long Island at 9 am, then go to Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and end up in Manhattan at 7:30 pm. After that, some of us will be going to bus stations and train stations and give out more. We still some of the following donations…

New toys (can be from the dollar store)
Blankets (new or used)
Hats/gloves
Toiletries — toothpaste, toothbrush, bars of soap, sanitary napkins, brushes, combs etc.

If you would like to donate but don’t have time to buy something, and live in the Princeton area, I would be glad to pick somethings up for you. Email me at .

With much gratitude…Ed