MESSAGE #1024 HOW TO WIN MORE PART II

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great tennis coach, Javier Perez Cigoj in Argentina.

So yesterday I talked about negative reactions on the court and why they can hurt your performance and results.

Soon after, I received a message from Javier, a tennis coach in Argentina and he said, “Great message, but how should you act instead?”

Well, Javier, the key is to let the point go – you can think about how to make an adjustment, but then, keep it in the past.

1. Take a couple deep breaths (to stay in the present and to lower your heart rate).
2. Project a confident image.
3. Think about where you want to hit your next shot.
4. Focus on the things you can control (your energy, attitude, strategy and effort).
5. Cultivate the feeling of winning the next point (even before the point begins).

The best way to increase your chances of winning is to not focus on winning.

Focus on the process instead of the product and as a by-product you will win more.

MESSAGE #1023 HOW TO WIN MORE

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IMAGINE THIS…

You are playing a match. The score is 30-30, 5-5 in the final set. Your return is nice and deep which forces your opponent to hit a weak shot. You hit a nice deep approach shot, follow it to net and get a high floating ball to your forehand side. You hit it, it hits the top of the net and you lose the point.

How do you react?

Most players would react negatively with their body language, self-talk or hit their racquet on the ground.

This works to your opponent’s advantage because…

1. You will boost their confidence.
2. By reacting negatively, you actually produce different hormones in your body and create muscle tension (which makes you play poorly).
3. You will decrease your chances of winning the match.

I have worked with some high level players and most of them play unbelievable when they are “on” but when they start losing, their games and body language deteriorate.

This is fairly normal.

Do you want to be normal or do you want to be great?

Act as if it were impossible to fail. -DOROTHEA BRANDE

MESSAGE #1022 INTERVIEW WITH NEHA UBEROI

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In this video blog, Ed Tseng interviews former professional tennis player, Neha Uberoi, as they talk about her toughest opponent, mental toughness and Princeton University.

MESSAGE #1021 WHAT CHAMPIONS DO IN PRACTICE…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Didi Fisher Weinreb.

What determines if a player becomes a champion?

Part of it is practice.

A lot of practice. 10,000 hours in fact, according to most performance experts.

But practice does not make perfect.

Perfect practice makes perfect. Some call it “deliberate practice” or “purposeful practice.”

Either way, the road to becoming a champion needs the following ingredients:

1. A lot of practice (20 hours per week for 10 years = 10,000 hours).

2. Practice sessions must focus on progress (instead of results).

3. Practice sessions must be focused on improving your weaknesses (AND improving your strengths).

“When most people practice, they focus on the things they can do effortlessly. Expert practice is different. It entails considerable, specific ,and sustained efforts to do something you can’t do well – or even at all. Research across domains shows that it is only by working at what you can’t do that you turn into the expert you want to become,” said psychologist, S.W. Tyler.

Matthew Syed says that “…the practice sessions of aspiring champions have a specific and never-changing purpose: progress. Every second of every minute of every hour, the goal is to extend one’s mind and body, to push oneself beyond the outer limits of one’s capacities, to engage so deeply in the task that one leaves the training session, literally a changed person.”

How will YOU practice today?

MESSAGE #1013 ANGER

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the players out there who have anger management issues.

I once had a student who would often get angry at himself after losing a point. And by once, I mean, I “often” have students who get angry and negative during competition.

Negativity and anger are common challenges for competitive players, but here’s the good news…

This can be overcome with training (just like fixing your backhand).

What do you say to yourself after you lose a point?

“I can’t believe you missed that shot!”

“You stink!”

“What’s wrong with you?!?”

Let’s analyze this voice for a second…

Does this “inner coach” help you perform better?

Of course not. What if a real coach spoke like this to their player? Wouldn’t you find a new coach?

If this is an issue for you, you need to find a new “inner coach.”

This inner coach should say something like…

“No problem. How can I make an adjustment? Good, now let’s focus on the next point.”

“That point is in the past, let’s focus on the next one.”

“You’re still in control. Let’s go!”

What you say to yourself between points will determine how you play and what kind of results you get.

How do YOU want to play and what kind of results do YOU want to get?

Remember this secret formula: S + A = R (Situation plus Attitude equals Result).

MESSAGE #1011 HANGING OUT WITH A CHAMPION

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One thing that I have learned here in Orlando talking to some great coaches and mental toughness experts is this…

Champions are not normal.

They don’t have normal brains.

Lorenzo Beltrame shared a story about when he beat Pete Sampras twice on clay during a training session. He didn’t know how to console “Pistol” but before he could think of something, Pete said “This is great! I feel like I’m playing well and ready!”

That is not normal.

And last night I spent some time with Mark Dickson, former World #32, who has beaten Lendl and was even Agassi’s doubles partner. He was telling me about the days leading up to his match with Lendl, then #1 in the world. He visualized his strategy every day and EXPECTED to beat him. In his mind, he thought, “I can’t believe I’m going to beat the World #1.” And then he did in 45 minutes. I asked Dickson if he ever went into a match thinking he didn’t have a chance. He said “No.” And when he did lose, he thought, “What a great learning experience!”

That is not normal!

Well today I will be wrapping up a great 2.5 days at the Human Performance Institute and heading back home. Next stop, Philadelphia!

Have a great day everyone!

Homework: Don’t be normal today.

MESSAGE #1008 WHAT I LIKE ABOUT MYSELF…

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One of the things I like about myself is that I have a growth mindset – I LOVE learning. I love what I do so much that I don’t want to go to bed at night and I can’t wait to get up in the morning.

Well in a few hours I will be hopping a flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Orlando, Florida to attend a mental toughness certification program for 2.5 days. The goal is to learn more about my craft. People say that I have become successful, but I don’t look at it that way;  I will never say that “I’ve made it,” or “I know it all.”

I will never know it all. The sky’s the limit.

Carol Dweck, author of one of my favorite books, “MINDSET: The New Psychology of Success” and professor at Stanford University talks about fixed and growth mindsets.

“I think enjoyment is key.  You have to have a passion for what you do.  It’s not about your parents pushing you or your coach threatening you.  It’s about you just wanting to be better and loving every minute of it.  Not every minute, but most of it.”

I learn from everyone I can, from experts like Dweck, strangers, children…ANYONE.

I use all the brains I have and all that I can borrow. – WINSTON CHURCHILL

Next blog entry from sunny Florida…

MESSAGE #1007 LET IT FLOW

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Have you ever been in the zone?

Didn’t the tennis ball look like a beach ball?

EXERCISE

Part One: Look around you and find a nearby object, like a pen or piece of paper. Now slowly reach for it tightening every muscle in your body. Move as slow as you can. Now slowly bring it to your chest and slowly place it down back where you found it.

Part Two: Now reach for the same object normally and bring it to your chest and back.

Didn’t it feel effortless the second time? When you’re in the zone (or as I like to say, “the state of ‘ON'”) you are just flowing; you are just doing.

When we think too much, especially about negative things, we mentally tighten up just like when you were physically reaching for that object a moment ago.

When you mentally tighten up, your mind is not clear and therefore your body won’t function at peak performance.

Your effort should be ALL-OUT…

But your attitude should be A LITTLE RELAXED.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend. -BRUCE LEE

MESSAGE #1006 WHAT WINNERS DO WHEN THEY LOSE…

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I never prayed that I would make a putt. I prayed that I would react well if I missed. -CHI CHI RODRIGUEZ, golfer

How do you react when you miss a shot, or lose a match?

MESSAGE #1005 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNERS AND LOSERS

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“If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says. At the end of the game, in my book, we’re gonna be winners.”
-COACH NORMAN DALE, Hoosiers