Here’s a an easy mental toughness tip that you can instantly start to use.
1. Stand or sit up straight.
2. Stick your chest out.
3. Bring your shoulders back.
4. Lift your chin up.
Now feel negative.
You can’t do it, can you?
I can tell you to try to feel confident, happy and positive, but you may not be able to.
But I can say smile, or act like the most confident person in the whole world and you can. The beauty of this is that even if you have to fake it at first, soon you will feel it.
Congratulations to Rafael Nadal and Francesca Schiavone and a special thank you to the great Angie Holmberg who snapped some great shots of Game. Set. Life. on her recent trip to London and the French Open. See below.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/image013.jpg10241365adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-06-08 09:21:162010-06-08 09:21:16MESSAGE #1050 ONE EASY MENTAL TOUGHNESS TIP
Greetings from Florida, Day 3. I am having a great time and my talk yesterday in Key Largo was very well received. I sold many books and connected with some great Florida coaches.
Sarah and I then had a great lunch at the Conch House, which was featured on the Food Network.
Today we are in Dania Beach/Hollywood.
As I blog here at Starbucks, I can’t stop thinking about the late, great Coach John Wooden.
Much of my coaching and life philosophy came from John Wooden. And much of John Wooden’s coaching and life philosophy came from his father.
His father used to say:
“You should never try to be better than someone else.
Always learn from others.
Never cease trying to be the best that you can be – that’s under your control.”
Here are some other great quotes from Wooden…
“Never mention winning – you can lose when you outscore somebody in a game and you can win when you are outscored.”
“Give your best effort and your results will be what they should. The score of a game is a by-product and not the end itself.”
“The journey (practice) is better than the end (game). The game is to see if they did a decent job (in practice) during the week.”
Success is…“Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.”
“Character is what you are, your reputation is what you are perceived to be.”
“We hope that things will turn out the way we want them to, but we don’t do the things that are necessary to make those things become reality.”
Wooden’s 3 Rules (From his father):
Never be late
Never use profanity
Never criticize a teammate
“Never mistake activity for achievement.”
“He just used sports as a means to teach us how to apply ourselves to any situation.” -KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
In the 1930s, a poem stuck with Wooden that helped shape his philosophy. Watch the vlog below to see me recite the poem.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-06-06 09:01:552010-06-06 09:01:55MESSAGE #1048 FLORIDA DAY 3
Well, I leave for the airport in a few minutes to hop a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Tomorrow morning I will be speaking at the USPTA Florida Convention to tennis coaches, directors, club owners and administrators at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo.
I will be nervous.
Being nervous is good – it means you are about to do something important. Being nervous is much better than not caring.
Do you get nervous before a big match? A presentation at work? Asking someone out on a date?
Pete Sampras used to get nervous all the time. In fact, he used to get so nervous before finals that he would throw up in the locker room.
But why was Sampras able to perform the way he did?
Because he didn’t act how he felt.
So tomorrow morning at about 9:30am I will be getting nervous.
But at 10am, I am going to ACT like I’m going to rock the house.
Next message from sunny (hopefully) Florida.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-06-04 06:56:462010-06-04 06:56:46MESSAGE #1046 NEXT STOP: KEY LARGO
I recently started working with a high school tennis player who had low self-esteem and negativity issues.
His father called me to ask if I could work with his son to overcome his challenges.
Well, I did one long session with him and then gave him some homework.
I saw him a week later and I immediately noticed that his body language and attitude was completely different.
I said, “How’s it going?”
He replied, “Great! I am not negative anymore.”
I was skeptical.
I found out that he lost a couple matches during the week, but was extremely happy with his attitude. He was a new person, and he had a winning mindset. He wasn’t perfect, but this was a great start, nonetheless.
I was extremely proud of him.
What did I give him?
HOPE.
Hold On Possibilities Exist.
What’s the point?
Mental skills are just like physical skills – they are trainable.
This young man is striving to become a little bit better every day, and I am confident that as our coaching sessions continue, he will eventually become the player, and person he wants to be.
Afterall, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
“The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.”
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-05-21 22:47:422010-05-21 22:47:42MESSAGE #1032 ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
“There’s plenty of room at the top, just no room to sit down.”
Normal people give normal effort.
They do just enough to get by.
But the great ones, the successful ones do a little bit more.
Instead of just selling a product or service, exceed your customer’s expectations. Follow-up, call them on their birthday, or send them a free gift.
If you are a student, don’t just do the reading assignment, read an extra chapter and ask your teacher how you can learn more.
See, most people are playing the wrong game. They just want the sale, or they just want the A.
If you do what the average person does, you will get average results.
If you do what the extraordinary person does, you will get extraordinary results.
Play the game of exceeding expectations and constant learning. It isn’t a harder game, in fact, it’s an easier game because there are fewer competitors. This makes it easier to get to the top.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-05-19 07:55:222010-05-19 07:55:22MESSAGE #1030 A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
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.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-05-13 13:32:142010-05-13 13:32:14MESSAGE #1024 HOW TO WIN MORE PART II
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
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-05-12 11:15:522010-05-12 11:15:52MESSAGE #1023 HOW TO WIN MORE
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.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-05-11 09:09:392010-05-11 09:09:39MESSAGE #1022 INTERVIEW WITH NEHA UBEROI
I am currently reading the latest issue of Time magazine, entitled, “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.”
I like to think that I will be in that issue one day; not because I want to say that I have that title, but because I truly want to make as big of a difference in the world that I can.
And you can too.
I know what you’re thinking, “What if I don’t want to be an influential figure? What if I’m happy with what I have?”
Then by all means, continue with what you are doing.
But the wrong mindset is that it is not possible. It is possible.
It won’t happen overnight, but if you figure out the right strategy, put in the work and truly have a passion for it…the sky’s the limit.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a tennis player, musician or accountant; you have unlimited potential.
My friend Bob Ryland, the first black professional tennis player used to coach the Williams sisters, and the first thing I ever asked him was, “Were they more talented than everyone else?”
“No, in fact I didn’t think they were talented at all at first, but they worked harder than anyone else (from 6am-6pm, with breaks of course).”
Yes, talent and physicality help, however, they are not the determining factors.
Remember, ANYBODY can count the number of seeds in an apple; NOBODY can count the number of apples in a seed.
Your potential is unlimited.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2010-05-05 08:57:082010-05-05 08:57:08MESSAGE #1016 BE INFLUENTIAL (If you want)
