--- [[The Inner Game of Tennis Application]] ## Notes ## Shortform Highlights two selves “Self 1” and “Self 2.” Self 1 governs what he refers to as the “ego-mind,” and Self 2 governs the body and instinct. The “ego-mind” is what chastises you when you do poorly and compliments you when you do well. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/4f20f159-a133-4b80-bb93-070775ad988b)) most competitors are physically straining in unnecessary ways—their faces tighten or they curse at themselves ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/9fe596a4-3085-49aa-a9a2-4a87c674f779)) Players who have achieved mastery of the Inner Game are good at three skills: First, figuring out their own desired outcome Example: Wanting to hit a forehand deeper in the court Second, trusting Self 2 and not interfering too much Example: Not thinking too hard about the mechanics necessary to hit the forehand farther before swinging Third, thinking about themselves “nonjudgmentally”—noticing what is happening without passing a value judgment on their performance Example: Staying calm when you inevitably hit a few into the net ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/93b6f2bb-6a55-4d26-a29b-c8fa720ca1a8)) - 💭 relaxed concentration You can’t quiet Self 1 and listen to and trust Self 2 if you chastise or judge yourself. You already know how to listen only to Self 2 because this is how you learned as a child—without judgment. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/9679239a-86ac-4892-b610-e7519e3c5bc6)) We can think of “trying hard” as Self 1 castigating Self 2 ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/3b15baa7-d339-494c-b916-2c354627ac6a)) coach brings him over to a mirror and tells him to swing in front of the mirror. At this point, he’s able to easily change his swing. After he stopped passing active judgment on his swing and simply saw what it looked like in a mirror, which provides no judgment and only reflection, he was able to make a change. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/d4c9add5-fdf5-4bb8-9aa9-585a274d5cc3)) - 💭 non judgemental correction ## Highlights neglected skills of the inner game. This is the game that takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt and self-condemnation. In short, it is played to overcome all habits of mind which inhibit excellence in performance. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xwm57jqbg5wbdcnw8w5fdq)) The next time your opponent is having a hot streak, simply ask him as you switch courts, “Say, George, what are you doing so differently that’s making your forehand so good today?” If he takes the bait—and 95 percent will—and begins to think about how he’s swinging, telling you how he’s really meeting the ball out in front, keeping his wrist firm and following through better, his streak invariably will end. He will lose his timing and fluidity as he tries to repeat what he has just told you he was doing so well. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xwypjsknakr3mcbm2maywr)) - 💭 use in valorant The concentrated mind has no room for thinking how well the body is doing, much less of the how-to’s of the doing. When a player is in this state, there is little to interfere with the full expression of his potential to perform, learn and enjoy. The ability to approach this state is the goal of the Inner Game. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xx0nk18g2vv50r7a5h79bh)) within each player there are two “selves.” One, the “I,” seems to give instructions; the other, “myself,” seems to perform the action. Then “I” returns with an evaluation of the action. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xx34h38v5vxzcjpv4c892j)) By thinking too much and trying too hard, Self 1 has produced tension and muscle conflict in the body. He is responsible for the error, but he heaps the blame on Self 2 and then, by condemning it further, undermines his own confidence in Self 2. As a result the stroke grows worse and frustration builds. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xx5xpa1bc4m40xfptaezew)) trying hard,” the energy of Self 1, and “effort,” the energy used by Self 2, to do the work necessary. During the last set of balls, Self 1 was fully occupied in watching the seams of the ball. As a result, Self 2 was able to do its own thing unimpaired ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xx8kdpvajf0pkmw67md664)) 1. learning how to get the clearest possible picture of your desired outcomes; 2) learning how to trust Self 2 to perform at its best and learn from both successes and failures; and 3) learning to see “nonjudgmentally”—that is, to see what is happening rather than merely noticing how well or how badly it is happening. This overcomes “trying too hard.” All these skills are subsidiary to the master skill, without which nothing of value is ever achieved: the art of relaxed concentration. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xxa345kqst4w45bt5hqwh0)) When a tennis player is “in the zone,” he’s not thinking about how, when or even where to hit the ball. He’s not _trying_ to hit the ball, and after the shot he doesn’t think about how badly or how well he made contact. The ball seems to get hit through a process which doesn’t require thought. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xxda5y0dzrf09jg8j644d6)) Great music and art are said to arise from the quiet depths of the unconscious, and true expressions of love are said to come from a source which lies beneath words and thoughts. So it is with the greatest efforts in sports; they come when the mind is as still as a glass lake. Such moments have been called “peak experiences” by the humanistic psychologist Dr. Abraham Maslow. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3xxess88yr95vq4bj7a07n0)) 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 it 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 ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3ypz3bjr6njwr0h4bmb259g)) 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.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3ys6f6rnaypsa3e3gpvd4pp)) If a judgmental player comes to me, I will do my best not to believe his tale of a “bad” backhand or of the “bad” player who has it. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3ysbhe8kwn9bz201024gk4h)) At first, with the aid of the mirror, he directly _experienced_ his backswing. Without thinking or analyzing, he increased his awareness of that part of his swing. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3ysrwpb5yt4vcze9wmdrk94)) instead of stopping the process at the point where the player is judging positively, I again ask him to observe his racket and to tell me exactly where it is at the moment of bounce. As the player finally lets himself observe his racket with detachment and interest, he can feel what it is actually doing and his awareness increases. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yv71ngh6f2g22x3f57sdvg)) To discover this natural learning process, it is necessary to let go of the old process of _correcting_ faults; ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yv7tbgaj7n8de8w3w7awpa)) They were trying to live up to an expectation, a standard of right and wrong, which they felt had been set before them. This was exactly what had been missing during the first set of balls. I began to see that my compliment had engaged their judgmental minds. Self 1, the ego-mind, had gotten into the act. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yxsr8nkzdftn0wp0erbvkv)) how Self 1 operated. Always looking for approval and wanting to avoid disapproval, this subtle ego-mind sees a compliment as a potential criticism. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yxtc5adx0hk3kk026vnwka)) - 💭 both manipulate behavior If I don’t dislike what I’m doing wrong, how am I going to change it?” Self 1, the ego-mind, wants to take responsibility for making things “better.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yxy7fpn9dhqgasx13jqk2y)) When we “unlearn” judgment we discover, usually with some surprise, that we don’t need the motivation of a reformer to change our “bad” habits. We may simply need to be more aware. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yychby75ejhf4fr4r971c5)) _Acknowledgment_ of one’s own or another’s strengths, efforts, accomplishments, etc., can facilitate natural learning, whereas judgments interfere. What is the difference? Acknowledgment of and respect for one’s capabilities support trust in Self 2. Self 1’s judgments, on the other hand, attempt to manipulate and undermine that trust. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yyd1gybyjy7s7pxefawmqz)) Trusting Self 2 ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yyd5qxz7n9mdbf1yvc2ppc)) Self 2—that is, the physical body, including the brain, memory bank (conscious and unconscious) and the nervous system ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yyhkv9gd7w5crfxn0wrz1m)) Trusting your body in tennis means _letting_ your body hit the ball. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3yyz2dbb2fvnptt4v4kvhch)) ### New highlights added June 28, 2023 at AM Focus in tennis is fundamentally no different from the focus needed to perform any task or even to enjoy a symphony; learning to let go of the habit of judging yourself on the basis of your backhand is no different from forgetting the habit of judging your child or boss; and learning to welcome obstacles in competition automatically increases one’s ability to find advantage in all the difficulties one meets in the course of one’s life. Hence, every inner gain applies immediately and automatically to the full range of one’s activities. This is why it is worthwhile to pay some attention to the inner game. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41m3hpyntgvt22xfc95szr6)) BUILDING INNER STABILITY ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41m3ydy5ah7acwy3a93wxve)) be more like him or be like her, we are now instituting these changes, so change.” The message is no different from “Hit the ball this way or hit the ball that way, and you’re no good if you don’t.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41m6bj79255kra3s2f4n7dy)) The cause of most stress can be summed up by the word _attachment._ ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41m70q2f6fbn98e3wn1xygn)) she didn’t get nervous at all. She said she considered it a privilege to play with these players, something she hadn’t been able to do up until that time. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41mbyezg2ma3sdxyp2t4ekr)) I don’t think anyone’s Self 2 needs improvement from birth to death. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41me7f8y2ghg1nt9mnbb9d0)) Where had this energy come from that allowed me to run so far without stopping? I hadn’t felt frightened; I simply didn’t get tired or cold. As I relate this story now, it seems that saying “I accepted death” is ambiguous. I didn’t give up in the sense of quitting. In one sense I gave up one kind of caring and was imbued with another. Apparently, letting go of my grip on life released an energy that paradoxically made it possible for me to run with utter abandon _toward_ life. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41mjrapyw842syjct7n9s60)) Abandon” is a good word to describe what happens to a tennis player who feels he has nothing to lose. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41mkevcf3pke9xs71j3b51b)) THE GOAL OF THE INNER GAME Now we come to an interesting point ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h41mkkhga0ffyf95568y000e))