5 Lessons From Tennis
A few years ago, shortly before March 2020, I started taking tennis lessons. Little did I know that, in addition to learning a new game (and a humbling reminder of how to be a beginner), I’d take away some terrific life lessons as well.
LESSON #1: BE A CREATIVE PLAYER - NOT A REACTIVE PLAYER
In tennis, this is about building the confidence to take control and create your shot rather than constantly reacting and chasing. It’s being on the offense rather than defense. I never got out of the“just don’t miss the ball and hit it over the net into the blue” phase of tennis - but this concept of creating your game rather than reacting made so much sense to me.
Think about your life - are you winning on your terms or are you just playing not to lose? Which one sounds better? Get creative. Start thinking about what it would look like to win on your terms.
LESSON #2: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL UNTIL IT HITS THE STRINGS
In tennis, keep your eye on the ball.
In life, keep your eye on the goal.
LESSON #3: BREATHE
I held my breath for the entire first half of our first lesson. Even when my coach told me to breathe, I still held my breath.
It wasn’t until he equated it with breathing out like in boxing that I got the idea…and as soon as I started to breathe, I started hitting the ball. My game improved significantly.
In life, when I remember to breathe, my game improves significantly. Duh.
LESSON #4: MUSCLE MEMORY TAKES A WHILE TO CORRECT - BE PATIENT
I haven’t played a whole lot of tennis in my life. At summer camp when I was 12, and at a tennis clinic during my kids’ spring break a few months before I started taking lessons. That tennis clinic taught me how to do my forehand allllll wrong. So, when I started lessons, no matter what I thought I was telling my body to do, I kept going back to the old habit of breaking my wrist on the swing. I think I probably set the record for most balls hit over the fence in a single hour.
My coach reminded me that old habits die hard. It would take a while. He made me hit what felt like a million times each lesson. We went over the stroke again and again and again. My wrist was killing me, and I knew I was doing it all wrong…it was frustrating as hell. BUT. right before COVID hit, my body started to listen to what my mind was telling it. Not on every swing, but on some. It was a start…the patience and practice was paying off.
Your brain is a muscle also. Your neural pathways are like a roadway of nerve cells that deliver messages to your brain. Travel a road enough times and a mental habit is formed. In other words, the thoughts you’ve been telling yourself over and over and over again die hard. It takes a lot of consciousness and repetition to form new thought patterns, to start to think in different ways that will serve your life better.
Be patient. Practice. Be consistent. It will pay off.
LESSON #5: YOU CAN ALWAYS START SOMETHING NEW -– NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE.
Self explanatory.
So tell me - where are you playing to win in your life? Where do you want to do it more? And what’s the new muscle memory you’re looking to strengthen?