The Inner Game of Tennis
TLDR: “A classic of mental framing, perspective, and performance. Surprisingly human.”
First off, this book has nothing to do with tennis. Well, maybe five percent to do with tennis. The rest is about the mental side of any skill.
It’s mostly about self-doubt, self-criticism, and the urge to micro-manage ourselves into performance. The author talks about “Self 1” and “Self 2.” Self 1 is critical and gives all kinds of orders to Self 2, which tries to execute them. Self 2 is so busy trying to make Self 1 happy, that it never does anything right.
The gist is that to become good at anything, we have to let go. We have to stop desperately trying to get better, and just let ourselves flow naturally.
The big technical is “non-judgmental observation,” which means to observe what we do without passing judgment on whether it’s “good” or “bad.” Just observe it, don’t get rattled, decide how you would rather perform, and let yourself do that. The more you fight to perform, the less you’ll be able to.
Later in the book, the author gets into the reasons we take up a skill, the nature of competition, and … self-love? He talks about how you are not your tennis game, and whether you win or lose, it doesn’t have an effect on who you are.
A lovely book. Quite short – I listened to almost the entire thing on a four-hour drive to Minneapolis. Highly recommended for anyone, doing anything, at any stage of life.
Book Info
- I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on .
- A softcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.