Winning the inner game of tennis basically involves attending to every thought that comes up to the tennis player’s consciousness and then listening to it just like replaying the song heard over the headphones. Usually, the initial step includes becoming detached from one’s mind by releasing thoughts away from the range of one’s unconsciousness.
Playing the Inner Game with Your Mind
There are five ways by which a player can truly win the inner game of tennis through his mind. The strategy begins with fighting the mind when it is afraid, for instance. Being able to persistently fight fear can bring about very surprising outcomes. It lets the aspiring tennis player overcome panic and gain confidence; thereby transforming him into a more competent challenger during the game. Besides, when that familiar fear confronts that player once more, he would be able to deal with it more easily; thinking that fear is smaller. Later on, the tennis player can win the internal struggle as fear gradually disappears.
The second step in playing the inner game of tennis is tricking the mind by keeping one’s focus into something relevant and something interesting such as watching how the ball spins or closely observing its flight path. Yes, the player is playing a game with his mind, and even though he knows that he’ll trick his own mind and the mind is aware of it, it still gets to fall for the mind trick. Not always; however, but the techniques get better with constant practice.
The inner game of tennis does not end there. Listening to one’s mind is another aspect to carry out for only when the player develops suitable awareness of his thinking that he can choose what he will believe in. This step enables the player to decide whether some thoughts are valuable or not. Hitting a winner, for instance, from a three-meter distance at the rear of the boundary line on the hoof is definitely not a thought worthy to follow.
Moreover, ignoring the mind is also necessary so that one can reach the door to the zone. This is, nonetheless, a much higher inner game ability as compared to mere listening and selecting of thoughts. Here, the player ignores his mind as if he was watching TV while the music from the radio is playing. Sometimes, players get so focused with their tennis match that they fail to hear and realize what their individual minds are telling them.
The fifth step in the inner game of tennis talks about shutting the mind off which is apparently the ultimate ability that enables the tennis player to finally enter the zone. This step occurs when one has ignored his mind for a long time. Several thoughts arise but the player simply does not care. He keeps on playing and each time a new thought comes, he just lets it pass. Eventually, the mind appears to get upset that it learns to refuse to tell something anymore. That’s when silence in the mind transpires and this is the time when the tennis player can just play, worrying about neither the past nor the future for he exists only in the here and now.