The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

by W. Timothy Gallwey

The player of the inner game comes to value the art of relaxed concentration above all other skills; he discovers a true basis for self-confidence; and he learns that the secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard.

the key to better tennis—or better anything—lies in improving the relationship between the conscious teller, Self 1, and the natural capabilities of Self 2.

Getting it together mentally in tennis involves the learning of several internal skills: 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

So it is with the greatest efforts in sports; they come when the mind is as still as a glass lake.

In short, “getting it together” requires slowing the mind. Quieting the mind means less thinking, calculating, judging, worrying, fearing, hoping, trying, regretting, controlling, jittering or distracting.

The first skill to learn is the art of letting go the human inclination to judge ourselves and our performance as either good or bad.

judgment is the act of assigning a negative or positive value to an event.

letting go of judgments does not mean ignoring errors. It simply means seeing events as they are and not adding anything to them.

Judgment results in tightness, and tightness interferes with the fluidity required for accurate and quick movement. Relaxation produces smooth strokes and results from accepting your strokes as they are, even if erratic.

Getting the clearest possible image of your desired outcomes is a most useful method for communicating with Self 2, especially when playing a match.

Letting go of judgments, the art of creating images and “letting it happen” are three of the basic skills involved in the Inner Game. Before

“No teacher is greater than one’s own experience.”

Winning is overcoming obstacles to reach a goal, but the value in winning is only as great as the value of the goal reached.

Reaching the goal itself may not be as valuable as the experience that can come in making a supreme effort to overcome the obstacles involved.

The process can be more rewarding than the ...