EXOS 5-min Mindset Practice - April 22, 2020

Tennis Skills to Help During COVID-19

How can tennis help us during the COVID-19 pandemic? I am not just referring to the active part such as playing through creative measures. I am talking about the mental skills we learn in tennis that allow us to be resilient and to adapt. Tennis is a game where you must have a plan, but be able to adapt that plan to the situation. Think of when we are returning serve. We don't know where the server is going to serve the ball, but we have to adjust if it comes to the right, left, or right at us. We also have to be able to adapt to the speed, the height, and the spin of the ball. As we go through this COVID-19 pandemic, think about what we already have to help us get through this. When returning serve, we have practiced our backhand, we have practiced our forehand, we have practiced moving to the ball, we have practiced the rally. The same thing applies to real life. This pandemic feels like an opponent on a comeback. We were ahead in the game and all of sudden, they caught some momentum. Now we are uncertain, the nerves start rattling, we start to think,"Oh No! I blew it."  We need to adapt. One of the things I have to tell myself everyday is,"Start over. Make it look good. It's okay, I got this. Stay the course." 

One of the things tennis teaches us is to use what we have and adjust to uncertainty. My challenge to you is to use what you have. Tennis teaches us routines, routines are mindfulness in action. The way we start a serve with checking our grip, bouncing the ball. The way we look at our strings in between points. The way we set up to return a serve. I was thinking about the Potato Race. These routines help prepare us to play a point. Use what you have a set a routine. Stay mindful and remember, tennis brings out the strengths to help us be resilient.

Do Simple Better

I am not really one for taking on too much, but I am one for trying to make a project more than it needs to be. I somehow have the gift of over complicating a task, just because I can. One of the practices I have been working on the last couple of years is to be simple. That means, do less. Less is more. Those have been some mantra's for me, but in 2018, I heard a new mantra. "Do Simple Better." 

Yes, do the simple things, the little things better. Something like our morning rituals, keep them simple and do them better. In other words, be present on the routine instead of just on autopilot. Easier said than done, especially if your mind is still waking up and you feel rushed by the clock. I think all of these mantras have helped me to do one think better, to stop and pause. When I start to get overwhelmed, I stop and pause and say,"Do Simple Better. Less is more. Just one."

I always believe in the power of one thing. I remember tennis guru Vic Braden once said, "If you just improve one part of your game, you are a better player." In other words, you don't have to try and fix everything all at once. I remember when I was first learning how to improve my serve. For years, my teaching pros in high school had told me to break my wrist at contact. When I made a trip to Arizona, a teaching pro, master professional, and co-founder of the Professional Tennis Registry, said,"You don't break the wrist, you turn the forearm." So, for a whole summer, I just worked on turning the forearm. You know, that simple thing did make me better. I still had flaws in my serve motion, but it was better. Anyway, during these days of quarantine, I encourage you to "Do Simple Better." Whether it is tennis or cleaning the sink. Find the simple things in your life and do those better. I have to tell that to myself everyday.