#268 in Books
Reddit mentions of The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance
Sentiment score: 31
Reddit mentions: 54
We found 54 Reddit mentions of The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance. Here are the top ones.
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- Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Specs:
| Color | White |
| Height | 8 Inches |
| Length | 5.2 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | May 1997 |
| Weight | 0.31305641204 Pounds |
| Width | 0.4 Inches |
Outcome-independence is an extremely valuable concept to understand if you seek to improve your situation in any area of life. The goal should be to perform an action with optimal technique, success will be a long-term bi-product of that approach.
There's a good, and very short, book on this topic called "The Inner Game of Tennis", by Timothy Gallwey. You don't need any interest in tennis, it's more about the mental aspect of improving and competing.
Mindset is an incredibly difficult thing to master, but also incredibly important.
I'd recommend starting with a book called The Inner Game of Tennis. and when you finish it, there are some online resources I could send you. (Dr.PP has written a lot of good stuff)
First off, welcome.
Welcome to one of the last pure sports on Earth.
Yeah, you lost. It happens a lot. One of the Sport's all time greats, Ramy Ashour, speaks fondly of losing 0-27 in the first tournament he ever entered as a junior.
Losing is a part of sport and a part of life.
To answer your question, you should absolutely continue in our Sport. Squash is brilliant at building resolve, it's not a sport of passing shots but of perseverance and endurance. It's about digging in and overcoming the voices telling you to quit and just keep getting the ball back.
I can tell you now, with very solid experience that kids all develop their game at different rates. The best players I've seen are often the ones at 14 & 15 who couldn't keep up with their peers, they just hadn't developed as much. Work hard, set those players as your target and never stop getting the ball back.
They say you can't put an old head on young shoulders but this old head wants to try for a moment. Go pick up a used copy of The Inner Game of Tennis and start working on your mental game. It's never to early to teach yourself how to mentally compete, to support yourself and hone the muscle between your ears.
In closing, stay in the sport, be gracious when you make Varsity next year and don't delete your post. You'll smile next year when you look back on these doubts.
Hit against the wall until you hit forearm muscle failure. Concentrate on hitting as many as you can in a row without stopping. (It's easier to do this if you go closer to the wall and hit softly). If you get bored and want to hit with your brother, play mini tennis. Try to play within the service boxes only and just rally back and forth, trying to get the longest rallies possible. Proper footwork and watching the ball are important to keep in mind.
Watch some videos on how to hit topsin and proper backhand form too. It will be hard for your body to produce it consistently before getting used to using the muscles required for tennis, so keep things slow. At the very beginning I wouldn't worry too much about hitting things with too much spin. Just try to get a feel for how the ball bounces on the court, where you need to be standing to hit it, and which way your racquet is facing when you make contact. Make small adjustments to these things until you start to feel more comfortable moving around and at least being able to rally a little.
It might also be a good idea to try practicing serving. Watch some videos on proper form, but don't try to do anything fancy. Your body hasn't really gotten the muscle memory for tennis yet.
I don't mention playing matches with your brother because I know how miserable it can be when no ones serves are going in and no rallies are happening. You're pretty much just walking around the court calling out the score. If you want to do some kind of competition with him do who can hit the ball more times in a row or who can hit a certain spot the most times, stuff like that. You could also play points in mini tennis just feeding the ball as a serve and going back and forth like that, using normal scoring or playing to 21 something like that.
If you want some reading, I'd recommend The inner game of tennis (https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314). He talks a lot about intuitive tennis. He gives examples of how he applied it to his coaching. I think it is a good resource if you are wondering how to learn. Not a lot of technical instruction, but if you want that you can get it from videos or by taking some lessons.
Another good book is Winning Ugly (https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Ugly-Mental-Warfare-Tennis-Lessons/dp/067188400X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500784652&sr=1-1&keywords=winning+ugly). I'd say save this for when you start playing matches in tournament or league play though. It doesn't really have a lot to do with learning tennis, but it is an interesting insight on what to think about when you are playing a match to increase your chances of winning.
The best thing to do for your tennis though is to make tennis friends. Everything above are things you can do on your own or with your brother. Try to find a club with weekly tennis events or just talk to people you see around the court. Some places have group lessons that aren't too expensive. Once you can serve without double faulting too much and are able to have short rallies, you can also join a 2.5 league or sign up for a tournament. Some clubs even have ball machines you can rent for free or for a small fee once you are a member. Ball machines are great for trying to practice a specific stroke or shot because you will get consistent feeds and can see where your ball is going on the other side of the court.
read this The Inner Game of Tennis
https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314
I'm sure there are a bunch of people that would be willing to do their best at answering whatever questions you have on here. Obviously, coaching is complex and there are rarely easy or obvious answers.
As for books, the books that I'd recommend these days:
[The Art of Learning] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Learning-Journey-Performance/dp/0743277465)
[The Inner Game of Tennis] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679778314/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=40113434767&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4260322089310012087&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_8mdnpg1nf9_b)
[10 Minute Mental Toughness] (http://www.amazon.com/10-Minute-Toughness-Training-Program-Winning/dp/0071600639/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426395408&sr=1-1&keywords=10+minute+mental+toughness)
[Wooden on Leadership] (http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Leadership-Create-Winning-Organization/dp/0071453393/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426395634&sr=1-3&keywords=john+wooden)
It's a good book. The Inner Game of Tennis is better.
If you're into improving the consistency of your play, then I would recommend checking The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallway.
It is a pretty quick read, but it gives good insights to better managing the inner mental game that we all play when we are on the field.
1st what did your read; Both manuals? I don't know what that means. Ignore everything you read on medieval swordplay, it's not relevant to sport fencing. Although, I'm sure it's very interesting.
The books you read are pretty good. Nothing to outlandish about either Czajkowski book or Epee 2.5. If you want a syllabus, try:
Many, many people here on reddit will also recommend, "The Inner Game of Tennis" as a good read for fencing -- it's essentially a self help book. I personally did not find it even remotely helpful but if you find yourself generally inclined towards similar self-help, pop-psychology books then you might like it.
As far as workout plans go (and you'll hate to hear this): don't work on lunges and fleches and such, yet. Wait till you have a coach to correct your form. You may wind up further ingraining some bad habits which you aren't aware of by working on them alone before you start. But, kudos on trying to get ahead of the game.
What I recommend is that you just work on conditioning, the longer you stay sharp at practice the faster you'll improve. Run/Cycle a bunch get your body used to the stress. Optionally do weightlifting-style lunges with some free weights and kettlebell swings (don't over do it). I think even a brisk yoga routine which is heavy on the core-strength exercises and light on the mystical-bullshit is pretty good for fencing training.
Don’t just practice and watch competitive videos. Those are both really important, but you also need to learn the core concepts of the game and how to have a mindset focused on learning/improving. Additionally, playing in your local competitive scene will help a ton (even though you will be utterly demolished at first).
You don’t have to watch/read my recommendations specifically, but you should seek out content like this.
I even remember a rumor when Tuchel recommended Miky to read this book.
Squid and Dr. PP both recommend the art of learning, and the inner game of tennis and they're both godlike so I'd take their advice. Flow is really good too.
Something cool you could do is get into chess. I only played chess seriously for a few months really, but I feel like it gave me another angle to think about tactics and strategy in. Chess is really fun and it'll give you that same competitive brain feeling melee does without killing your hands.
/r/chess has lots of guides about how to get into the game and stuff. There's lots of cool websites now like www.chesstempo.com where you can do tons of tactics training puzzles that are really fun and make the learning curve for beginners a lot less steep than it was back in the day when chess books were the only option(which are great, but it's really hard as an absolute beginner to sit down with a chess book and actually make it through it).
If you're already like 2100 fide rated or some shit then just ignore this lol.
It's called 'The Inner Game of Tennis' by Tim Gallwey.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314
First of all, for technique/practice, consistency in the woodshed is key. My daily routine is very repetitive, to the point that it is incredibly boring. But the improvement is so amazing, that I'm still excited to do it every day. I also kill the monotony with something to occupy my mind, usually either a sitcom or reading material, once I had the routine down.
[This is my daily routine], which takes about 90 minutes if you go nonstop, at the tempos marked (which will take some time to work up).
Secondly, your performance anxiety should be addressed. My professor in college had a required course for the whole tuba/euphonium studio called "Performance Anxiety: Understanding and Coping."
I had some mild anxiety then, but the class helped. The class was almost 20 years ago, but here's the largest takeaways:
Two of the three texts are not music books, but are read by students of just about every single discipline and apply it to their area of study. They will take years to understand on new levels, but you should be able to get some immediate results and understanding of your situation.
As I got older, I've found the best way to quiet those nerves is to overprepare for anything. My teachers used to say "an amatuer practices 'til he gets it right; a professional practices 'til he can't get it wrong." When I'm in a position where I know I cannot screw something up, I actually enjoy the performance, butterflies and all. And I've been in some very high stress situations, with fewer train wrecks each year. This takes some massive time management, but it definitely helps. I usually set a goal to be "performance ready" a few weeks out, so I can do some very picky polishing of the performance.
This is a lot more than I thought I'd say on the matter, but there should be a lot here to help. Happy shedding!
Edit: After perusing the other comments, it looks like you might have a difficult professor. Sounds like you should sit down and decide if he's helping or hindering your progress. To be candid, I never really think of a trombone player being very good for tuba students. Maybe some pedagogy, but there's enough differences in the two instruments to warrant a specialist at the collegiate level. Great euphonium players can teach tuba, just as my best teacher was a tuba player, but they both doubled strongly on the other instrument. Unless your professor can be considered a professional tuba player to some extent, you might need to find a different school to finish your education.
glad you like it! ( /u/T3chnopsycho and /u/paksaochuyie too!)
I like it for developing combinations because it helps people to be able to get away from " I need to do x, in y situation" and lets them focus more on movement, both continuous striking and sidestepping / turning the opponent in a fluid manor and not freezing when something doesn't go your way. Plus you can start shadow boxing those types of combinations and work them independently. it's very clear, very fast where my weaknesses are - I hurt my knee when I was 16, so I favor my left foot forward. So any chance I get to spar lower belt students, I spar right foot forward and work the point combinations.
If you look at anyone in high level competition, across all sports ( baseball, football, golf, tennis, etc), it's clear they did something akin to a form many MANY times over, and that the "form" they did helped shape them, but the form was only part of the answer. Like a Rolodex of answers to questions you have on your journey. Baseball is a great example! If you are a professional baseball player, you stand out in the field and you play catch for hours and hours. Then you go to to the batting cages and hit thousands of balls a month and then get together and practice. Then you have people hit balls at you day in and day out in the off season ( this like sparring for us). When the players step on the field though, it looks nothing like practice because its' been refined, reworked, and perfected to a pro level that's nothing like the game kids play in the parks on the weekend.
Success is like pregnancy - everyone sees the result, they don't see the thousands of times you got screwed to get there. I think a lot of people get so caught up in ego about "my martial art is better" that they forget it's just a body mechanic exercise and lots of repetition. There's a limited amount of answers to any question in our sport. Sure there's a lot of possible strikes ( just like in chess or go, hundreds of possible moves) but only a couple of them are really viable in any situation. You can arrive at the same destination from any direction, it's all about finding the right way that suits you.
I highly recommend this book The inner game of tennis - while not directly applicable being as its' a different sport, it has many parallels and some direct comparisons.
If you ever want to chat about any of this, I've been both training and coaching a long time and love to have friendly conversations and have my opinions challenged!
Happy training!
You should read (or listen to the audiobook of) The Inner Game of Tennis.
Trust me, it's about more than just tennis. It's how to perform at your peak in anything competitive and it's incredibly good.
Play more in public. Volunteer to play at church, or for a nursing home. Perform for your family, your friends, your classmates.
The thing is, performance anxiety and nerves don't just go away. As you get more experience performing, you get more used to them, to the point where I've heard (and read) professionals talking about how nerves are that extra little spark that makes a performance more special than a rehearsal - in other words, their anxiety doesn't disappear, it becomes a part of how they perform.
Now, all that said, there are things you can do to help you cope with the side effects of nerves on your playing. If this is something you're serious about tackling head-on, I highly, highly recommend tracking down either Performance Success or Audition Success by Don Greene. Perhaps see if your local public or college library has a copy or can borrow one via interlibrary loan before buying either one yourself. Two other books I see recommended a lot (that might be easier to find at your local library) are Zen in the Art of Archery and The Inner Game of Tennis, both of which have valuable insights that can be applied to performing. (The is even an adaptation of the latter called The Inner Game of Music, but I don't feel it adds much to the original.)
But yeah, the best thing you can do overall is to find and create more opportunities to play for more people. Force yourself to step outside of your comfort zone often enough, and you'll find it soon becomes comfortable. We've all been there to some extent!
> my brain knows how to play but for some reason it can't translate that to my hands
I'd reccommend a book called The Inner Game of Tennis. It's in the context of tennis, but really it's about how to build muscle memory and confidence in performance. I used it to help me play competitive smash bros, and honestly I use this pretty much anytime I'm learning something new.
You seem to have the problem many athletes have were "I'm my worst enemy". I'd try giving this book a read
http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314
It has very little to do with the game of tennis and more of what goes on in your mind. It starts off by dividing your mind into two parts (1 and 2). Part 1 is your consciousness. Its that steady stream of thoughts that go through your mind in a game, for example ok I need to keep onside, now I need to see where I can run into space, now I need to see where my teamates are, now should I pass or shoot Part 2 is of course your unconsciousness. This is quicker than Part 1 because it doesn't think it just does. What the book goes into detail is how to quiet Part 1 and let Part 2 take over. Instead of focusing on making a layup you just do it. Instead of thinking how you should catch the ball you just catch it. Now just letting Part 2 take over isn't everything. This is where practice really helps. Doing skill drills and repeating technique prepares you for when you let go of your thoughts. Your body has muscle memory of doing the movement, catching a football, making a layup, taking a shoot on net, and now it can just do it.
As a final note good coaching helps too as my old rugby coach used to repeat to me when I was scared of messing up "If you're going to make a mistake make an offensive mistake"
I've never read it but The Inner Game of Tennis is a classic that's supposed to be about this problem (and not specifically about tennis), and has been recommended by many.
Wow thanks. This book looks very interesting.
"for overcoming the self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses of concentration that can keep a player from winning"
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
They're not about Smash but they will help improve your mentality for competitive Smash.
List below:
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Playing To Win: Becoming the Champion
by David Sirlin
Link: http://www.sirlin.net/ptw/
This is a book on how competition in gaming works and having a "play to win" mentality. This means taking responsibility and accountability for everything you do and not putting excuses that only hold you back. Very helpful for your mindset. You can find a free audio version that covers most of the book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y6KU7ZGeMs&list=PLZbBoZgd9o1mVN2-CnS4yfbhIEbpJFrWp
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The Will to Keep Winning
by DAIGO UMEHARA
Link: https://amzn.com/B01JOEKKWU
Written by one of the world's best Street Fighter players, Daigo, this book talks a lot about consistent growth, the benefits of staying humble, innovating, taking risks, and how to play with the mentality of learning and growing rather than focusing on just the win. Despite having the word 'Winning" right in the title, the book teaches the value of focusing less on the results and more on the process.
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The Inner Game of Tennis
by W. Timothy Gallwey et al.
Link: https://amzn.com/0679778314
Don’t be deterred by the title. Yes, this is a book on tennis, but it has been highly recommended by many good Smashers and It helped me out immensely. It talks about the inner workings of your mind and how to get the best out of competitive performance and practice. You can listen to a summary of the book for free here: https://youtu.be/SUdTxXkecr8
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The Way of the Bow
by Paulo Coelho
Link: http://a.co/iR14a9T
I haven't read this one yet. i'll be honest. But I've heard many trustworthy Smashers recommend it. It is said to be about "how to overcome difficulties, steadfastness, courage to take risky decisions."
Not sure if this will help short term... Being mentally strong is a skill, and you can gradually learn it, just like you can learn to hit a serve.
Subscribe to the Essential Tennis podcast and listen to their old podcasts on the mental side of the game. They are not available on the website, but if you use a podcast app, you will find them. The casts are really good and will give you a very clear idea what you are battling with.
Also, there is a vast number of blogs, articles, books on the mental side of tennis. Here are three of them:
https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526928034&sr=8-1&keywords=mental+tennis
https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Bradens-Mental-Tennis-Yourself/dp/0316105171/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526928034&sr=8-2&keywords=mental+tennis
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Ugly-Mental-Warfare-Tennis-Lessons/dp/067188400X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1526928034&sr=8-3&keywords=mental+tennis
If you're having problems with your swing, trying constantly keeping your eyes on the ball. And then observe your body. Where is your shoulder when you wind up to swing? Where are your feet? When do you swing? You don't need to correct it. Your body will naturally correct itself.
Read The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallway. It's a short read and it will help you bring your game to the next level.
Edit: link for the lazy
Please read the Inner game of Tennis. It will help you with everything you talk about struggling with. It's an amzing read that has been recommended by a ton of good smashers.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314
I recommend reading The Inner Game of Tennis.
It helped me a lot!!
I've heard good things about this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314
It's 40 years old but the mental game hasn't really changed in that time.
Someone wrote a book for you. It's not specific to just tennis -- its principles are applicable to all sorts of athletics and sports.
If you haven't read it, The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey is an excellent and easy read that goes into this exact concept. It's principals are applicable to any situation -- tennis, golf, Overwatch, relationships, or whatever.
I highly, highly recommend it.
I wrestled competitively in high school and early college and was always complementing my training with yoga and visualization. Here are some books that I relied on.
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Body-Dancing-Mind-Extraordinary-ebook/dp/B0030CMK8K/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1416196445&sr=8-12&keywords=visualization+for+sports+psychology
http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416196272&sr=1-1&keywords=inner+game+of+tennis
http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Dancing-Warrior-Performance-Athletic/dp/1602373647/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416196222&sr=1-11&keywords=sports+psychology+meditation
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Archery-Eugen-Herrigel/dp/0375705090/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416196253&sr=1-13&keywords=sports+psychology+meditation
Good luck (which is ensured by your earnest, focused training!)
I highly recommend reading The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance. Completely changed my Derby game!! It can be applied to so much - not just tennis. :)
https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314?crid=2DZSLF5SHQXAI&keywords=inner+game+of+tennis+book&qid=1536125721&sprefix=inner+game+&sr=8-1&ref=mp_s_a_1_1
You have the power of intense focus, and think of it as a curse.
ಠ_ಠ
>It seems like if I ever break concentration on a task, I find it incredibly hard to return to what I was doing
Funny, I'm reading a book relating to this. "The Inner Game of Tennis". It's about calming your mind to be able to remain focused. Strangely, the body will act in a correct manner without the assistance of your thoughts. Thinking does not help you improve your situation, when it is time to act. Just do.
In relation to that quote, I'd say the book would advise that because you started thinking after breaking concentration, you lost focus and by continuing in your thoughts- were unable to return to that state.
Like others may have said, you probably just need practice. I have a friend just like you...I also do this from time to time. Learn to prioritize what's important (test) and what's not (fingernails), then focus on the important things.
I've read an article suggesting every hour you stop and think about what you've done in the past hour, analyzing whether you've made progress in your situation or not. Sounds hard to do, but just remind yourself to keep tabs on yourself as soon as possible whenever you get lost in the moment...unless you're doing what you're supposed to...keep the action flowing in those moments.
There's probably no substitute for just grinding and grinding tr_walkway until the spots dance in front of your eyes. Probably you should make it easy at first - level the surface and just shoot damaged Engineers running straight ahead at standard speed, maybe - until you can hit with some consistency from various angles, then begin to increase the difficulty. Unfortunately you can't make Walkway bots evade truly realistically, but it should be a while before that becomes a progress-blocker. In the case of the GL, try predamaging the bots so they will die from one direct pill to encourage careful aim - 'one shot, one kill'. I also find it helps to take your hand off the keyboard completely and just aim and shoot with the mouse while standing still. Finally, "trust your feelings, Luke". You do need to notice and make a change if you find yourself consistently making a particular error when aiming, but in the end of the day, the part of your brain that puts things into words and tells you how rubbish you are isn't the part of your brain that actually knows, and can learn, how to shoot deflection. You need to let Yappy Brain go quiet and just watch and shoot, watch and shoot.
(One other way to get fairly concentrated aiming practice without a human training partner is to go 1v1 against a tf_bot in
itemtest. Usenav_generateto make bots mostly-work there, though their behaviour will still be glitchy. Lock the bot to one class, turn off respawn time, and if you're dying too much give yourself extra health usinghurtme.)Switching to something like
crosshair5might help, even for ballistic weapons like the GL and needlegun, if you haven't done that already.DISCLAIMER: I am not a good player, but I became perceptibly less useless with the GL thanks to Walkway, and I'm looking forward to grinding Walkway some more.
I second this, especially if you find you're rushing your later shots.
Stand up, chalk up, and take a trip around the table. Look at the way everything's laid out, and give yourself a chance to relax before you shoot. Unless you're taking a really long time between each shot, nobody should give you any grief.
If you're looking for some great reads about this, check out Zen in the Art of Archery and The Inner Game of Tennis. I've also heard good things about the Pleasures of Small Motions, but I've yet to read it myself.
Being nervous is fine, nerves impeding performance is not. If you want to read about this topic and address the problems in-depth, these two books are best-sellers in their respective fields and the methods apply to everything:
I found this and this to be extremely relevant. I don't know if there is a general solution to being happy, and I'm not entirely sure how I went from depressed to reasonably happy. However, I do think some particular solutions exist.
Because of past experiences, I really don't like the medication approach and I'm glad I could avoid it. But, I'm only a sample of 1 and I can't make generalizations about whether or not professional/medical help is a good idea for someone. I tend to think it's an impermanent solution and that it's more valuable to learn how to make those internal changes on your own. Maybe though, it's more dependent on brain chemistry than I realize and I'm just lucky. It could be that my happiness is a fluke and I don't actually have very much control over how I feel.
The things you want may indeed be unattainable. Some of the things I want may be unattainable. Some of them definitely are.
This is a bit of a tangent, but it's necessary for dealing with seemingly unattainable things. It's useful to think of your self as two parts: a teller and a doer. Long story short, the teller is stupid and needs to shut its mouth. The doer can handle things just fine. This book (full pdf here) elaborates on this idea really well. It's not actually about tennis, of course. Basically, the teller is the one saying things are unattainable or that a social situation has gone to shit, and it's wrong a lot of the time. Even when it's right, stuff is meaningless anyways, so it doesn't cost much to try.
I don't blame you for not wanting to talk about work/family. That stuff might be interesting to the person doing it, but it's kind of lame to hear about. Hobbies work really well for the socialization front. Granted, getting into a hobby requires that you want to do it. I don't really have any extra advice on that. Once you have hobbies though, they're great. My main thing that I do now is really just a hobby taken to the extreme. Talking to people who share the hobby is fun because you can get that "I know, right?!" feeling.
Wanting to do stuff in the first place is the hardest part, or at least it was for me. I can't really give any concrete advice on it. One thing I did was find channels on Youtube where someone uploads on a daily or bi-daily basis and pretend they were my friend. It's kind of pitiful, but I felt better after a while. It probably won't be your cup of tea, but I really like this guy. I found web comics and blogs to also be good in that regard, but they're some special sauce to human faces and voices. The closer it is to an actual conversation the better. I think setting comically low goals and slowly working up to bigger ones also helps.
Carlson should read The Inner Game of Tennis, which isn't just for Tennis players and addresses how to overcome such difficulties.
Since he thinks its mostly mental, has he offered any insight? If you play league, perhaps take a break from teams and play as individual, so you take the pressure off.
Here are some books covering the mental aspect of the game.
https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Pool-Master-Mental-Game/dp/0964920417
https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314
Read up on sports psychology. Being mentally prepared is just as important as being physically prepared. Professional athletes also go through this quite often and teams spend a lot of money on specialists in order to help them get through things such as anxiety. A good starting point is this book.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1381225536&sr=8-18&keywords=sports+psychology
You can probably find it on a torrent somewhere also. It was written for tennis but is applicable across pretty much anything that requires focus and concentration. Its a deep subject, but if you can read up a bit (not even the whole book, its entire length is only about 75 pages anyways) you'd be surprised at how much you can learn and improve.
The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679778314/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rKSXzbDBS1HQ0
Read this
I'll suggest a book titled "The Inner Game of Tennis" by W. Gallwey. It's a good short read, and actually helps. You can skip the parts regarding technique, etc. if you're interested in improving your mental approach to the game (the ideas span across tennis as well).
good!
go read The Inner Game of Tennis and Playing to Win
also The Art of War
“The inner game of tennis” https://www.amazon.ca/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314 is probaby the best book I’ve ever read on sports psychology. Give it a shot!
Pete Carroll has a book, actually. His philosophy is also heavily based off of this one.
Sounds like he needs to work on his mental game. Have him check out this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314
It is a short read and you can find a pdf of it online. It uses tennis as an example to talk about mental fortitude in competition in general.
During competition, less thinking is better. You want to pay attention to things happening on your lanes, and you want to be aware of yourself while you're bowling. But, you don't want to be up there trying to make your body do different things. That is what practice is for.
However. Most people only bowl once a week and practice time is hard to come by. If you have time to practice once or more a week great. Isolate what you want to work on for the day and do that. But, if league night is your only time you get to bowl during the season, you will have to decide how much you are willing to let your average dip. The goal being to bring it up higher later.
Also, I would get rid of the wrist device, unless you medically need it. The inner game of tennis is also a good read. Different ways to practice, improve, and clear your mind.
That sounds pretty common actually, for someone who has depression in a serious way. How much do you worry about that side of things? By that, I mean how "meta" has this become? Getting negative about doing your work is a depressive thing. Getting worried about getting negative about doing your work is another level up. I think there is some merit in acceptance of your depressive behaviour. I know, I know, we all suck at accepting things we don't like about ourselves. But I am beginning to see how useful it can be to "observe" ourselves a bit more objectively, and think about our behaviour almost as if observing it in another person. I first got this idea from a book called The Inner Game of Tennis, strangely, recommended in a music class in relation to public performance problems. I am the very opposite of the sort of person who reaches for self-help books, and in fact wouldn't bother reading this one again, because I believe that the whole thing could probably have been successfully distilled into just a few pages, at most. But the important part to me was that issue of "detached observation". So, rather than think "oh, my god, I'm doing that thing again. Why am I so stupid? I do that every time!! I suck so much at this". We are so self-critical, we sabotage ourselves in the process. Instead, you practice "Interesting. So I'm doing that again. What might be the trigger to that? Does it follow after anything else? Hmmm. Time to reflect".
Not sure if that's any help, but it works for me, if I make it. I am a very, very dedicated procrastinator, and need sometimes to reflect and work out why I'm doing it.
Watch this: https://youtu.be/6CuIesuU84A
Read this: http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314
Also what game do you play and what character?
Try reading this book. I was dealing with performance anxiety and difficulty focusing in my first few years of college, and this helped me get my head in the right place. I've been able to take huge steps in my focus and consistency after understanding how to get out of my head.
Cool, I learned this from The Inner Game of Tennis.
This is basically the advice of the famous self-help book "The Inner Game of Tennis" http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314
The Inner Game of Tennis
Also: The Inner Game of Tennis is excellent. Not strictly about tennis, and not really strictly about fitness either. Some great lessons on concentration, self-improvement, and maintaining the proper attitude.
Not sure if this strictly scientific, but the state of "turning off the voice in your head" is commonly referred to by athletes as being "in the zone". It's not just athletes either, I frequently find myself there when I'm in a state of intense concentration while coding. There's lots of descriptions of what being "in the zone" means, but it's frequently described in terms of "effortless flow" or "you just know what to do" without having your inner voice say it (after all, your inner voice is you, so if you already know what to do why do you need to have yourself tell you?)
I'm not aware of any neuroscience research into "being in the zone", but one of the classic books about the topic is [The Inner Game of Tennis] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance/dp/0679778314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345215522&sr=8-1&keywords=the+inner+game+of+tennis). Superficially it's about playing tennis, but it's really about what it means to turn off that voice (i.e. you don't have to be a tennis player to read it). It's really good if you're interested in that stuff, although I'm curious if anyone knows more of a scientific study into this topic.