Is it really just the mental game of tennis or is there an emotional game as well?

When we make a mistake that costs points in a game or looks silly to our coaches and practice partners are we really just thinking a thought or are we feeling something as well?

If we sing along to a rock song are we just thinking about the words that were said or are we caught up in the emotion of the beat, harmony, or melody and just going with the flow?

In both playing tennis or singing along to a rock song, we're using our heads (the mental side) and our hearts (the emotional side) in engaging with either of these activities.

Whether playing an instrument or playing with a racquet, we need to employ our "mental" or thinking capabilities in order to know what to do and when to do it. But once we engage in this play, our "other" capability, our emotional capability, kicks in and starts affecting our play.

You miss an “easy shot” and chastise yourself with “I suck” or “come on, you’re better than that” or you go old school with your inner coach and tell yourself about how you don’t belong there. These are thoughts, but they emanate from feelings - raw feelings of disgust or anger at your abilities or sadness at your potential loss of points or the game at the hands of your insufficient skills. They are feelings that have been built up from years of living life: interactions with family, friends, coaches, teachers and people who have floated in and out of your life. Feelings that have likely been allowed to fester because you likely didn’t have anyone with whom to talk it through. You didn’t have a support group.

In this episode, we explore the importance of starting and maintaining your own personal support group to deal with your feelings.

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
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