Fear & Risk Taking
Fear & Risk Taking- are fundamental components of every successful athlete. It is from these bold and committed actions that sporting events are won and lost. A fear of failure can hamstring a tennis players sense of adventure and the ability to take match winning risks. The thought of making mistakes in front of team mates, coaches friends and family can be so paralyzing that players will sit inside their comfort zone just doing the bare minimum.
A highly respected coach once said; "You will never win if you don't first lose." What he meant by that was, if you don't take a risk in your shots you will never get better. You have to go for your shots - and by 'going' for your shot means by taking a calculated risk to hit your best shot - pushing yourself a bit, not muscling or over swinging at the ball. You may make it and you may not.. Don't worry about it! You went for it and hopefully learned something in the process.. How did it feel? What do you need to work on to get better at it and possibly make it next time?
This is the kind of thinking about risk taking that will advance your strokes -building confidence for next time you try them. By being proactive with your shot making you will eventually feel more comfortable with dictating control of a point, a game a match!
Tolerate Your Mistakes-
With risk taking there may initially be more mistakes.. That's ok, accept them- The first step in overcoming the fear of failure is that mistakes are an inevitable component of advancing your game. All athletes experience difficulty & set backs. The difference is that World-Class athletes accept those failures in their sport to help them grow into a better performing athlete. Anthony Robins once said; "Failure is Feedback"
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