4 life hacking from tennis, to help focus

understanding instructions

We viewed the video. We have supplied athletes recordings of their matches, literally thousands of hours of footage, and noticed that often winning and losing does not depend on what happens during the match, but from what was left over overs.

During his stay on the court - about 75% of the match - players have shown a range of emotions, and it is not surprising that they were not positive. And not because the players themselves are negative, but because tennis - a psychologically hard sport with a lot of unexpected moments. Therefore, we have in place have begun to create a manual for players to control their emotional state between sets, learn more about their emotional relationship and to determine the optimal peak productivity. And if in the beginning the players just followed the instructions, then subsequently many, this technique became a habit.

Step 1. The positive physical reaction

All cells in our body are connected. Negative thinking, or anger lead to tension throughout the body. We give in rage, thus creating problems for yourself on a deeper level. We do what we later regret anything and regret starts another emotional reaction. Therefore, we have been taught the players to respond positively to every

a mistake, A failure or a missed opportunity.

You may notice that many of the best players - Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova - react to their mistakes the same way: they immediately turn away from them.

And turning away so quickly, as if the error had never existed, the athletes leave it behind and move freely on.

And you can do more than just turn away from their error. For example, to control the muscles of your face. Facial muscles are important: they evoke emotional responses that come back to our brain. And what are you doing with your face, it is directly related to what chemical processes occur inside. If on the face of a sad expression, and the body becomes more sluggish.

Now walk. We teach players to walk properly. It is important that you keep yourself, your every step should be focused, confident. To mentally focus on what you need, be sure to move in a particular direction.

Step 2. Relaxation

You will not be able to show their best side, if you do not relax. But to achieve a relaxed state is not easy, especially after you have filled up the supply. Since the tennis - playing with limitations, the psychological component of tennis also has some limitations: there is no way for too long to think and make emotional mistakes.

We give one piece of advice to players: during break time, hard look at the strings of his racket or just on the court.

What for? Eyes absorb a lot of information. If you're playing in front of tens of thousands of spectators in the stands and look back, something might grab your attention and you can forget that you need to relax. So you are no longer ready for the next roll, you process information. Racket strings or coating courts are neutral to the eye, they do not carry any information and give your body a chance to relax.

We also advise the players to hold the racket in the other hand. Often, after a failed moment players hold the racket stranglehold, dragging it behind him and his head bowed. The racket must be raised, but it is better to keep the non-dominant hand (ie, if a player is - right-hander, he has to take the racket in his left hand) - During this time, the main arm will have time to relax.

You need to relax your shoulders. The shoulders are directly connected to the limbic system of the brain, which is responsible for the regulation of emotions, memory, sleep, wakefulness and relaxation. Therefore, relax your shoulders, lower them.

Step 3. Training

Now, when your body is relaxed and you are in the right emotional state, it is time to prepare. It's time to ask yourself: "What is the score? What I want to do? What is my plan to win? ".

Step 4. rite of passage

Every tennis player should have its ritual, because rituals help us to focus on their thoughts and put them in the right direction. What is this ritual - it does not matter, if it helps to focus and retain power.

You can throw a ball against the wall or to visualize, how are you going to pitch. Or do you lean forward and backward, jump, or imagine a place where you want to go. The main thing that was a constant ritual. Hold it must be in the right emotional state and not think about the mistakes that you made.