Negative Emotions
Playing future matches and carting the baggage from your past isn’t in your best interest. Without self-awareness, you won’t be able to navigate pessimistic emotions. No matter how clean your strokes are, you won’t be able to overcome the negative baggage on board. Most winnable matches are derailed for reasons related to emotional competencies. This second chapter identifies how to reset toxic emotions holding you back.
“You don’t have to move into a new phase of your tennis journey with your old baggage. You can leave it behind.”
2.1 Managing Anger
Anger is an emotion that every tennis player encounters throughout their career. Whether it’s missed shots, a disputed call, or the feeling of not meeting expectations, anger can quickly consume your thoughts and hinder your performance on the court. You can’t calm the storms of competition, but you can calm the inner storms in competition.
2.2 Understanding Anger
Anger is often triggered by situations that challenge your outcome desires. Jealousy arises when you perceive someone else achieving success or recognition that you believe should be yours. Annoyance occurs when distractions interfere with your concentration.
2.2 Understanding Frustration
Frustration arises from the inability to achieve the desired outcome. Self-criticism involves harsh judgment toward your performance. Hurt emerges when you feel emotionally wounded by the actions of others.
2.3 The Positive Side of Anger
Yes, anger has its advantages in competition. After a challenging situation, you should use anger to fuel the fire. Example: After disputing a bad line call, turn your anger towards a hyper-focus mode raising your intensity of play. Controlled anger leads to positive action.
Let’s use fire as an analogy. Fire used wisely can heat your home and cook your meals. Fire, burning out of control, burns the house down. It’s your job to use your internal fire to your advantage.
2.4 Positive Verses Negative Anger
Negative emotions hinder you both physically and mentally. It clouds your judgment causing reckless play. Controlled anger leads to positive actions like hyper-focus, intensity, increased footwork, and ball velocity.
2.5. Overcoming Frustrations
Following are six of our reoccurring solutions to help you reset to an acceptance and recommitment mindset:
- Recognize and Acknowledge Your Emotions
The first step in managing negative emotions is awareness. Take time in-between points to pause and reflect on what you are feeling. Acknowledging your emotions can prevent them from overpowering your thoughts and actions.
- Take A Deep Breath and Reset
Instead of dwelling on the feeling of annoyance toward your opponent’s successful play, embrace a growth mindset and view their achievements as motivation for your own improved play. Then apply your deep breathing, calming routine.
- Reframe Your Perspective
Reframing your perspective involves finding the positive aspects of your performance and focusing on them. Reframing helps you shift focus from the catastrophe of possibly losing. This positive reframing induces the calm problem-solving mindset required to improve performance.
- Focus On Controllable Factors
Instead of fixating on the opponent’s antics, shift attention to the future aspects within your control. This tactic involves letting go of the past and focusing on the present. Concentrate on your movement, strategy, and effort rather than letting outcome desires dictate your emotions.
- Practice Positive Self Talk
Replace self-criticism with constructive inner dialogue. Remind yourself of your script of top plays to expose your strengths. Self-coaching encourages you to return to your positive mindset and enjoy the battle regardless of the outcome.
- Seek A Mental Coach
If your negative emotions are getting the best of you, find a trusted mental coach to discuss your feelings. Open communication can help address misunderstandings, resolve conflicts, and provide emotional support during challenging times.
Managing your inner critic is essential for maintaining composure. By applying the above solutions, you will turn challenging matches around. Tennis is an emotional game, and your ability to navigate your feelings effectively sets you apart from all the solid ball strikers in every academy.
