The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance QUOTES

1 " If you are in any doubt, ask the pro to show you the motion, not tell you about it. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

2 " Quieting the mind means less regretting. The mind is still when it is totally here and now in perfect oneness with the action and the actor. It is the purpose of the Inner Game to increase the frequency and the duration of these moments, quieting the mind by degrees and realizing thereby a continual expansion of our capacity to learn and perform. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

3 " xThe cause of most stress can be summed up by the word attachment. Self 1 gets so dependent upon things, situations, people and concepts within its experience that when change occurs or seems about to occur, it feels threatened. Freedom from stress does not necessarily involve giving up anything, but rather being able to let go of anything, when necessary, and know that one will still be all right. It comes from being more independent—not necessarily more solitary, but more reliant on one’s own inner resources for stability. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

4 " Freedom from stress does not necessarily involve giving up anything, but rather being able to let go of anything, when necessary, and know that one will still be all right. It comes from being more independent—not necessarily more solitary, but more reliant on one’s own inner resources for stability. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

5 " He aims at the kind of spontaneous performance which occurs only when the mind is calm and seems at one with the body, which finds its own surprising ways to surpass its own limits again and again. Moreover, while overcoming the common hang-ups of competition, the player of the inner game uncovers a will to win which unlocks all his energy and which is never discouraged by losing. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

6 " In tennis who is it that provides a person with the obstacles he needs in order to experience his highest limits? His opponent, of course! Then is your opponent a friend or an enemy? He is a friend to the extent that he does his best to make things difficult for you. Only by playing the role of your enemy does he become your true friend. Only by competing with you does he in fact cooperate! No one wants to stand around on the court waiting for the big wave. In this use of competition it is the duty of your opponent to create the greatest possible difficulties for you, just as it is yours to try to create obstacles for him. Only by doing this do you give each other the opportunity to find out to what heights each can rise. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

7 " Only then does he have the chance to go beyond the limitations inherent in the various ego trips of Self 1 and to reach a new awareness of his true potential. Competition then becomes an interesting device in which each player, by making his maximum effort to win, gives the other the opportunity he desires to reach new levels of self-awareness. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

8 " It is only against the big waves that he is required to use all his skill, all his courage and concentration to overcome; only then can he realize the true limits of his capacities. At that point he often attains his peak. In other words, the more challenging the obstacle he faces, the greater the opportunity for the surfer to discover and extend his true potential. The potential may have always been within him, but until it is manifested in action, it remains a secret hidden from himself. The obstacles are a very necessary ingredient to this process of self-discovery. Note that the surfer in this example is not out to prove himself; he is not out to show himself or the world how great he is, but is simply involved in the exploration of his latent capacities. He directly and intimately experiences his own resources and thereby increases his self-knowledge. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

9 " We will become better learners and more independent thinkers. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

10 " If you reflect upon your own highest moments or peak experiences. You will probably also remember them as moments of great pleasure, even ecstasy. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

11 " Such moments have been called “peak experiences” by the humanistic psychologist Dr. Abraham Maslow. Researching the common characteristics of persons having such experiences, he reports the following descriptive phrases: “He feels more integrated” [the two selves are one], “feels at one with the experience,” “is relatively egoless” [quiet mind], “feels at the peak of his powers,” “fully functioning,” “is in the groove,” “effortless,” “free of blocks, inhibitions, cautions, fears, doubts, controls, reservations, self-criticisms, brakes,” “he is spontaneous and more creative,” “is most here-now,” “is non-striving, non-needing, non-wishing … he just is. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

12 " Relaxation produces smooth strokes and results from accepting your strokes as they are, even if erratic. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

13 " When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as "rootless and stemless." We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

14 " Support and encourage your Self 2, knowing that the stronger it gets, the more it will take to throw you off balance, and the quicker you can regain your balance. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

15 " When the mind is free of any thought or judgment, it is still and acts like a mirror. Then and only then can we know things as they are. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

16 " It is said that in breathing man recapitulates the rhythm of the universe. When the mind is fastened to the rhythm of breathing, it tends to become absorbed and calm. Whether on or off the court, I know of no better way to begin to deal with anxiety than to place the mind on one’s breathing process. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

17 " The player of the inner game comes to value the art of relaxed concentration above all other skills; he discovers a true basis for self-confidence; and he learns that the secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

18 " The ability to focus the mind is the ability to not let it run away with you. It does not mean not to think—but to be the one who directs your own thinking. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

19 " A very wise person once told me, “When it comes to overcoming obstacles, there are three kinds of people. The first kind sees most obstacles as insurmountable and walks away. The second kind sees an obstacle and says, I can overcome it, and starts to dig under, climb over, or blast through it. The third type of person, before deciding to overcome the obstacle, tries to find a viewpoint where what is on the other side of the obstacle can be seen. Then, only if the reward is worth the effort, does he attempt to overcome the obstacle. "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

20 " Not assuming you already know is a powerful principle of focus. One "

― W. Timothy Gallwey , The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance