A simple visualization technique to improve your tennis game
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How to visualize for success in tennis
Download this FREE e-Book to learn a simple visualization technique and master the inner game of tennis:
Playing The Inner Game of Tennis
Image Credit: Tennis Player Serena Williams by Rafael Amado Deras on Flickr
FREE e-Book on the inner game of tennis
Learn the techniques to build your mind game. Put these strategies into practice to develop your inner game of tennis. Enjoy your tennis more and start winning more often.
Download the FREE e-Book here:
Playing The Inner Game of Tennis
Why is visualization important?
Visualization strengthens your inner game of tennis because it builds your positive thinking, your self-belief and your self-efficacy.
If visualization is so important, what is stopping you from using it more? Is it because you do not know where to start? Or have you been put off by some complicated method recommended by a psychological expert?
In this article I discuss a simple method that is very easy to develop. I have been using it for many years with great success and it is now part and parcel of my way of life.
The three simple steps are discussed in the following modules.:
1. Review a recent tennis game you played
I now have the habit of reviewing each game I play, almost like a television replay. I do this immediately after I have finished playing, as I drive home. I concentrate only on what I did well. I focus only on the winning shots or those that were really effective. This builds positive thinking as well as the art of visualization.
2. Choose a tennis shot you played really well
Now the secret is to capture as much of the shot as you can to build a rich image in your mind. Where were you standing, what was your opponent(s) doing, what kind of shot did they play to you, what did the ball do (rise high or drop low), what strategy did you decide to adopt, what stroke did you use and why, was there something about your technique that was memorable and what was the specific positive outcome for you?
This is very much like using the zoom feature on a camera. You need to zoom in on the shot you have chosen to recall and create a finely grained picture of it. Remember you have to exclude all negative thoughts from your mind as you visualize and build your positive image. Do not say, if only I had hit the tennis ball harder, it would have been a better shot. What you are trying to do is capture only what was good about the winning shot. If this is difficult, you will begin to realize how much your negative thoughts are sabotaging your inner game of tennis.
3. Develop a replay routine
I am not very good at maintaining routines but the one thing I have found helpful is to replay my visualization as I am going to sleep at night. This has become my most effective relaxation technique. It is a good way to ward off insomnia. It also induces positive thoughts as you fall asleep.
Another benefit of doing the replay or recall at night is that your subconscious mind keeps replaying the image as you sleep and deepens the visualization effects. I can still recall quite vividly some shots I played many years ago in various games of competitive tennis.
In this way both the habit of visualization and the specific images become ingrained in your psyche.
The three simple steps discussed above progressively build your visualization ability, strengthen your self-belief and develop your inner game of tennis.
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by ronpass
Ron here from Brisbane, Australia. I love tennis. walking, reading, cycling and writing.
My major preoccupation is internet marketing via Squidoo, art...
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