The Inner Game of Tennis

Three of the ideas you’ll keep

The Clif summary of The Inner Game of Tennis pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first three.

1. Every match is really two games. The outer game is played against an opponent on the court; the inner game is played inside your own mind against obstacles like self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses in concentration.
2. The mind contains two selves. Self 1 is the talker, the judge, the instruction-giver; Self 2 is the doer, the body's vast innate intelligence. Poor performance comes from Self 1 mistrusting and interfering with Self 2.
3. Judgment is the root problem. Labeling a shot 'bad' or 'terrible' triggers a spiral of self-criticism and tightening effort. Non-judgmental awareness of what actually happened is what lets natural learning proceed.

The other 4 — and the full 11-minute summary — are in the app.

What’s inside: 8 chapters

The whole summary runs about 11 minutes, read or listened to.

1. The Two Games You're Really Playing
2. Self 1 and Self 2: The Talker and the Doer
3. Letting Go of Judgment
4. How Self 2 Actually Learns
5. The Art of Relaxed Concentration
6. Playing the Game: Focus in Practice
7. Competition and the Meaning of Winning
8. The Inner Game Beyond the Court