https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/categories/mental-game/Recent content in Mental Game on Online Tennis SchoolHugo -- gohugo.ioMon, 20 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/processing-a-loss/Mon, 20 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/processing-a-loss/In every tournament there is only one winner. In a Grand Slam that means 127 disappointments and 1 satisfaction. Dealing with losses - and building through them - is a core skill of successful players. Emotional endurance Many of you wake up after a devastating loss feeling disempowered, anxious, hopeless: “If I have tried so many times, what will make the next attempt better?https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/learned-helplessness/Wed, 08 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/learned-helplessness/In brief In learned helplessness studies, an animal is repeatedly exposed to an adverse stimulus it cannot escape. Eventually it stops trying to avoid the stimulus and behaves as if it is helpless. When escape becomes available, learned helplessness means the animal still does not act. The experiment In Part 1 of Seligman and Maier’s classic work, three groups of dogs were placed in harnesses.https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/emotions/Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/emotions/Let’s use the example of laundry. I take my clothes off and throw them in the hamper. When it gets to the top, I have processing to do: wash, dry, fold. As long as I do this, the problem is never more than one basket. If I get lazy and let laundry pile up, eventually I have a room full of clothes and a long day of catch-up - or I live in chaos.https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/developing-mental-toughness/Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/developing-mental-toughness/Mental toughness is a crucial part of the tennis game. Players without it can have all the natural talent in the world and still fall short of players with average physical tools and a sturdier mind. The great news: you do not have to be born mentally tough. It can be developed - the same way footwork and a second serve can be developed.https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/tennis-mental-toughness/Fri, 20 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/tennis-mental-toughness/The biggest and most basic weapon in tennis: mental toughness. Your technique, physical condition, and strategy matter enormously - but you must be mentally strong to win when those factors stop separating the two players. Very often, the biggest battle in a match is not against the opponent. It is against your own mind.https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/fear/Sat, 31 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/fear/When you are fearful, no other possibilities exist. You cannot perceive other possibilities, or act on them properly even if you were able to perceive them, because fear is immobilizing. What fear does on a tennis court Physically, it causes us to freeze or run. Mentally, it causes us to narrow our focus to the object of our fear.https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/discipline/Tue, 27 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/discipline/Let’s talk for a minute about the word discipline. What does it mean? Training to ensure proper behavior - the practice or methods of teaching and learning proper behavior Order and control - a controlled, orderly state (think classroom or military unit) Calm, controlled behavior - the ability to behave in a calm and controlled way under the most stressful circumstances Conscious control over lifestyle - mental control used in directing or changing behavior, learning something, or training for something On a tennis court, discipline is rarely glamorous.https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/emotionally-tough/Wed, 21 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://www.onlinetennisschool.com/articles/emotionally-tough/Toughness is learned and grooved, just like a forehand. Make sure you are working to improve your emotional toughness with each practice - not only on match day, when it is already expensive. What does it mean to be emotionally tough? Emotional resiliency - the ability to take a punch emotionally and bounce back quickly; to recover from disappointments, mistakes, and misused opportunities, and jump back into battle fully ready to resume the fight.