Nat

Yesterday I took my second tennis lesson in two days with Dale Light, Director of Tennis at The Boulders Resort in Carefree, Arizona. If you’re ever in the area and like to play tennis, I strongly suggest you take a lesson with him. Dale worked with me on my balance on Monday, correcting a problem with my backhand that I didn’t know I had.

Yesterday, he spoke more philosophically, asking me what my purpose was in playing tennis. He said that development in tennis is just like any other area of your life: having a purpose makes it much easier to progress. I told him that after decades of being an erratic player who made no improvement, I finally wanted to be a player who is comfortable playing with strangers and not feel as if I’m embarrassing myself.

He said he thought those were reasonable goals, and he urged me to address issues of trust and commitment. Trust, he said, that you can figure out how to be ready and how to execute. Then, make a commitment to take the shot, ignoring what the outcome may be. Unless you are a professional, whether you win is not a matter of grave importance. What matters is that you not let your emotions govern your behavior.

What a revelation that tennis is like everything else. We’ll see today how it works.