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MESSAGE #1002 CREATIVITY

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Jonathan Star.

 

Are you reacting to life, or are you CREATING what you want?

If you’re like most people, you are reacting to what life brings.

On the tennis court, most players react to the last point, good or bad.

After we lose a point, we generally have a negative response. After we win a point, we generally have a positive response.

The secret however, is to CREATE a winning point and feeling, BEFORE the point begins.

I just finished reading the manuscript of one of the best books I have read recently, “GAME ‘ON’: THE FLOW, THE ZONE & THE STATE OF ‘ON,’ IN SPORTS AND LIFE” by Jonathan Star.

In his book, Star talks about this idea of creating what you want instead of reacting to the last one.

Star says that if you lose a point, you should let it go immediately and if you win a point, you should stay with that winning feeling until right before the next point begins.

“In my own view of things, being ‘in the zone’ refers to a state where everything is going right, where you are making your shots, where there is a certain ease and flow to your game. The state of ‘on’ – or what we may call ‘full on,’ since there are different levels in this state – is not so much a feeling that everything is going right, but the feeling that you can do no wrong. It is an elevation of the zone – you’re not in the zone, you’re not going with the flow, you’re creating it. You are not ‘in’ the state, you are the state. But you come to feel this way when you allow a higher dimension of your self to enter the game and bring it to a whole new level.”

Are you creating, or are you reacting?

Stay tuned for more on the state of “on.”

MESSAGE #993 THE MENTAL GAME: A SNEAK PREVIEW

There is an amazing book coming out soon and I had the pleasure of getting my hands on the first draft of the manual. The book is called Game “On”: The Flow, the Zone, & the State of “On,” in Sports and Life by Jonathan Star. Here is an excerpt…

You are not your thoughts

A major step in the mental game is coming to the understanding that you are not your thoughts (or emotions). You are not your mind or your self-image. So, the first step involves changing the relationship you have with your thoughts and emotions. (The mere fact that you have a relationship with your thoughts , and that you can change your relationship, tells us rather clearly that you are something different from your thoughts). You must make a distinction between you (the one who is aware of your thoughts) and your thoughts (which you are aware of). There is a very clear distinction between these two, yet most people are not cognizant of it; they fully identify with their thoughts and somehow believe that they are their thoughts, and that life is about reacting to every thought and emotion that comes into their awareness. This is living life like a puppet – where your thoughts and emotions pull the strings and you dance. Shouldn’t you be the one controlling the strings?

Stay tuned for more, as well as workshops with me and the great Jonathan Star.

MESSAGE #961 MEETING OF THE MINDS

We all know that sports are about 80 percent mental, so doesn’t that mean we should practice our mental game 80 percent of the time?

I met with meditation teacher, Jonathan Star yesterday and he explained his theory of “The Art of Being On” to me. It was very intriguing. An average tennis match lasts about 90 minutes and only approximately 18 of those minutes are actually playing. So Star developed a meditation to help you win “the game between points.”

Nobody can do it all on their own. Use all the brains you have and all that you can borrow. (Woodrow Wilson) I have a feeling Mr. Star and I will be collaborating on several projects in the near future. We have already begun planning a joint seminar.

Jonathan sought me out from the Princeton Peak Performance Meetup Group I started (see sidebar). The secret to success is to have a growth mindset and strive for constant improvement, but remember you don’t have to do it all on your own.

Ideas are the best currency – If you exchange dollar bills with someone, you both have one dollar bill. But if you exchange ideas, you both have TWO ideas.

Author’s note: Day 3 of my 21-Day Challenge is in full-force with being on court and hitting lessons. I will be sure to break a sweat and even do some running with my students.

I’d love to hear your comments. Leave them below.