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Top athletes
experience the same mental and emotional challenges you do
By Tom Veneziano |
Marla Runyan ran in the 1500 meter event in the 2000 Olympics and
came in eighth. She was the first American woman in history to place
that high in the 1500 meter race. And this was only the 4th or 5th
time she had ever run the 1500 meter event competitively. What caught
my attention in her book, No Finish Line, was how she learned the
different ranges of mental and emotional challenges that all athletes
must endure, and used her mind to overcome them. As a top runner in
the world she had experienced the whole gamut of self-doubt, confidence,
frustration, exhilaration, aggression, complacency, disappointment,
and jubilation - sometimes all in the same event. Does this possibly
sound a little bit like your last tennis match?
Yes, top athletes experience the same mental and emotional challenges
you do. How top athletes deal with these challenges is what elevates
champions above the pack. In one race, Marla experienced a spectrum
of mental and emotional fluctuations, from confidence to self-doubt,
and kept running successfully. After the race she realized that top
athletes still experience a wide range of changing attitudes. She
changed her perspective and accepted these fluctuating attitudes as
part of the never-ending journey toward excellence. In her book she
said she wished someone had prepared her for these emotional and mental
swings, because then she would not have been so frustrated when facing
failures and setbacks. She finally saw the big picture and learned
how to handle the fluctuation by being patient and not focusing on
isolated situations.
These valuable lessons applied not only in the races themselves, but
when she was injured or had other problems in practice. Now if she
doesn't do well in practice, instead of ending her practice in frustration,
she remains relaxed and waits for another day. No longer does she
isolate a situation by blowing it out of proportion; she now thinks
in terms of the big picture and makes the bad experiences as well
as the good experiences part of the package of being a seasoned athlete
striving toward excellence. You must learn to do the same: Make the
ordinary extraordinary!
There is one other salient fact that you should know about Marla Runyan.
Although she never made an issue of her handicap, Marla Runyan is
legally blind. She was the first legally blind runner to make the
Olympics. She had partial vision and could see some colors, but she
could not see a person's face five feet in front of her. She could
not see the finish line and was not sure who was who when she was
running. The title of her book, No Finish Line, literally meant she
could not see the finish line!
Marla was a top-notch runner with extraordinary abilities. Her mind
exemplifies the ultimate warrior mentality. She said that she wished
someone had told her that these mental and emotional fluctuations
were part of the process. She had to learn through hard knocks that
success and failure are not on the opposite ends of the spectrum,
instead, they ride together in tandem toward her goals.
Never separate success and failure. Someone once said, "Success
has many fathers, failure is an orphan," but this is not true.
Failure is a necessary detour on the road to success. Like the pros,
whether you're training or playing you will experience an arena of
self-doubt, confidence, frustration, exhilaration, aggression, complacency,
disappointment, and jubilation. Accept them as part of the process
of learning, playing, and striving toward excellence.
You need not succumb to these fluctuations, you must only recognize
they are part of the game. Learning and playing tennis can be like
an emotional roller-coaster ride: One minute you are on a mountain
top, the next you are in a valley. Many of you fight the roller-coaster
ride by holding on too tight, becoming anxious, and losing mental
control. Adrenaline wasted on all that negative emotion should be
directed toward controlling your emotions instead. Otherwise, by the
time you are through with your match you will be mentally beat up
and emotionally exhausted.
Stop isolating these fluctuating attitudes as if self-doubt or frustrating
situations are unique only to you. Mentally step outside yourself
and realize these fluctuations happen to everyone, including the pros.
Therefore, it is important to mentally push the self-doubt or frustration
aside and keep moving. Like Marla, learn to concentrate on the big
picture; banish anguish and frustration from your thoughts. Make Marla
your model for conquering your innermost doubts and fears. The victor
crown awaits those who persevere.
Tom Veneziano, a tennis coach for more than 30 years, currently teaches
at the Piney Point Racquet Club in Houston, Texas. As the developer
of the Tennis Warrior System, Veneziano has produced numerous books,
audiotapes and CDs. |
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