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Dylan Morrongiello

LPCR 200

Dr. Elizabeth Slator

The Inner Game of Tennis

In 1960, Timothy Gallwey served as the tennis captain of the tennis team at

Harvard. After learning the meditation techniques of the Divine Light Missions Guru

Maharal Ji, Gallwey felt his power of concentration increased tremendously, and so did

his tennis game. In 1972, Gallwey wrote his most important and influential book The

Inner Game of Tennis. Millions of copies and several decades later, it has become one

of the most influential and helpful books in the field of sports. However, its knowledge

and wisdom has been translated and proven useful in a myriad of other fields, including

business, health, education, and the performing arts and music. A few years ago, an

early oboe professor suggested the entire studio read The Inner Game of Tennis

because it is such an important and helpful tool to develop a greater sense of focus and

a renewed understanding of the things that keep us from being our best performers and

musicians. However, my professor never seriously enforced us to read this book, and so

I didnt. Now that this class has come along, I decided it would be a good time to sit

down and finally read this book that I have heard so many good things about. Im

especially glad that I read it during my first semester at Rice, during a time riddled with

self-doubt because of new surroundings and new people.

The key idea that Gallwey presents in this book is that we, as humans, were born

perfect and capable of doing anything from birth to death. The only limitation we have to
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achieving our fullest potential is ourselves, specifically the part of ourselves that likes to

be hypercritical, unfocused, inconsiderate, and egocentric. Gallweys premise begins

with the distinction of two selves. Self 1, he describes, is essentially your thinking

brain. This is the part of yourself that is always analyzing and judging. Gallwey ties

many of his descriptions back to tennis. He says that Self 1 is essentially the

conscious side. When you hit a bad shot, you hate it. It hates it because youve nailed

that shot before: youve done it correctly a million times. Self 1 is the side of yourself

that is so quick to judge and be incredibly and unproductively harsh. If Self 1 is the

conscious self, then Self 2 represents the unconscious self. Self 2 is the part of the

brain that is thinking and doing. Self 2 just does what it knows how to do. Self 2

possesses the habits, muscle memory, and general knowledge that we create and is

passed down to us. The balance between these two selves is what makes up the inner

game of tennis that we all must play. In his book, Gallwey explains that the majority of

the game is spent trying to quiet ones thinking brain. In order to achieve our fullest

potential, Self 1 needs to support Self 2 with non-judgmental observations, images of

success, and confidence. Self 1 needs to get out of the way so that the smart and

powerful Self 2 can act.

Gallwey presents many different strategies to allow for this well-played and

equally-balanced game. The most helpful strategy he presents to me is focusing your

attention on something, so your thinking brain is occupied and cant interfere. Its

important to distract Self 1 at all times. For example, regarding hitting the shot over the

net, Gallwey suggests focusing on the seams of the tennis ball.

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Through the course of the book, Gallwey explains many different ideas that need

to be considered when practicing focus. He explains the phenomenon of natural

focus, and how it is not achieved by staring really hard at something or thinking really

hard. It occurs naturally when the mind is interested. Natural focus is effortless and

relaxed because the mind is inseparable from the object of interest. If the ball attracts

your mind, then your muscles will stay relaxed, and you will reach your peak

performance.

Another point Gallwey makes regarding distracting Self 1 is in creating positive

images of success for ourselves. He explains that the majority of our pining and

suffering exists when we allow our minds to imagine the future or feel sorrowful over the

past. It is necessary for us to be perfectly satisfied with and in the moment. This sense

of momentariness is the most important component to maintain a strong sense of focus.

At the end of the book, Gallwey explains that he is not necessarily an advocate

for positive thinking or self-improvement. He supports the claim that we can only live

in the present. We cannot live in the past or the future. Therefore, in order to get the

most out of the present moment, we need to focus. Instead of practicing focus to

improve ones tennis game, or ones musical performance, it is imperative that one

perform or practice to improve their focus. It is a concept that is easier said than

achieved, but Gallwey believes it is the biggest key for one to reach their highest and

ultimate potential, regardless of what field they pursue.

I really enjoyed reading The Inner Game of Tennis. Focus is something that I

continually struggle with in my musical endeavors. In performances, it is hard for me to

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focus on memorization of my songs and the task at hand because my mind likes to

wander, and think about peoples opinions of my singing, as well as what every mistake

(or good thing) means for my future and reputation. Sometimes, this causes me to miss

musical choices that I practiced endlessly, or stumble on words that I studied for weeks

and weeks. Employing Gallweys techniques and ideologies into my daily practice as a

musician and a human being will be tremendously beneficial to my progress, hopefully

fixing a continuing problem that has been troubling my performance for most of my

career. The one problem I have with this book is its general focus on sports. While its

strategies and psychologies are absolutely applicable to many other fields besides

sports, the book itself is very focused on things from the sports perspective. The reader

must be willing to actively translate the book into their own life or personal passion. This

can be exhausting for some, but done correctly, and the strategies presented can be

life-changing. I think this book would be equally helpful to artists of any medium. The

arts is a field filled with unavoidable criticism, and many artists constantly feel the

pressure of judgment and self-doubt. Learning how to focus on the task at hand and

allowing the best part of yourself to do the best work is essential to be truly successful,

and I believe that Timothy Gallweys book The Inner Game of Tennis can serve as a tool

to help anyone consistently achieve that ultimate goal.