Going out on a poof

I recently played a tennis match where I had some pain in my foot, only if I moved in a certain direction. So, right from the get-go, I was tentative. And tentative is so not my game.

Thus, I found myself not following through on my shots as I normally would, because of the possibility of a jolt of pain. Though, there was no evidence that I would feel pain for most of my strokes.

In a social match, a friend of mine missed her first serve. Then, she just wanted to get her second serve in, so she hit a very light second serve. And she double faulted. Shaking her head, she said, “You shouldn’t double fault on a poof.”

Meaning, if you’re going to make a mistake and lose a point, don’t do it playing not to lose.

Playing not to lose is not the same as playing to win. I told a story to myself that I was going to be in pain. For a few shots I was, but for most I wasn’t. And I played like I was in pain the whole game.

How many times in life do we tell a story of what’s going to happen before it even occurs? If something negative is the end result, we take pleasure in being right – even though the result is not pleasing!

There’s a time to hesitate when your instincts are telling you to be cautious. However, there are many more times when we’re tentative because our mind is focusing on what we don’t want to happen. That’s playing not to lose.

So, with the help of a little introspection and my go-to acupuncturist, Dr. Li, next time I play, and the next goal I have – I’m going full swing.

Play.to.win.