Pdv

I am a musician, and this was recommended to me by another musician friend. As it turns out, many of my colleagues have read this book, so it seems as though I am the last! 'The Inner Game' has, without a doubt, been one of the most beneficial books I have ever read. Before I had even finished, some of the insights of the book had already begun to change the way that I practice, audition, and perform! I wont say that the author has come up with any ideas or concepts so revolutionary that they haven't been written in a dozen other books .... but I will say that the way that he has exposed and explained things here have really worked for me. This is a must-read for, well, basically anybody who wants to improve at whatever they do and take pride in!

3.5/5 — shelved for the longest time and couldn’t have chosen a better time to pick it back up as I stress and question what “winning” means to me in life and in pickleball

Read this one in one day for a sports team book club and really enjoyed it! Some stuff doesn’t quite hold up or read in a modern way but the writing doesn’t detract from the content. I am a bit of a sports psych nerd, so I think this comes with a grain of salt but the advice he has to offer on understanding and trusting the part of you that really knows how to do basically everything is really engaging. I overthink a lot, especially on the field, and I look forward to implementing some of his teachings.

It was okay. It’s good that this book was short. Some good concepts that I will remember, but I mostly do these things already. Being objective when things go wrong in a match is important. Avoid these things:

Judgement - Bad backhand shot
Grouping - My backhands are bad
Generalising - I am a lousy tennis player

Do not judge shots. Be a subjective observer. “I hit that shot out because I wanted to hit it too close to the line. Next time I should aim more inside the court.”

“You don’t criticise a small seed for not being a beautiful rose. You give it water and watch it grow.”

Questo libro ha degli insegnamenti bellissimi soprattutto a fine del libro, argomenti come vivere nel presente e vivere gli ostacoli come occasione per comprendere le proprie potenzialità, sono argomenti interessantissimi e importantissimi, purtroppo però non ho ben compreso la descrizione di tutto questo attraverso le tecniche che l'autore spiega del tennis, mi è parsa una lettura lenta e solo alla fine del capitolo ho capito il succo dell'argomento. Peccato :( poteva valere 5 stelle

“Matt you f****ing suck” is a statement I have made constantly in almost every single endeavor I have ever undertaken. I have always been self-critical to arguably an unhealthy degree for reasons I never really understood. I used to think it was merely imitation of my role models (my dad who I am shockingly similar too makes the same statement a lot, especially while competing). However, after reading Gallwey’s book I realize that it is a much deeper struggle between my ego and my natural abilities.

While it may use tennis as a conduit, Inner Game truly focuses on the struggle between Self 1 (that voice in your head that puts you down) and Self 2 (the primal natural learner that we are born as). Over time we develop our Self 1 and allow it to attack Self 2 constantly. We hold ourselves to pointless standards for reasons that we can’t truly explain. But why do we do this? At its core we find working for Self 1 satisfying to our ego, while working for Self 2 can sometimes be unrewarding even if we perform at a higher level. Quieting the mind and performing at a higher level can feel empty without preconceived notions of success or external praise. Therefore, we create games within games to try and praise or critique ourselves. Regardless of the outcome, we almost always come away feeing worse because the praise is often fleeting.

What then should we do? Gallwey suggests that we take pride in the fact that Self 2 is born great. Allowing it to learn new skills through natural learning and not allowing over-critiquing from an outside entity or ourselves leads to a fulfillment. It’s not that winning the advertised goal of the game doesn’t matter, the goal matters because it allows us to find our natural abilities and our potential.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to find meaning in a world that feels like we’re separated from those things that provide it to us. The Inner Game provides the framework for us to find the joy in Self 2 and all of its natural beauty without the self-destructive nature of Self 1.

Last note, I took extra joy in finding out from my dad that this was my late grandfathers favorite book. He discovered it when it was first published in 1974 and was a proponent of its way of thinking for the remainder of his life. To have discovered his favorite book on my own gave it even more meaning to me.

There’s no way to know if it works without trying it? But intuitively makes sense

What a fantastic book. Broadly applicable to life. Some key learnings:
- Self 1 is your ego and judgmental self, Self 2 is your innate, child like, unconscious self. Get Self 1 out of the way, and let Self 2 take over
- Rather than judging yourself and telling yourself to just do something, instead: 1) observe behavior nonjudgmentally, 2) picture desired outcome, 3) let it happen and trust self 2, 4) nonjudgmentally observe results
- There's a variety of games that are played on the court, outside of actual tennis - desire for perfection, to be better than others, attention, friendship, health, enjoyment, or learning - which games are you playing?
- Focus is the key to getting out of your ego and instead living in the present, enjoying the moment, being aware of what's going on and your body

Knyga apie vertinimą(si), mokymą(si) ir kaip dirbti su savo vidumi, į ką svarbu atkreipti dėmesį siekiant rezultatų, kaip antai didelis dėmesys dabarčiai arba ne senų įpročių keitimas, o naujų įvedimas ir pan.
Labai patiko konkurencijos, varžybų, laimėjimo apibrėžimai.
Tik dėl manęs galėtų visą tenisą iš knygos iškrapštyt ir palikti tik tas visas geras įžvalgas

Usually not a fan of these kind of books but this one hit differently for the following reasons:

I'm really trying to up my tennis game and besides my ineffective backhand i'm experiencing a lot of intrusive thoughts which i've always considered that hamper my performance. This book has quite a few solutions for the mental side of the game. These applied tips made me feel more confortable and in flow.

Worth reading - as a tennis player.

If I could give any single book 6 stars, this would be the one. A short book that is packed full of well-distilled, clear, actionable and impactful wisdom. I will definitely be revisiting this book and cannot recommend it enough.