I've been a bit discouraged with myself lately. For the most part life is good, but there are certain habits, thought patterns, and other negative things that I desperately want to change...and yet I seem to be stuck in a rut. I know any kind of change requires patience (NOT one of my strengths!), persistence (this is one thing I do have, but I don't always use it in the right ways), and faith (ok, I admit I have issues with trusting in the unknown--I always want to know something will work out before I give it a go).
I just finished reading this book by the tennis player James Blake. It's all about his comeback after breaking his neck in a freak accident on the tennis court, losing his father, and suffering from a debilitating virus all in one year. The amazing thing is that he didn't just regain his rank, he came back even better than before to become one of the top 10 players in the world. It was like he had a whole new attitude toward life, which in turn changed the way he played tennis.
There were a couple themes throughout the book that really struck me as things I need to work on. His coach always used this phrase:
"Don't worry about winning every match--just worry about getting better."
So often I dwell on the fact that I'm not reaching my ultimate goal rather than focusing on just doing a little better.
I also love his approach of taking things one step at a time:
"It’s one of those wonderful correlations between tennis and life: the only way to succeed where you’ve failed before is not to dwell on the past, but to keep your mind focused on the task before you.
One point at a time, I told myself. That’s how you win at tennis, the same way you do in life, with patience and smarts, by keeping your wits about you.
It’s a terrific challenge, because it’s such a hard one: the only way to move on is to not focus on what you’re moving on from.
Sure, I think it's important to know what our ultimate goals are, but I really like the idea of just focusing on the next move. Because what is a game, or a match, or even life, but a series of single shots strung together?
When I start worrying about all the meals I need to eat, the mess that my house has become, or the fact that I rarely accomplish a fraction of the things on my to-do list, all these worries do nothing but overwhelm me and keep me from focusing on the next shot. When I just sit down and focus on the fact that it's breakfast time, eating that big bowl of cereal isn't nearly so hard. Washing a dish or two really doesn't kill me. And I find that one or two tasks are quite easily accomplished.
4 comments:
Yeah, I liked this - all very good reminders. I highly recommend you read Lance Armstrong's autobiography, "It's Not About the Bike." I read it in treatment and it was one of the most motivating things that helped me. It's a great, easy read to get into, but wow there's lots of wisdom in it, just like in the book you reviewed.
PS YOUR CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP IS AMAZING (and so are you)! ;)
Yup. Well said. Can't eat the entire elephant at a time. Just one bite, one bite there.
Except, i have to stop using the elephant eating analogy. Kind of grosses me out. I think I'll incorporate the "one stroke at a time" instead:))
love ya
I meant *one bite HERE, one bite there.
thnx
One step at a time keeps you from getting stuck all together. If you keep taking that one step forward, you can't get stuck. Love always.
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