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Positive Expection

This is the first of several columns analyzing the Do You Think Like a Winner?: Competitors' Questionnaire for measuring the psychological dimension of your tennis game. This column analyzes your score for questions 1-6.

by Jim McLennan, Senior Editor, TennisONE (Former President, USPTA, Northern California), and Carol Blackman

"Imagination rules the world," said Napoleon. Certainly to try to rule the world Napoleon needed to have a clear vision and a firm belief that indeed he could "rule." In many ways tennis is just the same. A contest between two evenly matched players, both wanting to win, is often decided by the player who entered the contest with greater self-confidence. But how do you gain self-confidence if you don't have it-or don't have as much of it as you would like?

Self confidence generally comes from experience, from memory. We are all familiar with the advice that players must get the "experience" of playing tournaments before they can really excel under pressure. That's fine, if you are the one person in the tournament field of 16 that ends up winning. This person has the experience and memory of winning, and therefore will gain in self-confidence. But what about the other 15 people who lose? How can they gain self-confidence if they're only memory is of a loss?

One answer-and it's not the only answer- is that players don't have to rely just on memory. The other, largely untapped resource for building self-confidence, is imagination. Memory and imagination are closely linked physiological and psychological functions. Simply put, remembering and imagining feel very similar. Try and remember what you had for dinner last night. Vividly re-create the sights, sounds, smell and tastes of that meal (hopefully it was a good meal ). Now, try and clearly imagine what you would like to have for dinner tomorrow night, with the same detail for the sights, sounds, smells and tastes. Interestingly, this vivid imagining of tomorrow's dinner is very similar to remembering your meal last night. In the next section, we'll see how consciously training your imagination can build your self-confidence.

Take a moment to see how you answered questions in the first section (Do You Think Like a Winner?: Competitors' Questionnaire). They provide a clear picture of your expectations as a player. We will discuss strategies to change your personal expectation, if indeed it needs work, in the section below.

Changing Your Expectations - Building Self Confidence

The key lies in the similarity of memory and imagination. The winning experience (memory) is really very much the same as the creative imagination of that same victory. Imagining a win can build self confidence. This is not just a daydream, but a systematic exercise in visualizing a tournament success. A few months ago I won a tournament, and the experience was great and has really improved my expectations from where they were a year ago. But to have a similar boost in expectation from the creative control of my imagination, I need to spend a significant amount of time imagining success. The point to emphasize here is "significant." You can't just imagine hitting the winning shot on match point in the finals. That's daydreaming, not real visualization.

Let's do the exercise of visualizing your next tournament. This will take a while, so put your feet up and get comfortable. Let your imagination follow your steps through the tournament, experiencing the excitement as you go along. The more vividly you imagine, the greater the payoff. Imagine getting into your car drive to the tournament, walking into the club, checking out the draw, and walking onto the court. Then take yourself through an entire match against a good opponent. Visualize accurate backhands, sure second serves, and intelligent strategy. And. when you get to 5-4 in the second, visualize holding your serve for the set. Jack Nicklaus was known to visualize as entire round of golf, and each and every shot, before actually going out and playing. I am certain he did not imagine shots to the bunker, short puts, and errant drives. No, he imagined well placed drives, delicate chips, and deadly accurate puts.

Now, you have just successfully imagined winning your first match. To achieve the same level of imagined experience as you would were you to play and win the tournament, you need to take the time to imagine the next three matches. The more you practice, the more you'll improve your visualization and your control over your confidence level.

A final strategy involves learning about progressive relaxation. Excellent audio tapes are available at your library or book store. Progressive relaxation involves quieting the mind and body, learning how it feels to be still and calm. When you have trained to achieve this state, the repetition of positive affirmations in this "hypnotic" state will enable you to shape your expectations, to grow your self confidence. You can find these affirmations within the same questions used in the self confidence column. Simply repeat the actual phrases, again and again.

I really believe in myself as a competitor
My confidence is unshakable.
I see myself as a winner.
I enjoy big matches and important occasions.
I expect success.
I perform to the upper limits of my ability.

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