 22 May 2003 @ 12:08, by Quidnovi
The Inner Game of Thinking
"There is always an inner game being played in your mind no matter what outer game you are playing. How aware you are of this game can make the difference between success and failure in the outer game."
---Tim Gallwey
The concept of the Inner Game was developed in the 70's by Timothy Gallwey as a way of helping people to improve their performance in various sports, e.g. tennis, golf and skiing, and also in music.
Among other things, Gallwey recommends:
* developping the art of relaxed concentration
* not trying too hard
What is the Inner Game?
Some other indicators of a mind in "awareness mode" are as follows:
* A feeling of confidence and the absence of anxiety and self-doubt
* No obsession with success and no fear of failure
* An absence of competitiveness, the focus being on playing beautifully and excellently
* One's peak performance comes without effort and when not thinking about it
"In The Inner Game of Tennis, Gallwey told tennis players they would have a better chance of directing the ball successfully over the net if they got rid of certain counterproductive mental habits - namely, consciously trying to steer the ball's trajectory. He showed players that they could do much better by attending to the sound of the ball hitting the court, the feel of the racquet connecting with the ball, and the experience of the body as it goes through its moves. In other words, players were to reel their mind in from the court, and let it work in the body, where it belongs. "
"When individuals work together in teams both their potential and their "self-interference" can combine. When the self-interferences of team members play off of one another, the interference multiplies and the effective work of such a team is greatly diminished. We have all experienced this. Likewise when the potential of team members is combined and a minimum of interference is brought to the table, the team is capable of producing results well beyond the mere sum of the potential of its members."
"Trying not to try was Gallwey's key to the inner game, and his method was later carried on to the game of business, when corporations hired him to teach managers how to pay less attention to maintaining an aura of competence, which is the managerial equivalent of mentally steering a tennis ball into the opponent's court. He helped them instead to adapt to new, challenging situations as they arise - or how to think on their feet, to put it colloquially."
Related Topics:
- Tools and Theories
- Zen in the Art of Archery
- The Inner Game of Life: Daydreaming
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