I enjoy playing tennis and it is one of the things I do to stay healthy and fit and so this has sparked my interest in watching tennis on TV. The Wimbledons are now on and with technology these days, we can catch anything live on TV.
I wouldn't say that I am a fan of any of the top tennis players. However, I happened to watch a documentary a few weeks back on the top seed - Roger Federer and I have to say that I am quite impressed by him. Not because he is such an excellent player who seems to have perfected the art of tennis, actually I am impressed by the strength of his mental power.
The documentary traced how he started his tennis career as a kid and especially how he started off as a very emotional player, throwing his temper and getting angry if he doesn't play well. Then he finally decided in one particular match that, that would be the last tennis racquet he breaks on court and that was about 5 years ago. (As a background to those who are not familiar with the game, many tennis players even the top seeds have been known to vent their anger by breaking their racquets on court!) Since then, he has remained the number 1 player consecutively. He used his mental power to remain focus and through that perfected his art to a high level. If anyone were to watch him play now, no one would have guessed that he was a very emotional player who was even sent off court when he was a kid due to his bad temper.
Looking at all the different top players, I observe that those who are strong psychologically more often than not, make better and consistent players.
This is the same with life. Those who are strong psychologically have a greater capacity to 'perform' better in the face of adversities. If people realise that it is their thoughts that create their reality and it is their thoughts that create the way they feel, they will see that whatever happens in life, one can remain strong and positive because it is all about adjusting one's perspective and remaining strong mentally!
Time to get back to watching the semi finals of Wimbledon. :-)