Devo #3: Zoom Out

How do you deal with pressure in sports? It's a great question, because so much of our difficulty within a tennis match is dealing with pressure.

So here's the thing about pressure: the only way that we experience it is because we create it in our own mind. We experience pressure when we create an imaginary view of the future and wonder "what if?" Pressure is also complicated by expectation, which was also tend to create for ourselves.

How do you deal with pressure then?
1. Have process-based expectations.
2. Realize that MANY things are more important than this sports moment.

Process-Based Expectations
I'm going to use tennis as the metaphor here, but this could be true in many areas of life. By process-based expectations, let's start by defining what I do not mean. I am saying process-based because the worst type of expectations are results-based. Results-based expectations are "I expect to win this game," "I expect to hit this forehand in," or "I expect to rarely double-fault."

The problem with results-based expectations is that they often have very little to do with anything that you can control. This next section is from an article on Tennis Mind Game...

"Most of the events in any sport are not under the control of the player. Control is defined here as 100% controllable factor – like switching the light on or off. So a player cannot possibly control events like umpire calls, net cords, line shots, outside conditions like the wind, sun, noise and so on.

Another very important part out of our control is the score. Even getting the ball in is not 100% controllable. A player cannot control the score, which round in the tournament he'll reach, whether he will win or lose …"
So, what do we base our expectations on instead. On the things we can control. We can control our ATTITUDE, EFFORT, and our TACTICAL PLAN. But even at those things, we can only control the how and not the result. I might have great attitude and effort, and I could still lose. I might have a great plan, but my opponent's shots still beat it.

It is enough to base your expectations on 

- having a positive attitude

- giving maximum effort

- attempting a solid plan.

P.S. When I come to talk to you on the change-overs, this is what we'll talk about. The things that we can control.

Many Things are More Important

So why is this called a devotional post if all it is dealing with is the mental side of tennis. Well, I suppose it is because of this part. 

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

In the grand scheme of things, we feel pressure when we lose track of reality. In reality, a high school tennis match is not very important. Compare it to a final exam. Compare it to a vacation with your family. Compare it to your wedding day, your graduation, your baptism... all these events hold far more significance. 

Tennis can be many things. It can be a tool with which God helps to shape us. It can be a gift that we receive from God, for fun. It can be an entrance into a brotherhood of friends and support. Those are the important parts of tennis, and none of those depend on us winning.

So, when we zoom out and take that perspective, we are free to swing freer, to encourage our teammates and opponents, to love for real. 

Because it doesn't really matter what we do. What matters is what Jesus has done, and what God continues to do. Faith in that is enough.