Book Review 2023.08: The Inner Game of Tennis, The ultimate guide to the mental side of peak performance by W Timothy Gallwey, 134 pages, Paperback, 2013
Picked up the book my son was reading and flipped through it thinking it would help me play better table tennis. The slimness of this book was another attraction as I thought I would complete it fast, within a week. To my pleasant surprise, I found this book to be much more than about tennis, for it provides valuable insights on mastering any skill, with tennis being only an illustrator. The month spent reading this book was I think time well spent, as I was able to appreciate and hopefully absorb some key concepts that are useful not just for mastering any skill but also for living a stress-free life.
Using tennis as an illustrator and drawing upon his many decades of coaching experience, the author draws upon relatable anecdotes to provide valuable insights on key elements of the mental side of the game that influences, and on many occasions overpowers the physical aspects of the game, to separate the winners from the contenders. Key concepts in the book include the role played by the ‘teller’ and ‘doer’ in each of us, the need for a player to be non-judgmental about their game and the technique to master relaxed concentration or developing focus for better performance.
This book goes much beyond tennis and offers valuable insights on effective learning techniques and de-stressing life though practical methods that can be adopted by one and all. I am very happy that I picked up this book, not the normal type of book I read. I recommend this book to all serious adult learners for finding another avenue to accelerate learning.
Happy reading for all the learners who want to master any skill or lead a stress-free life.
