Creating a Success Template 133


Creating a Success Template

Honestly, I am not sure how this has happened. I am rolling through matches, barely losing games. In the quarterfinals I defeated the #5 seed, Tom Bozarth, 6-1, 6-1.

I am continuing to search for explanations so that I can add them to my “success template.” It is my ongoing list of what I have done in matches that seems to contribute to good results. Every tournament (and every coaching interaction) reinforces the power of writing about what works. When reviewing them it is as if I am seeing the new stories that I have put in front of me as the stories I am living. Writing seems to be the key for me. I have noticed that over time there are no negatives in the template. The words “shouldn’t,” “don’t,” “can’t,” have faded out along with large global words like “never and all. They seem to provide little value to what I want from myself.

Added to my template today, those pieces of where I currently am include:
My fitness level is high: strength, balance, flexibility, resiliency, endurance. This is a result of the training that I put in over the last year.
Emotionally I am content in my life. When I am in content in my life I am content on the court.
I care more about playing well than I care about my results. This helps me focus on controlling what I can control.
I am relaxed, believing in myself and the skills that I have developed over many years of playing.
I am playing with a stingy attitude. I am giving nothing away. I am taking nothing for granted. I am playing more of a point by point, moment by moment attitude than I ever have before.
My mind is quiet in between the points, with an occasional reminder that “come on Bob, you can do this.” If some negative thought slips in I just say, “not now Bob.”
I am loving the challenge of finding this combination of ways, beliefs, thoughts, attitudes and spirit. I feel that I am playing for just this.

I continue to be enthusiastic, excited and accepting of whatever the day brings. I am totally pumped that improvement is still possible and that I have potential waiting down the road for me.

Looking forward to the semis of the singles and doubles today.

PS Some of you have asked about the doubles. I expect to write about the experience of playing doubles with Brent Abel after the tournament. We have never been on the same side of the court before and we have found a sweet rhythm. There are probably some good life lessons about collaborating.


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