You can only play on one side of the court

Focus on getting your best shot over the net, and detach from ball control

Good Day you ball of potential energy,

Let us get right into it.

Growing up I played a lot of tennis in school and I now I am obsessed with padel. I am also trying to be an adult who adds value to this court that we call life, I am trying to play the right shots however I am not having as many wins as I would prefer. So it is time to take a seat on the side of the court and restratagize. Focus on where I will place my energy in order to achieve the desired results.

I am not fantastic at either but far from useless in both sports. I can say the same in regards to life. A constant work in progress but I can hold my own on ‘the court’ . I got inspired by the book I am reading again, The Monk who sold his Ferarri , which made a brief reference to this idea, and I want to expand on it in regards to the concept of Budgeting Your Energy.

The main idea is me telling myself that I do not have to pretend I am in control of everything, this is a waste of energy. From life, family, career and personal relations, the truth is that I can only control myself and my actions or reactions and that is a humbling truth.

Good Day you ball of potential energy,

Let us get right into it.

Growing up I played a lot of tennis in school and I now I am obsessed with padel. I am also trying to be an adult who adds value to this court that we call life, I am trying to play the right shots however I am not having as many wins as I would prefer. So it is time to take a seat on the side of the court and restratagize. Focus on where I will place my energy in order to achieve the desired results.

I am not fantastic at either but far from useless in both sports. I can say the same in regards to life. A constant work in progress but I can hold my own on ‘the court’ . I got inspired by the book I am reading again, The Monk who sold his Ferarri , which made a brief reference to this idea, and I want to expand on it in regards to the concept of Budgeting Your Energy.

The main idea is me telling myself that I do not have to pretend I am in control of everything, this is a waste of energy. From life, family, career and personal relations, the truth is that I can only control myself and my actions or reactions and that is a humbling truth.

The first step in this game is to serve. We need to master the ability to ‘get the ball rolling’ and start. The idea is to set an intention, and execute, not a goal but an intention to start. Focus your energy on aiming for a point in the court, throwing the idea or ball to the perfect place so that you are able to transfer you energy from earth to body to racket in order to connect with the ball, and then you need to let go. You can not control the ball but you can focus on getting yourself balanced and in position to recieve what comes next and be ‘ahead of the game’ if you will. I wish for you to get as many aces as possible in life, but the truth is that majority of the time the ball will come back and you need to conserve your energy in order to deal with the outcome of your intention served. Sometimes you will hit the net, it will be your fault for not allowing the game to play out, but this is okay, that is why you have 2 serves, and in life more, do not give up and waste energy on your mistake but rather focus that energy on understanding that it is part of the past and learn not to do it again.

Now that the ball is in play you will notice that life will throw you adversity, challenges and obstacles, but all within the natural rules that govern the court. It is nothing personal it is the game. You cannot predict the future or the minds of the intentions of whoever is on the other side of the court. That is a waste of energy. Sure you can read their actions and reactions in order to assist yourself to deal with their intention or return of the ball of energy, but most of your energy should be focused on the fact that you have trained to be in the position you are, standing the way you are and just ready to deal with it. You are the only thing you can control. If you have been working on yourself ‘off the court’ then you will have more tools and skills to use in this ‘match’

We need to be at peace with the fact that this energy ball cannot be destroyed, but only transferred back and fourth over the court. There is no point stressing yourself out about that, be at peace, think clearly and calmly and add value to this match, life, career or relationship by playing a great shot to keep the ball in play and hopefully achieve the goal that started with the intention of a serve.

Be mindful and aware of your partners and opponents, do not be naive to their intentions. Be mindful of your position on the court, are you in the right place for you to perform your best as an individual or a partner depending on the circumstance. Take time to train your brain to get into a state of flow and a state of presence. Set restrictions on your distractions so that you are able to focus on your present moment. If meditation or yoga work for you, then set weekly goals to achieve that state of mind and to apply it in the match or situation. I myself have been in a phase where I have neglected the release and preparation for life that I get from making music and writing. I have been on a loop of ‘getting things done’ but not really achieving anything worth writing about. I have by no means been lazy, quite the opposite, but I have been inefficient with my time and energy.

This leads us to the final point.

Exactly that, how do you feel in the final point. What I have described above has left me tired and low on energy. Whether I win or loose. I have made some ‘unforced errors’ in my decision making and reactions to situations or adversities, when this ball has come back over the court. Leading to mistakes that either prolong me winning the game or lead me to loosing the game. Both situations are not an efficient use of energy and do not make me feel amazing. This can all have been avoided if I had not lost sight of the routines and habits that I have built up over the years. The training that I have been doing, my internal work, was not what I relied on, practiced or maintained in the past few months of this ‘tournament’ and I know how that feels, I am aware of how I feel right now and I will not go ‘back to the drawing board’ and only create plans, I know what I need to do, so I will go to the gym and to the court and implement these strategies, habits and routines daily and weekly to rebuild and prepare for the next tournament.

I will be a better participant in the tournament of 2024 and my goal is to end in a better position than I started.

Who is entering the tournament with me??