Sometimes You Just Have to Act "As If"

As an avid tennis player, like any athlete (and I use that term loosely in referring to myself), from time to time I get out of sync while in the heat of action. Real athletes call them slumps. For weekend athletes like me, its often just a lack of talent.

A couple of weeks ago, I was going through a real bad stretch. I really had felt uncomfortable since the fall season began in September. Finally, after four really bad matches of just getting overwhelmed by opponents, I was getting very frustrated with myself. The ball was going all over the place. I had no idea what was going to happen when I lined up to hit the ball, especially with my forehand. It was so bad I began to run around my forehand to hit my backhand. Then, in the middle of a match that was going particularly poorly, I decided to do something dramatically different.

After a particularly bad shot, I asked myself two questions, "What would happen if I just decided to act "as if" my forehand was working perfectly? "How would Andre Agassi be standing, breathing, moving?

And, the answer came to me, as I realized I was doing exactly the opposite of what I needed to be doing to hit a proper forehand tennis shot - I was off balance, hitting off my back foot, not preparing by getting my racquet back quick enough.

In that moment I decided to do just the opposite, and "Act As If" I was confidence in my forehand. The next opportunity, I stood tall, got my racquet back quickly, move forward into the ball, hit the ball in front of my body off my front foot and followed through. Amazingly, it worked. I hit a winning shot, and it totally turned my confidence around.

The last 3 matches over 2 weeks now I've been playing very well and my confidence is back, and I've won 5 of my last 6 sets against very competitive opponents.

So, the moral of that story is when you are in a slump, either physically or emotionally, just act "as if." Or another way to phrase would be "fake it until you make it." It works, I know, try it, and let me know you're results.

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