The other day I stumbled on something truly priceless…
It was a random brand video that Roger Federer did with Credit Suisse where he was answering questions about being “mentally fit”.
Even though it was only 2 minutes and 36 seconds long it was PACKED with insights related to getting the most out of yourself both on and off the court.
In this message and my next one I’d like to share what I believe were the top 7 gems Roger revealed, what they mean for you and your game, and how you can best take action on them.
Ready??
Let’s dive right in:
1. Roger admitted that early on in his career he was “totally unmotivated on some days”.
This is such a huge shift away from what most people assume about elite performers in all walks of life…
People don’t achieve greatness because they wake up every day with some kind of innate, magical source of inspiration to work hard and crush it.
On the contrary: champions are forged through consistent action, ESPECIALLY when they don’t feel like it!
Next time you feel “meh” about working out, changing the grip on your serve, or having that tough conversation with somebody important to you please understand that Federer has been right there with you.
It’s not a question of if you’ll feel unmotivated, but instead whether or not you still push forward and leave your comfort zone anyway!
2. “It took me three years to figure myself out on a tennis court.”
Roger said that it took him a long time to figure out what made him happy and what made him upset on the court…
The way he describes it almost makes it feel like he had to get to know a completely different person for the first time. Their preferences, likes, dislikes, what was off limits, and what brought out the best performances.
He’s talked many times about how early on his temper was terrible and it cost him matches.
That’s great news for the rest of us!
The cool, calm, and collected persona Roger now displays the vast majority of the time was learned and developed. He wasn’t born with it.
We can do the same thing if we focus on what he talked about in the next point…
3. Roger made a DECISION to “act that way and behave that way on a tennis court”.
After years of observing himself and getting to know what worked best for him (#2) he made a conscious choice to pick the inward and outward state that worked best.
Does that mean he’s ALWAYS calm and under control? Absolutely not, and we’ll talk more about that later.
But what it does mean is he took responsibility for his actions, and mindfully made a decision to optimize his response to different situations so he could perform at his best as often as possible.
He still feels nerves, he still gets tight, he still gets frustrated by things, but he knows the way his past self responded to them didn’t work, and so he has wisely chosen a different path for himself.
We can, too!
4. There’s a “fire and ice” that comes with tennis.
Roger described the “fire” as the excitement of wanting to win a match really badly, or the thrill of hitting an incredible shot.
On the other hand, he said the “ice” of a match is “accepting losses, accepting bad shots, the crowd and tough circumstances”.
Everybody wants the thrill of competitive success…..but SO FEW players are willing to embrace the negatives.
Take special note of the word Roger used to describe this: “accepting”.
Rather than fixate on the negatives that inevitably come with each and every match, he has developed the competitive maturity needed to let them go and shift his focus to the critical task of problem solving how to come out on top.
Unfortunately I’ve all too often taken the bait to whine and complain about the “tough circumstances” in my own matches…. but now I know I have a choice and that knowledge alone has helped me tremendously!
What about you?
Can you relate to these insights and lessons direct from Roger’s head?
If so comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading.
Yours Truly,
-Ian
P.S. If you want to check out the video I’m talking about you can see it right here.
When I first saw it a few weeks ago it only have 500 views which is crazy!
Hopefully this helps it spread around more because I think learning about Roger’s true mindset can be a huge help to players of all levels.
