Play the Inner game

In the introduction to his classic book, The Inner Game of Tennis, Tennis coach W. Timothy Gallwey asks us to imagine our life as a series of games. Sometimes it is real game like playing tennis. Or it could be “games” like writing a software program, launching a new training program, or even nurturing a child. In order to play these games well, he argues, we need to understand that every game has two parts: an outer game and an inner game.

The outer game is played against an external opponent to overcome external obstacles and to reach an external goal. Mastering this game is the subject of many books offering instructions on how to swing a racket, club or bat, and how to position arms, legs or torso to achieve the best results.

Most of us are fairly comfortable playing many of the outer games in our lives. Some of us have even achieved a lot of success in, for instance, in work, sports,  or music. 

But Gallwey claims that it is the inner game that often prevents people from playing the outer game. One may achieve a one-time success in a business or a work. But to consistently produce results in work, one must be good in playing the inner game.

Inner game  takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt, and self-condemnation. In short, it is played to overcome all habits of mind which inhibit excellence in performance.

And it is our inability to play the inner game which thwarts our results, be it in work, relationships or personal life.  We surprisingly spend huge time and effort – in schools, colleges and work – to play the outer game. If we are in knowledge industry ( doctors, engineers, or administrators), we spend huge efforts in learning medicine, arithmetic or science. If we are in sports, we spend huge time in perfecting the physics of game and creating the body required to maintain the game. If we are in entertainment industry we spend huge time in perfecting the musical notes, for instance.

But we surprisingly spend little or negligible time in learning the rules of inner game.  For instance, do you know the difference between thought and emotion? Or understand the difference between fear and anxiety? Or empathy and sympathy? Or assertive communication and aggressive communication? Or beliefs and values? Instead of understanding our feelings, we often club all the feelings in one label, such as “I am upset”. Or “I am bored’. All these feelings tell us something about ‘us’. But because we are not ‘trained’ to hear it, we often ignore, suppress or bypass them.

If we spend years in learning Algebra, History or Geography, why don’t we spend at least a little time learning about our own minds? Because, if we do that, it will open to us our huge potential of which we are capable of. This blog will help you understand the rules of Inner game and how to play it.